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Issue #617 | October 6, 2009 | English Edition
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In This Issue
1. The upFront.eZine Tour of Russia
Part III: "The Future of MCAD" Roundtable Q&A (last week; available in Russian at isicad.ru/ru/articles.php?article_num=13334)
Part IV: Top Systems (T-flex)
- History Lesson
- Sales in USA and Russia
- The T-FLEX Demo
Part V: Autodesk CIS (next week)
2. Out of the Inbox, and our other regular columns
[Disclosure: Some of the firms mention in the "The upFront.eZine Tour of Russia" provided assistance with the airfare, accommodation, ground transportation, and meals.]
The upFront.eZine Tour of Russia
Part IV: Top Systems (T-flex)
Location: Moscow, Russia
Time Stamp: Wed 09 Sep 2009 10:12:16 AM MSD
(This article also available in Russian at isicad.ru/ru/articles.php?article_num=13350)
Sergey Bikulov is the executive officer at Top Systems and he spent an hour describing to me the history of his company and its line of software. T-FLEX (first called TopCAD) is a complete parametric MCAD system, with adaptive components, surfacing, and history-retained direct editing. It does mold design, finite element analysis, weldments, motion simulation, detailing, and BOMs. Express Analysis at no extra cost.
The company also offers:
64-bit version of T-FLEX parametric software.
(Click image for full-size illustration)
History Lesson
Most of the executives of Top Systems graduated together from the same technical university in 1988. They were all fond of math, engineering, and computer science. They came across a future customer who was unhappy with the British drafting system being employed, and asked the grads if they could write a better one. After many sleepless nights, they delivered a CAD program, which made them realize that there could more customers than just the original one.
Following that project, they looked around, noticed AutoCAD on the PC, and figured they could do better. Since they heard that AutoCAD had been developed by a small team, they thought they could do something similar with the five of them. The problem was that computers of the time were too low in memory, had weak graphics, and immature programming libraries. Because there was nothing to license, they developed all their software from scratch: graphics libraries, math libraries, and CAD software.
It was a difficult time, since the programming effort was made poor students. For the first two years, they ran on enthusiasm; there was never an outside investor. In 1992, Top Systems was formed, and sales began. The company now has 60 employees. They feel that the small size makes them more flexible than larger competitors, and so can survive problems more easily -- such as the current recession which has hit Russia harder than most countries.
From the beginning, Top Systems did not want to be a clone or to duplicate functions, ceo and co-founder Sergey Kuraksin told me, because he understood that this approach would always place them behind the competition. And so although the first CAD program was just 2D, the group decided to develop it differently: from the start, it was parametric.
In 1995, they understood that the world was moving to 3D, and so they developed their own 3D kernel. But then they realized that writing, updating, and debugging their own kernel took up too many resources. They found that the ACIS kernel from Spatial did many of the same things as their own, so they licensed it from Spatial.
By late 1990s, however, they began to notice failings in the ACIS kernel, the biggest problem of which was how it did not properly generate projections (creating 2D views from 3D models). They checked out SolidWorks with its ParaSolids kernel, and then made the switch. It may well be that ACIS now does projections correctly, Mr Bikulov surmised, but ParaSolid has proven to be reliable over the last decade. (He added that no other Russian CAD package uses ParaSolid.) As an aside, he noted that ParaSolid is adding lots of functions to support direct editing.
Nearly all other parametric CAD packages license technology from D-cubed, but T-FLEX uses its own system. At first glance, customers typically fail to see the same things they are used to seeing in D-cubed-based software, and so it can take a week or two to understand the advantage of the T-FLEX difference. The drawback to being different is that it can be more difficult to initially to sell their product.
Since Top Systems is not great at marketing, its primary sales tool is its technological advantage. They show potential customers what can be done better; as former mechanical engineers turned programmers they understand what customers need.
Sales in USA and Russia
With the help of Richard Price of Martin Sales International, they broke into the US market in the mid 1990s. Certain customers saw the benefit of parametrics early on, which was not available in any other 2D program at the time. (Even today, 20% of CAD sales continue to be for their 2D software, because the machinery sector uses 2D drawings.) From a press release dated July, 2000: “Complex parametric designs are more popular in Russia than in the west. I can't give you a definitive answer why, but the mentality of a great parametric designer is similar to the mentality of a great chess player, planning many moves ahead.
Four years ago, they launched in the European market through partners with German, Italian, Polish, and Czech versions. (The English version is used in Turkey.)
In 2000, however, the American distributor changed direction and so dropped T-FLEX. But post-Soviet Russia is a land of pure capitalism; everyone competes hard to fill the technological gap. Russian factories began understanding the need to automate. Until then, they were "empty" (had no CAD), which made it easier for T-Flex, for they did not need to displace existing CAD/CAM systems -- the problem they face in foreign markets. They now have thousands of customers in all kinds of industries, who provide them with the references needed to land new customers.
A company with money and that wants to automate is like "fresh meat" for Russian and foreign CAD vendors wanting the contract, This is where references become important. References in Russia help managers come to decisions on how to automate 300 work stations. Managers are even known to travel to other cities (despite the difficulty of traveling long distances in Russia) to see if a specific CAD implementation truly worked out for another firm.
Top Systems noticed one problem in selling software that increases productivity: it makes jobs unnecessary. The engineers who facing losing their jobs make sure they point out to managers how the new software won't work for the company!
The have found that simply selling pure CAD does not work; customers want to automate as much as they can using the entire smorgasbord of CAD, CAM, FEA, automated teamwork, and PDM. A documentation system is as important as CAD, for which Top Systems has DOCs. (The most release of DOCs was a rewrite from scratch over the last two years.) It can be the heart of factory automation, of which CAD is just one supporting actor. DOCs is crucial to compete against the likes of PTC and Dassault, who tell customers "We can give you all the software you need." The .NET-based API of Top Systems' software allows customers to create their own design system and own interface.
Much of the non-CAD software sold by Top Systems is specific to the Russian market with its unique machines and standards. This gives Russian CAD companies an advantage over foreigners. But Top Systems is frustrated that foreign vendors sometimes add features that no one uses, such as rendered views in 2D drawings -- something that is not defined by Russian standards. Customers then ask if T-FLEX can do it, and so the programmers have to add it just to keep up with the checklist requests. They would rather spend their time on solving real problems, like generating good cross-section views of threaded junctions.
Also frustrating: Top Systems thinks a of new feature, adds it, and then finds competitors copying them. For example, T-FLEX had multi-bodies from the beginning; it could subtract anything from anything. The body and inserted parts could be edited directly.
Sometimes, however, customers requests just won't work, such as sectioning a thousand parts at once in a very short time. Fortunately, 64-bit CPUs help with models that have thousands of parts; the old 2GB-per-app limit was too limiting.
The T-FLEX Demo
The parametrics in T-FLEX does not solve systems of equations, as do those from Ledas and D-cubed. This means that T-FLEX drawings can have thousands of parametrics. Technical director Sergey Kozlov showed me how sketches generate parametrics automatically. There are no dimensions or geometrical constraints -- T-FLEX drawings consist of just geometric construction. For instance, dragging one object resizes the rest of the model appropriately.
Mr Bikulov jumped in to admit that not everyone can use T-FLEX right away, because they have to think about how to apply it. Because the MCAD system is so different, typically it takes one-two weeks to like T-FLEX. A typical reaction after five minutes is, "I don't like it because it doesn't work like SolidWorks.”
But as customers get used to it, they begin to appreciate its power. Everything in T-Flex is a parameter, including text, line thickness, color, materials, part names. And you can add logic to parameters, such as relationships between objects, and assign variables to entities. Variables can be imported and exported to create parametric models that change from spreadsheets. A drawing can contain millions of entities, since there is no solving going on. A single command, Relations, displays tags showing all relations, which can then be edited.
However, Top Systems did add dimensional constraints, such as those new to AutoCAD 2010. But not the quadruple-form employed by AutoCAD (dynamic, annotational, reference, and parametric), and – here is the important part – they are completely optional, unlike software based on D-Cubed libraries.
Users can create their own user interfaces within T-Flex, kind of like the VBA dialog box designer. Macros are written in C#. By making variables external, customers can create their own libraries: save to disk or drag into another drawing. T-FLEX does not need to create separate file for every bolt. Configurations are not needed for parametrics, as SolidWorks requires. Even the hole command can be customized by the user, because the hole interface is designed in T-FLEX; things like counterbore and angle are controlled by an mdb file (SQL) that can include error checking.
T-FLEX CAD imports 2D and 3D AutoCAD, SolidWorks, Solid Edge, Inventor, and Rhino directly as well as general formats such as IGES, STEP, and Parasolid.
3D is the same way. Any set of of 2D entities can be used to create 3D profiles. Click a face to create a workplane, and then create another profile. You can generate 3D/2D drawings from any part. A single button generates the drawings, which remain parametric.
T-FLEX has optimizing functions, which work like engineering calculators. For example, given a belt with a length of 1000mm, you can reposition and resize rollers within a range of angles. Same goes for FEA: fix certain parameters while varying others. I was shown a 3D clutch assembly controlled by a dozen parameters. Preset buttons let me assign selected groups of parameters, as well as show and hide parts.
You can define connectors for quickly mating insert parts. T-FLEX looks for junctions and then resizes automatically in 2D and 3D.
Geometry can control geometry; Top Systems calls it "adaptive fragments." A fragment can be a part, a feature, a title block (just another parametric drawing with parameters linked to BOM), or the entire model. For example, you can add parametric grooves (taken from another file) to a shaft. Or in 3D, for example, put a bolt in a hole; change the bolt or hole, and each adapts to the changed sizes. (There is no need to set the diameters in a dialog box, and no need to define mates, because T-FLEX uses local-coordinate-system positioning, creating mates automatically.) Mates are available for complex designs, like moving parts and multiple fixed points. You can predefine degrees of freedom (rotation and translation along 3 axis) in the fragment, so that there is no need to apply DOF after the part is added to the assembly.
A no-charge, unlimited-usage T-FLEX CAD Student Edition can be downloaded from www.tflex.com/student.
Top Systems
Head office: Moscow, Russia
Founded: 1992
Ownership: Private
Employees: 60+
Annual revenues: Not stated
Primary software: T-FLEX 3D mid-range parametric mechanical CAD
Base price: e2,500 (about US$3,750); price varies by country.
Additional software available: CAM, CAE, FEA, and EDM/PDM
Commercial users: 9,000+
Out of the Inbox
SYCODE lets AutoCAD 2000-2010 import 2D data from Pro/E, NX, and CATIA V4/V5 files. The company plans to release importers for 3D part/assembly files, as well as exporters from AutocAD. Price is US$1,495 each. www.sycode.com
Bunkspeed's HyperShot ’10 has a redesigned user interface, and more realistic looks to finishes of material definitions. No-charge trial from http://www.bunkspeed.com/hypershot
IGE+XAO Group launches its SEE Electrical software for the US market in three versions, Basic, Standard, and Advanced. It is intended for small and medium enterprises who design and maintain electrical installations. www.ige-xao.us
mental images (owned by nVidia) introduces iray, the first rendering software that is fully GPU accelerated, runnign with nVidia's GPUs, naturally. [What is it with rendering software copying each other in using lower-case names -- mental ray, mental images, iray, 3d max, et al.] It works with the mental ray technology employed by software from Autodesk, Dassault Systemes and Parametric Technology. www.mentalimages.com/iray
Viewpoint Construction Software releases v6.2.0 its Viewpoint software for construction contractors. www.viewpointcs.com
Alibre ships Alibre Design 12.0 with new selection tools, icon previews in Windows Explorer, and lofted sheet metal tools. Alibre Translate is included at no extra cost (previously $499). Demo from www.alibre.com
And CAD Schroer Group launches an eSERVICES platform for users of the free MEDUSA4 Personal 2D/3D CAD software with a new licensing concept. The software restricts drawings to non-commercial use, and so this online service converts drawings into PDF (e2.99 each) or DXF (e4.99 each) files automatically , removing watermarks and granting the license for commercial use. http://eservices.cad-schroer.com/index.php?&ref=pr0908_eserv
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These were some of the news items posted during the last week at the WorldCAD Access blog <worldcadaccess.typepad.com>:
And at the Gizmos Grabowski weblog <worldcadaccess.typepad.com/gizmos>:
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[621]
Redo
In "The Future of MCAD" Roundtable Q&A", the statement beginning with "Putin's challenge is to improve productivity..." was made by the representative of Seimens PLM Systems, not Dassasult Systemes, according to a review of the audio recording.
WorthWhile Web
http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/techbeat/archives/2009/10/matt_cutts_goog.html
"Matt Cutts: How Google Deals With Web Spam"
by Rob Hof
Spin Doctor of the Moment
"Hopefully we can create a brand new market of multiple billions of users of computing devices spread out all over the globe, all over the Internet."
- Jen-Hsun Huang, ceo, nVidia
www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idCNN3024461120091001?rpc=44
Notable Quotable
"It was the best of ideas. It was the worst of ideas. It was the age of innovation. It was the age of stagnation. It was the epoch of developing a bold new computing platform. It was the epoch of churning out another piece of converged electronics nobody needs."
-Ross Rubin, Switched On
http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/22/switched-on-a-tale-of-two-tablets/
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