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Issue #433 : : May 31, 2005 |
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C o n t e n t s Dassault Releases V15 Autodesk Buy ANSYS? Na Under the Radar and other
regular columns. |
Write the Editor. Donate to upFront.eZine with Paypal. Access nearly-daily CAD commentary at our blog: WorldCAD Access.
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Dassault Systèmes (and its marketing partner, IBM) did a low-key announcement last week of release 15 for their CATIA V5 CAD software. In the biz, the software is known as "V5R15" -- that's short for version 5, release 15. That may look odd to most of us, but the nomenclature is to differentiate it from CATIA V4, the earlier CAD package that's very different from CATIA V5. So different, in fact, that numerous firms never switched to V5. Dassault does coordinated releases, so ENOVIA, SMARTEAM, and DELMIA were also updated to R15. The #1 feature is the 3DXML file format and viewer. Other features include: improved VPM Navigator; 2D layout for 3D design; new change management capability; pre-defined databases for manufacturing process planning; DELMIA–Arc Welding; extended AIX 64-bit support; and more. www.3ds.com/V5R15 A tech writer asked me last week to comment on the possibility of Autodesk buying ANSYS. (ANSYS produces finite element analysis software that checks how well products designed by CAD withstand stress.) The question came up after arch-competitor Dassault acquired ABAQUS for US$413 million. ABAQUS is another company that makes software for simulation and analysis, but not the first for Dassault. Back in 2001, Dassault bought out SRAC and its COSMOS design analysis software for $22 million. COSMOSXpress, a lite version, is included with SolidWorks; Inventor Professional includes a version of ANSYS. Hence the question. During Autodesk's Q1 conference call, an analyst asked the same question, getting a neutral answer in return: "We have an analysis partner [ANSYS]. Quite frankly, we don't know why they [Dassault] did it." True enough: If Dassault already has COSMOS, why buy ABAQUS? Back to the question. Autodesk will not buy ANSYS, because Autodesk is concentrating on snapping up smaller companies in order to acquire their regionalized or advanced technology. Recent examples include c-plan ($18 million), Colorfont (unpriced), and Compass ($22 million). Autodesk's most expensive CAD purchase ever was Revit for $133 million, which gives us an idea of their upper limit. (The non-CAD Discreet division was purchased for $400 million.) Autodesk will not buy ANSYS, because with a market value of $1 billion, it is too expensive. A summary of CAD industry news you may not have read elsewhere, or that I found interesting: - - - Slick! for Windows v8.5 (US$195) performs batch conversions of AutoCAD drawings, HPGL plot files, and supported raster files to Acrobat PDF at all standard paper sizes up to E/A0. www.slickwin.com LMS introduces Virtual.Lab Structures. The press release, unfortunately, doesn't really say what the software is for, other than some (any?) form of FEA [finite element analysis]. www.lmsintl.com solidThinking 6.5 from EVOQE ships for Windows and Mac OS X in mid-June. The software performs fully parametric Class A surface and solid modeling with built-in photorealistic and artistic rendering. It is meant for industrial design. www.solidthinking.com Raindrop Geomagic says its Geomagic Studio 8 reduces NURBS surfacing time by as much as 80%. http://www.geomagic.com PTC continues its monthly half-price specials. This time it's Pro/ENGINEER plus Structural and Thermal Simulation for US$4,995. Trix Systems ships TracTrix v5 (US$695), software that converts scanned drawings and photos to CAD and vector formats. The new release converts AutoCAD files to raster and PDF for easy review by non-CAD folks. www.trixsystems.com/tractrix.html Informative Graphics' Brava! Enterprise v5.2 now supports PDF output. www.infograph.com [Everyone's adding PDF export!] MicroSurvey Software builds its MicroSurvey CAD 2005 software on top of IntelliCAD 6.0. www.microsurvey.com Quantm [yes, that's the correct spelling] develops route optimization software for planning roads and railways. www.quantm.net And Kubotek USA introduces Kubotek Spectrum, a free software viewer for Pro/ENGINEER, UG, CATIA, SolidWorks, Inventor and AutoCAD, KeyCreator and CADKEY, and more. www.kubotekusa.com/products/spectrum - - - And these news items were posted during the last week at our WorldCAD Access blog <worldcadaccess.typepad.com>:
And on the Gizmos Grabowski weblog < http://worldcadaccess.typepad.com/gizmos/ >
Hardware News BOXX Technologies has Intel's Pentium D dual-core CPUs in its new 4400 series of workstations. With two independently-executing CPUs, multi-threaded apps from Autodesk Media and Entertainment are supposed to run better. www.boxxtech.com People/Companies on the Move Sara Strebe leaves @Last Software after five years there, becoming a business start-up and marketing consultant <sstrebe@yahoo.com>. Bentley Systems acquires Optram of Massachusetts USA, which makes software for railway track maintenance. Price was not announced. Also, Bentley will be distributing RAM International's structural design software. Redo "Thanks for the quote, but I haven't been with Synaps for
over two years. Besides, Synaps doesn't exist anymore, having been
gobbled up by one its competitors. Rather, I've been in Minneapolis,
building SMB Automation, a company that specializes in automating
the business processes of small- to medium-sized service businesses
in property management, facilities, and construction. Sort of 'SAP
for the common man (and woman.)'" The editor replies: "See what happens when I rely on Google for research." Market News AVEVA gross revenue increased 51% to US$108 million; gross profits increased 60% to $20.1 million. Letters to the Editor Re: Why CAD Will Never Be Open-Source "Consider that the Open Design Alliance has 16 fulltime people working on just our DWG libraries. CAD development is not the realm of hobbyists. "We need to pay for those 16 programmers. So commercial software companies (about 500 of them) pay to use our software. In almost all cases, they're happy to pay their share of development costs in exchange for getting a more reliable and capable product. "Of course, we sometimes have people ask why, with the word 'Open' in our name, we're not open-source. The answer is that open doesn't imply open-source. Nor does open imply free (as in free beer.) "I suspect that if an open-source CAD project ever does
take off, it'll be based on SVG, not DWG."
Re: CEOs Don't Blog "A counter example: Bob Parsons, CEO of GoDaddy.com, www.bobparsons.com "
"I read a local newspaper article about student athletes spending far more of their time playing in traveling leagues, regular leagues, special tournaments -- to the point that coaches and parents were beginning to wonder if the students spent any time learning and practicing the fundamentals of their sport. Then I find myself reading your article on blogging. "It got me thinking: how often have I read a blog that was rife with succinct analysis, articulate detail or a rational coherent argument? Rarely. It's more like the 'F' in Strawberries. "Some time ago, I replied to an upFront article about the ability to automatically produce 3D CAD files. My general comment was that the creation of tools to simplify that process was not a guarantee of better design; it was a guarantee of only one thing: more design. The likelihood of producing elegant and detailed (in 3D!) rubbish is geometrically expanded. "Genius is not a fixed percentage of the population; it's truly original. More rubbish does not equate to more genius. Blogs are another tool that permit the dedicated egocentrics (I'm writing this, so yes I qualify) among us to spend more time trying play the game without ever practicing the fundamentals. "If you are really looking for an area of the untapped 'blogononmy' (my term for the intellectual capitol available to be published as blogs) then seek retirees. In this particular instance, retired CEOs. They have more flexibility (no boardroom approval required) to discuss the theories that they applied to their businesses. Their career records will either illustrate the point or its counter. "Let the pre-retirement kids continue practicing the game. Once they begin to blog, they have to lock themselves into a theory and defend it vigorously. If they deviate -- whoa! They are admitting fallibility and poor decision-making, something that corporations cannot tolerate (the ADMISSION of, not the actual poor decision). "Blogging by active employees, then, is not a communication
tool, it's a competency test whose results linger for years. No
employee left behind! Who needs that everyday." The editor replies: "Good ideas. I think blogs are following the typical curve, such as occurred with Web sites. Everyone 'had' to have a Web site five years ago. Fifteen years ago every 'had' to have desktop publishing."
Re: BE Conference "Is a possible reason you had so little on the Bentley Conference
is because you didn't go this year? This is AEC's second largest
platform, number one in many disciplines, and I saw a blip here
and a blurb there in your column, and maybe a thing or two in your
blog. A little disappointing." The editor replies: "Your guess is correct. This year and last, Bentley didn't offer to cover expenses, and I cannot afford the $1,500 or so it would cost to attend."
Re: Tenth Anniversary "Congrats on the 10-year marker. Best wishes for eZine longevity!
I always walk away from your eRag with a handful of 'musements." The editor replies: "Sometimes it feels like it's been 100 years."
"Congratulations also, but are those counted in Canadian
years? Don't you have to multiply by 5/8 and add 32 to come up with
real years?" The editor replies: "Either that, or divide by 1.6. Or perhaps 2.54."
Spin Doctor of the Moment "Stocks May be Mixed." Notable Quotable "The job of art is to chase ugliness away... But you see
ugly objects in the workplace. Everywhere. And these [Apple] people
are making beautiful objects."
Copyright 2005 by upFront.eZine Publishing, Ltd. All rights reserved worldwide Article reprint fee US$250.00.
All trademarks belong to their respective holders. "upFront.eZine,"
"Talking About CAD," and "On your desktop every Tuesday morning"
are trademarks of upFront.eZinePublishing, Ltd. |
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