May 24, 2010
Spatial Releases ACIS and 3D InterOp R21
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applications.
In ACIS R21, the new faceter interface for generating a surface mesh includes pre-defined settings for 3D visualization or analysis plus an expert mode resulting in faster implementation time. Mesh generation performance has been improved with a new quad tree gridding algorithm which reduces the memory footprint and required number of facets to accurately tessellate a model. And for the metrology industry, R21 ensures completion of inspection and measurement paths by providing fail safe slicing of an ACIS model. The release also includes performance enhancing options for calculating the distance between an entity and a point when assessing the dimensional accuracy of manufactured parts. “Spatial continues to deliver the innovation Carl Zeiss requires to stay ahead of our competition. Many of the R21 capabilities are a direct result of working closely with their development team to discuss the evolving needs of the metrology industry such as increasing performance requirements as data levels increase,” commented Dr. Kai-Udo Modrich, Carl Zeiss Director Software Development. “It is clear that Spatial understands the needs of machine manufacturers with specialized applications, in addition to their more traditional markets.”
ACIS R21 New Functionality and Enhancements
Since the previously released version, ACIS R21 includes the following new capabilities:
3D InterOp R21 Enhancements
The 3D InterOp Suite has improved performance, increased translation capabilities, and added support for the latest CAD versions.
“Spatial's customers develop a diverse set of engineering and manufacturing applications. R21 builds on the robustness and versatility of ACIS and InterOp with added capabilities and performance improvements to address specialized application needs,” stated Ray Bagley, Spatial Director of Product Planning and Management. “Spatial works closely with our customers to identify new technology that supports their goals of being leaders in their respective industries and to reduce implementation times so that they can shorten their time-to-market with new applications.”
For more information: Commentary By Jeffrey Rowe, Editor
There was a time, and not so long ago, when geometric modeling kernels were kings of the MCAD industry. Most CAD vendors back then relied, at least to some degree, and licensed them as engines for making their software applications go. While the newly iterated kernels were a good thing, some CAD developers felt that they were held hostage by the release cycles of their geometric kernel developers. Times have changed, though. An increasing number of vendors have undertaken the enormous task of developing, maintaining, and supporting their own geometric kernels. However, not all CAD vendors have gone the independent route, because it is such a huge undertaking.
Today, as has been the case for quite some time, two of the major major players in the geometric kernel market are ACIS (owned by Dassault) and Parasolid (owned by Siemens PLM Software), but, of course , there are others. I've thought it ironic that SolidWorks (a Dassault company) uses Parasolid from a Dassault competitor as its underlying geometric engine, and not ACIS, but that's another story for another time.
Over the years I've gotten to know several people at Spatial (largely because they are in my own backyard in Colorado), and have always been impressed with what they have been able to accomplish with a relatively small, tight knit development group. I've also been impressed with how loyal many of their customers have been over the long haul.
can be repurposed.
line removal, deformable modeling, advanced covering, and defeaturing.
The latest ACIS release has new capabilities for CAD and CAM applications, has a more streamlined interface, and adds support for large scale point clouds, that let metrology and reverse engineering applications store and perform operations on huge amounts of point data. According to the company, R21 improves the performance of 3D InterOp, the company's translation components. In ACIS R21, the new faceter interface for generating a surface mesh includes pre-defined settings for 3D visualization or analysis, plus an expert mode for faster implementation.
The 3D InterOp Suite looks like it has improved performance, increased translation capabilities, and added support for the latest CAD versions, especially CATIA. The CATIA part isn't too surprising, though, because CATIA shares the same parent, Dassault, with the 3D InterOp Suite.
Maybe geometric kernels don't get quite the notoriety and press that they used to, but they remain an essential component for moving the MCAD industry forward. They have been and will remain a vital part of the MCAD industry for a long time to come. On the other hand, interoperability remains at the forefront of issues facing the CAD industry. Spatial continues to have a good handle and future development direction on both fronts with its 3D geometric modeling kernel and interoperability technologies.
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-- Jeff Rowe, MCADCafe.com Contributing Editor. ![]() |
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