Archive for 2012
Thursday, July 5th, 2012
I’ll admit up front that I’ve had a “thing” for mobile computing devices for some time — smartphones, netbooks, ultrabooks, tablets, and so on for day-to-day office work activities. However, I’ve increasingly gotten more interested in how these mobile platforms work in an engineering environment.
I’ve used various Windows, iOS, and Android devices with different levels of satisfaction and frustration.
I currently use devices running iOS (an iPad and iPhone), as well as a Dell Notebook running Windows XP. In the past I have used an Android smartphone and tablet.
I actually had the highest hopes for the Android devices, but gradually got so frustrated with the relative lack of standards and consistency with different apps and devices with regard to look, feel, behavior, and reliability. I guess I could have worked more diligently getting things to work better, but felt I didn’t need another hobby/part time job, so I sold all my Android stuff. That’s not to say I won’t return to the Android camp at some time, because I do like the “open” aspect of things Andoid. I’m just going to take a step back for a while.
I now use the Apple devices on a daily basis and am pleased with the way they work together in their little ecosystem — what works on the iPhone usually works on the iPad and vice versa. Office document, engineering application, and photography workflows are still quite a challenge, but I’m really trying to make things work. Beyond writing and simple photo editing, on the engineering side, the I use the iPad primarily as viewer. There are some interesting apps for engineering, such as simple CAD and simulation, but haven’t spent too much time with them yet, although I intend to in the near future.
On the Windows side, I’ve had fairly good luck with the Windows platform (netbook), but it is Windows, and that fact alone has caused me a lot of frustration over the years — don’t get me started. The upcoming Microsoft Surface tablets with Windows 8 look interesting, but with the keyboards Microsoft is pushing, they look more like ultrabooks than innovative tablets. When introduced, there will be two levels:
-RT with an ARM CPU, 16-32 GB and starting at $599
-Pro with an Intel CPU, 64-128 GB and starting at $799
Admittedly, Microsoft is a little late to the tablet game, and the company (with few exceptions) has not exactly been a powerhouse with in-house developed hardware. However, Microsoft tablets might be popular in the business world, including engineering. I’m going to wait and see on that one, though.
Ideally, I’d like to be able to have one OS/platform that meets all my needs, but for the foresseable future, I’ll probably be using two — one for personal work and one for professional work — iOS and Windows. This means ongoing compromise, but I enjoy the ability to make the best use of each one in ways that work best for me. I have no doubt, though, that mobile devices and engineering apps will continue to improve to the point where they are as useful as their counterparts on desktop platforms.
Editor’s Note: I’ll review and report on some engineering-oriented apps in the coming weeks and months.
Tags: Android, Apple, iOS, iPad, iPhone, Microsoft, Surface
No Comments »
Monday, June 25th, 2012
Siemens PLM Software, a business unit of the Siemens Industry Automation Division and a leading global provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) software and services, announced the release of Solid Edge ST5, with advances in core design capabilities aimed at helping users develop better products faster. The latest Solid Edge release also contains more than 1,300 new customer-driven productivity enhancements.
Siemens PLM Software also announced Solid Edge Mobile Viewer, a new free 3D viewer mobile device application (app) for the iPad portable digital device, which broadens access to design data to help companies enhance collaboration. The announcements were made at Siemens PLM Software’s Solid Edge University 2012
“The new features in Solid Edge ST5 are driven by our strong focus on our customers’ requirements. By responding directly to their needs, we ensure each functional enhancement delivers real business value,” said Dan Staples, director of Solid Edge product development, Siemens PLM Software. “Customers are seeing real benefits from our industry-leading synchronous technology and we’ve strongly extended our lead in this area.”
Faster more flexible ways to use synchronous technology
Solid Edge continues to leverage synchronous technology, Siemens PLM Software’s breakthrough history-free, feature-based design technology for digital product development, to provide designers and engineers a better way to create and edit designs and to help cut design time by enabling reuse of imported models. Solid Edge ST5 uses synchronous technology to provide enhanced support for multi-body modeling, which lets users import parts and assemblies from virtually any CAD system. The resulting imported geometry can be combined into a single part or multiple parts depending on manufacturing requirements.
“I am very impressed with what I have seen in Solid Edge ST5; especially the new multi-body design capability,” said Grant Holohan, Mechanical Engineer, Hatch, a leading global EPCM company specializing in designing large-scale mining operations. “The new multi-body design capability gives us the freedom to design without worrying about individual parts unless needed. Using Solid Edge ST5 will dramatically increase the design productivity of our staff, saving a substantial amount of design time.”
Continues to simplify drawing documentation
In many design and manufacturing companies, drawings are a key deliverable. Solid Edge enhancements continue to focus on drawing productivity to help lower shop floor errors. Enhancements in Solid Edge ST5 include the ability to show an assembly in multiple positions within a drawing view, to automatically place parts lists across sheets, and easily align the position of dimensions. A new marquee feature is the ability to create nailboards of electrical wiring harnesses, complete with flattened and “bend” views, drawing views of connectors, and connector and conductor tables for creating complete manufacturing documentation.
Delivers thermal analysis for steady-state simulations
Engineers often need to simulate both thermal and mechanical systems where a part may have to undergo both stress and a thermal load. And when issues are encountered, they require a fast, easy approach to making changes that improve design quality. Solid Edge ST5 now includes steady-state thermal simulation and when coupled with synchronous technology users can test more alternatives in less time, so designers can reduce the need to build and test physical prototypes.
Solid Edge Mobile Viewer App for the iPad
Users across a company now have the ability to view 3D parts and assemblies created with Solid Edge using the new free Solid Edge Mobile Viewer app on an iPad. The app includes the ability to rotate, pan, zoom, show and hide parts, create and email images. Solid Edge Mobile Viewer allows individuals outside of the traditional design and engineering departments to view design data, enabling faster, more convenient design reviews, customer presentations, or general model inspection.
Solid Edge ST5 is scheduled to ship in July. For more information please visit www.siemens.com/plm/solidedgest5
Commentary By Jeffrey Rowe, Editor
With ST5 the Synchronous Technology saga continues . . .
Starting about four years ago, one of biggest mechanical CAD software developments then arguably was Synchronous Technology (ST) that found its way into both Solid Edge and its big brother, NX. Given that it was a “Version 1” of the technology, it was stable, but was not implemented through all design environments within the Solid Edge product. That, however, has been addressed over time, and continues to be increasingly implemented throughout in new releases.
In 2008, Siemens PLM Software announced a new CAD methodology that it claimed to be the biggest MCAD breakthrough in a decade called Synchronous Technology. That was a pretty big claim, but the possibilities and implications were pretty intriguing.
(more…)
No Comments »
Friday, June 15th, 2012
I guess it’s just me, but I’m still trying to get used to Dassault calling itself the 3DEXPERIENCE Company with a 3DEXPERIENCE Platform that consists of all of of its product lines. To its credit, though, Dassault recently announced a tangible result with Tata Technologies’ use of its 3DEXPERIENCE platform, based on V6 technology, for developing the small urban electric vehicle study – the eMO (for electric MObility).
Dassault’s 3DEXPERIENCE Platform
The eMO study was undertaken to demonstrate the feasibility of developing an electric vehicle at an affordable price. Tata Technologies says that the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform enabled its team to complete the project quickly and accurately.
“We needed a highly regarded partner for this project, as we were relying on it to showcase our multi-dimensional approach to vehicle engineering and development,” said Kevin Fisher, president, Tata Technologies Vehicle Programs and Development (VPD) Group. “We have a deep history with Dassault Systèmes and were confident that CATIA and ENOVIA V6 applications would help us leverage the talents of a global engineering team to meet numerous design and cost constraints, as well as create the targeted user experience, including a final vehicle price tag of under $20,000.”
A significant challenge in the development process was the requirement to fit all the required vehicle systems into a small footprint while maintaining spacious seating for four adults. To achieve this, Tata Technologies used CATIA and ENOVIA to develop various studies, allowing global collaboration to rapidly evaluate and optimize possible solutions.
The development of the eMO was a global effort, requiring collaboration among more than 300 Tata Technologies engineers from the U.S., Europe, and India. The data generated by the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform became the common language for collaboration and allowed rapid comparison of proposals, leading to swift decisions and innovative solutions. In addition, it allowed more time for testing of different design features aimed at reducing energy consumption, such as vehicle weight, rolling resistance and aerodynamics.
Not a lot of details were given, which is sort of understandable for a feasibility study, but is tangible proof that Dassault’s 3DEXPERIENCE Platform is being used for real work. It will be interesting to see how eMO evolves and where it goes.
Tags: 3DEXPERIENCE, Dassault Systemes, Tata Technologies
No Comments »
Thursday, June 14th, 2012
At its annual worldwide gathering of customers, PlanetPTC Live in Orlando, Florida, PTC declared a new era of manufacturing competitiveness driven by technology solutions that help companies achieve product and service advantage. In his keynote address, PTC president and CEO Jim Heppelmann argued that the world is poised to enter what The Economist magazine recently labeled a “third industrial revolution.” In this new era, a concerted focus on strategy will lead a renaissance in global manufacturing which will, in turn, put companies using PTC technology solutions in increasingly important roles helping create new value for their companies, and helping them achieve a competitive edge in the 21st Century.
“Over the past few decades, global manufacturers have made massive investments in technology and process change aimed at improving operational efficiency,” said Heppelmann. “Today, however, we are reaching the limits of the competitive edge these investments can deliver. Manufacturers need to be operationally efficient to stay in the game, but they can no longer achieve meaningful advantage from that alone. The time has come for a new source of competitive advantage – product and service advantage – from technology and process change that improves strategy decision-making across the enterprise, from engineering to the supply chain to sales and service networks.”
Fundamentally, PTC technology solutions transform the way companies create and service products by enabling them to make better, smarter, faster strategy and planning decisions. These decisions relate to how products are designed and engineered, how a supply chain is optimized, how quality and compliance is assured throughout the manufacturing process and, ultimately, how service is efficiently delivered against a product once sold. Individually, these planning decisions help deliver a strategy that supports a brand. Collectively, they are the new source of competitive advantage.
Over its 25 year history, PTC has developed a deep expertise in helping companies optimize the processes associated with each stage of the product lifecycle. In recent years, through a combination of organic development and acquisition, PTC has built a broad portfolio of technology solutions that it combines with its process expertise to assist customers in achieving greatness. In 2012, PTC has gone one step further and reorganized the company itself to align directly with the organizational structure of the modern manufacturing enterprise. Specifically, PTC has established five internal leadership teams focused on driving its technology solution strategies in the areas of product lifecycle management (PLM), computer-aided design (CAD), application lifecycle management (ALM), supply chain management (SCM), and service lifecycle management (SLM).
“A new era is upon us,” concluded Heppelmann. “To win in the new century requires a new way of thinking. For manufacturers, it’s about making fundamentally smarter strategy decisions. Today, advantage goes to those who differentiate their product and service offering, and PTC is proud to align itself with leading global brands that are poised to win in the new competitive era by achieving product and service advantage.”
Commentary By Jeffrey Rowe, Editor
Along with about 2,000 other attendees, we just returned from PlanetPTC Live 2012.
It was a good conference with a different “vibe” than in past years – more confident, forthcoming, and upbeat. I don’t know if it was the recent management changes that made the difference, but it was evident that the era of the “new PTC” has begun.
(more…)
No Comments »
Friday, June 1st, 2012
The privately funded and developed SpaceX Dragon just returned from a flight that was successful from start to finish. The SpaceX Dragon capsule parachuted into the Pacific on May 31, 2012 to conclude the first private delivery to the International Space Station and ring in a new era for NASA’s approach to space exploration.
SpaceX’s CEO/CTO, Elon Musk, said “Welcome home, baby,” and was said to be a bit surprised with the SpaceX Dragon’s triumphant mission.
After its initial success, the primary goal for SpaceX will be to repeat the success on future flights.
Because the unmanned supply ship’s arrival was so accurate, when it splashed down, a fleet of recovery ships was able to quickly move in to pull the capsule aboard a barge for towing to Los Angeles.
It was the first time since the shuttles stopped flying last summer that NASA got a sizable load returned from the space station – more than half a ton of experiments and equipment.
The arrival of the world’s first commercial cargo carrier concluded a nine-day test flight that was virtually flawless, beginning with the May 22, 2012 launch aboard the SpaceX company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, continuing with the space station docking three days later, and departure six hours before landing in the ocean.
SpaceX attributes a large part of its design and engineering success to CAD, CAM, and CAE software, including Fibersim from Siemens PLM Software for composite material design and engineering.
According to Chris Thompson, Vice President of Structures Engineering at SpaceX, “Time is always of the essence for us, so Fibersim’s proven ability to take us from art to part so rapidly was a critical consideration in our decision to purchase the software. Fibersim improves product quality by providing accurate engineering information to the manufacturing floor, which also helps the repeatability of the manufacturing process.” The repeatability of the manufacturing process is vital for repeated success of the space platform.
Adopting Advanced Composite Materials
For more than 50 years, commercial access to space has been limited by the high cost of flight operations. However, Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) has rewritten the rules of the game by adopting a new business model and cutting edge technologies to enhance reliability and reduce the cost of space access.
One significant way SpaceX enhanced the performance of its Falcon rocket and Dragon capsule was by adopting composite materials. Composites have received growing acceptance in a variety of industries, including aerospace, and the space industry has taken note. SpaceX was no exception. The design team recognized that composites could significantly enhance performance by improving the strength-to-weight ratio of the materials used to construct its spacecraft.
Once that decision was made, SpaceX conducted an evaluation of available composites engineering solutions and concluded that Siemens PLM Software’s Fibersim software was the best fit for its design and manufacturing environment.
“Based on our comparison, there was no question that Fibersim was definitely the best choice on the market for designing and manufacturing composite components to suit our needs,” said Kirk Matthes, SpaceX’s design manager.
SpaceX’s business model is derived from the philosophy that simplicity, so low-cost and reliability can go hand in hand. By eliminating the traditional layers of management and subcontractors, the company reduced costs while speeding decision making and delivery. Likewise, by keeping the vast majority of manufacturing in-house, SpaceX reduced costs, kept tighter control of quality, and ensured a tight feedback loop between the design and manufacturing teams. By concentrating on simple, proven designs with a primary focus on reliability, the company has reduced the costs associated with complex systems operating at the margin. Fibersim has proven very valuable within that design/engineering paradigm.
SpaceX used Fibersim to design and manufacture a variety of composite parts on both the Falcon rocket and the Dragon capsule. Fibersim was used to develop production fiber placement diagrams and laser projection files. It was also used to assist with actual fiber placement for the spacecraft’s thermal protection system, including the heat shield, exterior panels, insulating layers on the rocket and spacecraft, and several panels around the nose cone and engines.
Fibersim is now being employed from the outset on all new composites projects and has enabled SpaceX to reduce the design-to-manufacturing time on composite parts, such as the 5-meter fairing boattail panel by 71 percent, from seven days to two days. For other designs, the generation of manufacturing data was reduced by as much as 86 percent, from seven days to one day, using Fibersim. These time savings mean that changes are processed more quickly, designs are updated more reliably, and the overall process flows more smoothly.
SpaceX has used Fibersim to perform a variety of tasks, including creating designs, making flat patterns, working in conjunction with its finite element analysis (FEA) software, and creating laser data.
Strong Support From Siemens
As a newcomer to composites, SpaceX was also concerned about finding a software vendor that had significant composites experience so it could receive the necessary guidance and support as it embarked on working with new materials.
“Siemens PLM Software’s support is excellent,” said Matthes. “Anytime we have a problem, we can send a model to the Siemens PLM Software’s technical consultant and he helps us get through the issue. Again, as a fast-paced organization, we must continually be moving forward, and Siemens PLM Software’s responsiveness and expertise enables us to do just that.”
Siemens PLM Software also embeds the know-how derived from its years of experience in the composites industry to provide intuitive, easy-to-use features for the design of a variety of composite structures. This is integrated into the software, speeds learning time, and makes the learning experience for new users more effective. This also aids in training new users who may not have experience in designing with composite materials.
Since most of the composite parts are not especially complicated, the Fibersim Composites Engineering Environment (CEE) has proven to be sufficient. However, certain sections of the launch vehicle are characterized by complex curvature, so SpaceX opted for Siemens PLM Software’s Advanced Composites Engineering Environment (ACEE) to design those parts. ACEE exploits the inherent advantages of many different composite design methodologies –including structure-based, zone-based, and ply-based design — to enable efficient engineering of large, complex structural components and highly contoured composite skins.
Most importantly, it helps to address the changes that inevitably occur while developing a composite structure. Based upon inputs from analysis, manufacturing or further iterations of the design, the definition evolves to its final state. This can require frequent updates and changes, which are time-consuming without software created specifically for this process. ACEE is designed to meet this challenge and create a more straightforward process for managing design changes.
“ACEE provided a significant boost to our efforts to define or import laminate specifications and requirements quickly using a zone-based design methodology,” explained Matthes. “It helped speed ply definition by dynamically generating zone transitions and ply boundaries using an offset profile.”
The ability to accelerate the process and make it more accurate enables SpaceX to proceed with high speed and quality, as well set new standards for designing and manufacturing composite spacecraft both now and in the future.
As a kid who grew up during NASA’s heyday in the 60s and 70s and the more recent hiatus, I’m now very encouraged about the future of space exploration – due in large part to private enterprise — and I applaud the efforts of SpaceX. I hope SpaceX’s accomplishment ushers in a new wave of engineers, scientists, and entrepreneurial companies who will take advantage of this great opportunity.
Tags: ACEE, CEE, composites, Dragon, Elon Musk, Fibersim, Siemens PLM Software, SpaceX, Vistagy
1 Comment »
Monday, May 21st, 2012
This week we are attending the Collaboration & Interoperability Congress (CIC) 2012. CIC is a unique independent vendor/technology/product-neutral event that addresses collaboration and interoperability in manufacturing and business processes. The event seems particularly well attended this year and represents by a wide range of industries and standards bodies.
One notable absence, however, was any representation from the JT camp — Siemens PLM Software. I would have thought that JT would take advantage of an event such as CIC to showcase and grandstand the data format. With no real presence, what are we to think? Is JT really as ubiquitous and pervasive as we have been led to believe? Maybe yes, maybe no. Admittedly, JT has its own conference this coming fall, but when just about every other interoperability technology provider shows up, why not JT? On the other hand, an organization that had a major presence was the relatively new 3DPDF Consortium.
CIC is an interesting conference because collaboration and interoperability are undergoing huge changes, due in large part to clould-based computing, storage, and software as service. Will the cloud be used exclusively tomorrow? Probably not, but over time it will be increasingly used as a primary digital data creation and management platform. In any case, interoperability in the cloud will become a bigger and bigger issue with great challenges, but also great opportunities.
An interesting session on the first day of the Congress discussed the following lightweight 3D formats:
Free viewers are largely what differentiate the above formats, but it was made clear that there is no such thing as a free viewer due to implementation and IP protection/security costs.
The 3D PDF format really got a lot of attention, at least during the first day of the Congress. It seems the reasons for this are the industrial strength tools available for 3D PDF, excellent user acceptance, and the fact that PDF is a widely recognized ISO standard (ISO 32000).
In the coming weeks, we’ll detail the advantages and disadvantages of each of the lightweight formats because they definitely have each.
As its central theme, CIC drives home the point that like living creatures and technologies, when it comes to evolution, it’s not necessarily the strongest or brightest that survive, it’s those who are the most adaptable. I think this will prove true and apply to collaboration and interoperability going forward.
Tags: 3DPDF, 3DXML, collaboration, interoperability, JT, STEP
3 Comments »
Monday, May 21st, 2012
ASCON Group, developer and integrator of professional MCAD and PLM solutions, announced that it is making public its proprietary geometry kernel C3D as the foundation for creating computer-aided design systems and applications. The kernel is also well suited for designing computer-aided engineering (CAE) software, computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) programs for CNC machines, and modeling of engineering processes for product lifecycle management (PLM).
Development of the geometric kernel began in 1995, and then in 2000 ASCON released KOMPAS-3D v5.9, the first computer-aided design software system based on its C3D. Since then, the company has updated the kernel, and is now launching it as a separate product for the CAD component market. It handles all aspects of a CAD system: 2D drawing and sketching, 3D hybrid and solid modeling, parametric constraints, and translation.
“The decision to open access to our technology was the next logical step in our on-going development of the geometric kernel,” said Maxim Bogdanov, CEO of ASCON. “We are confident in the quality of C3D. For more than a decade, it has been the basis of our own line of successful CAD/CAM software.
“We see great prospects for its use, as new players appear on the market needing components for their CAD systems,” he added. “Standard 2D systems will inevitably switch to 3D, and consequently require a fundamental change to the core of the systems — or else find a replacement. The CAD component market is changing, and so there is a place for a Russian company with 17 years experience in geometric kernel development, and whose mathematical quality is recognized throughout the world.”
The main feature of ASCON kernel is that it is complete. The core of C3D combines everything necessary for the development of application solutions, as follows:
C3D Modeler is the geometric modeler with functions for 3D solid and hybrid modeling, sketching, and 2D drawing
C3D Solver is the parametric constraints solver with functions for creating and solving parametric constraints on 2D and 3D geometry
C3D Converter is the translator module that reads and writes geometric models in all primary exchange formats
Potential users for the C3D kernel are developers of CAD, CAM, and CAE systems and related applications requiring the processing of 3D models and 2D graphics. Among them are large industrial companies who often create software for internal use. Third-party developers can use the ASCON kernel to extend functions and abilities, increase performance and reliability, quickly create 3D modelers based on existing 2D systems, and reduce cost of development of their products.
Even before C3D was released officially, an early tester was already putting it to real-world use. “We were among the first to work with ASCON’s geometric modeling kernel,” explained Andrew Lovygin, CEO of LO CNITI and the official distributor of Esprit CAM in Russia. “In just four months, we embedded a full 3D solid modeler in our CAM system. Our choice of C3D was driven by ASCON’s flexible pricing policy and quality technical support. I am confident that ASCON will achieve excellent results with its kernel on the international market.”
C3D was first announced in April at the Congress On the Future of Engineering Software (COFES). C3D kernel is available now for limited licensing based on individual requests. Full access will be opened in January, 2013.
Commentary By Jeffrey Rowe, Editor
When you think of geometric modeling kernels, does anything immediately come to mind? For most of us who have been long enough, the ones probably at the forefront are ACIS and CGM (owned by Spatial Corp., a part of Dassault Systemes) and Parasolid (owned by Siemens PLM Software). Now, though, ASCON has entered the arena.
There was a time when geometric modeling kernels were the keystones of the MCAD industry. Most CAD vendors then relied, at least to some degree, and licensed them as engines for making their software applications go. While newly developed and released kernels were a good thing, some CAD developers felt that they were held hostage by the release cycles of their geometric kernel developers.
(more…)
No Comments »
Tuesday, May 15th, 2012
Wohlers Associates just published Wohlers Report 2012, an in-depth analysis of additive manufacturing (AM) and 3D printing worldwide. This new edition marks the 17th consecutive year of its publication. I can attest that the Report is the most thorough and comprehensive document of its kind.
Wohlers Report 2012 covers all aspects of additive manufacturing, including its history, applications, processes, manufacturers, and materials. It documents pertinent developments in the past year, covers R&D and collaboration activities in government, academia, and industry, and summarizes the state of the industry in countries around the world. It also tracks the extraordinary growth of personal 3D printers—machines priced under $5,000, with the majority in the $1,000 to $2,000 range.
The information is used to track industry growth, provide views and perspective, uncover trends, and offer insight into the future of additive manufacturing. “The 2012 edition is the most ambitious effort in the report’s history,” said Terry Wohlers, president of Wohlers Associates and a principal author of the new report. Major new parts on applications, materials and processes, and front- and back-end considerations were added. The final part of the report concludes withtrends that are expected to shape the future of the technology and industry.
Additive manufacturing is the process of joining materials to make objects from 3D model data, usually layer upon layer, as opposed to subtractive manufacturing methodologies. Additive manufacturing is used to build physical models, prototypes, patterns, tooling components, and production parts in plastic, metal, and composite materials. AM systems use thin, horizontal cross sections from computer-aided design (CAD) models, 3D-scanning systems, medical scanners, and video games to produce parts that can be difficult or impossible to produce any other way.
The report sells for $495 worldwide and is available in PDF form. The report’s table of contents, as well as additional information on the market and industry, are available at wohlersassociates.com.
I’ve known Terry Wohlers for many years and consider Wohlers Report THE source of timely and comprehensive information for additive manufacturing. I don’t recommend many books, but highly recommend this one for anyone who wants to get accurate in-depth information on AM.
Tags: 3D printing, 3D scanning, additive manufacturing, AM, CAD, Wohlers
No Comments »
Tuesday, May 8th, 2012
Dassault Systèmes announced its intent to acquire geological modeling and simulation company Gemcom Software International (Gemcom) for approximately US$360 million. Privately-held Gemcom is the world leader in mining industry software solutions, headquartered in Vancouver.
“With the acquisition of Gemcom, coupled with our 3D Experience platform capabilities, our objective is to model and simulate our planet, improving predictability, efficiency, safety and sustainability within the Natural Resources industry and beyond,” said Bernard Charlès, President and CEO, Dassault Systèmes. “To support this ambitious goal, we have created a new brand, GEOVIA. Raw material provisioning and long term resource availability is a major concern for society. Today’s announcement is a significant step towards fulfilling our purpose of providing 3D experiences for imagining sustainable innovations to harmonize products, nature and life.”
(more…)
No Comments »
Thursday, May 3rd, 2012
I recently read some encouraging news from CIMdata contained in its soon-to-be-published Version 21 of the CIMdata NC Market Analysis Report. They estimate, that based on end-user payments, the worldwide NC software and related services market grew by 14.4% in 2011. The estimated end-user payments grew from $1.333 billion in 2010 to $1.525 billion in 2011. The market growth rate in 2011 reflects strong overall PLM spending, continuing the recovery from the downturn in the global economy that manifested itself in dramatically higher machine tool sales into the manufacturing industry. Estimates are that worldwide shipments of machine tools increased by 35% from 2010 to 2011, which is directly related to the volume of CAM software employed to drive these tools. CIMdata projects that in 2012 growth in manufacturing will continue and end-user payments for NC software will increase by 12.4% to $1.714 billion.
Since 2002, the NC software market has shown modest but steady growth as global economies generally improved. There has been worldwide growth in the sale of machine tools and manufacturing output; greater emphasis has been placed on the efficient operation of machine tools as manufacturing firms have strengthened their competitive positions, and the overall PLM market, of which CAM software is a component, has continued on a strong growth path during this period. CAM software purchases are related to all of these factors—particularly machine tool sales.
Alan Christman, CIMdata’s Chairman and author of the NC Market Analysis Report said, “2011 was an excellent year for manufacturers and most providers of NC software. Most firms saw good growth in 2011, and CIMdata expects this growth to continue in 2012 and beyond. The continued strength and growing importance of global manufacturing powers like China and other emerging economies should result in increased investment in advanced technologies like CAD, CAM, and other segments of the overall PLM market. We have seen moves documented in the popular press to bring manufacturing back to the US, which will require still more investment in advanced manufacturing technologies to be competitive with economies with lower labor costs. The next few years should continue to be strong for NC and the broader PLM market.”
This is good news for not only the NC software market, because since 2009, when all engineering/technical software sales sucked, most manufacturing software sectors are today experiencing and enjoying a resurgence in sales. So, is engineering software for manufacturing really emerging from the depths of despair of just a couple of years ago? I’d have to say, yes. Not only are sales stronger, but a number of software vendors have socked enough cash away to make a number of notable acquisitions, making them stronger. Sales aren’t like the “old days” yet, but indicators are definitely moving in a positive direction.
Tags: CAD, CAM, CIMdata, NC, PLM
1 Comment »
|
