CONCORD, MA – 14 March 2007 – SpaceClaim Corporation today announced the launch of its flagship product, SpaceClaim Professional 2007. SpaceClaim bridges the gap between designers and those in the extended product development team-such as suppliers, manufacturing engineers, analysis engineers, and engineering management-who lack access or time to master the designers’ 3D CAD system. To date, the benefits of 3D have remained concentrated in the hands of dedicated CAD specialists. As a result, the people who contribute to design conceptualization, review, analysis, and manufacturing communicate with the design team through insufficient view-only file formats or, even, paper.
With SpaceClaim the extended team can work directly with the 3D model to fully investigate the impact of each idea and validate the geometry of change requests before sharing them with the design team. This improves the quality of each design iteration and frees the CAD specialist to work with only valid requests, resulting in higher quality products and shorter time to market.
SpaceClaim Professional 2007 fits into the existing workflow of product development by enabling users to import and work with models created in many CAD systems. Additionally, SpaceClaim’s open XML data format ensures that its customers, rather than the software vendor, retain ownership of and access to their product data.
SpaceClaim Professional 2007 SpaceClaim Professional 2007 provides robust 3D modeling capabilities, using a select number of intelligent tools, in a unified part and assembly workspace. SpaceClaim Professional 2007 key features and benefits include:
Technology
Flexible Modeling technology provides a highly-adaptive design environment that supports unanticipated design directions, making SpaceClaim ideal for conceptual engineering, design creation, and modification. • Geometric Inferencing works unobtrusively and in real time to highlight design similarities, such as equal radius holes or coplanar surfaces, to aid the user during geometry creation and modification.
Integrated Workspace for parts and assemblies supports top-down design by enabling users to split and merge components and to alter assembly structure as needed.
Open XML data format makes all design data accessible for product data and lifecycle management, ensuring long-term protection of customer data.
User Interface Advancements
SmartToolsTM understand the user’s modeling intent simply by recognizing what geometry is selected and in what context. By determining what operation to perform without excessive drop-down menus, dialogue boxes, and user clicks, SpaceClaim dramatically improves users’ productivity.
Hints are a unique user interface advancement that automatically presents design considerations, such as maintaining same size holes or wall thickness, in the form of localized “snaps”. Hints eliminate the need for the user to enter specific dimensions or interrogate the model before changing or adding geometry.
Power Select enables users to search the model for like geometry and to select as a group from the resulting list in order to modify, move, or delete all at once. Given the frequency with which users perform select operations, this streamlined selection process greatly improves personal productivity and overall design efficiency. Modern GUI based on the latest Microsoft(r) technology enables users to focus on working with the design, rather than on working with the software.
Main Tools
Sketch environment lets users sketch to exact dimensions or create a rough layout for future modification. Sketching entities include lines, arcs, and splines. Sketching tools include trim, offset, and project to sketch. Sketches remain free of constraints, which makes the resulting 3D geometry completely flexible.
Pull Tool creates and modifies geometry with a simple action. Users can pull a surface to create an extrusion, pocket, or hole. Users can also pull a surface to rotate it around an axis or to create a blend by pulling the surface through different sections. Pulling a profile along a path creates a sweep, and pulling an edge creates a round or chamfer.
Move Tool speeds the process of moving or copying geometry in a design by providing a 3D handle to reference how geometry should be located along a specified direction or rotated about an anchor point. SpaceClaim also supports familiar Microsoft Cut and Paste commands to move and copy geometry.
Section Tool provides a way to modify a 3D model by directly changing section geometry located anywhere within the design. This intuitive operation is familiar to those used to working in 2D.
Associative Drawing environment enables design changes, as well as geometry creation and modification, from within drawing views. The drawing environment provides a familiar work space for those accustomed to working in 2D. Drawings support annotations, including geometric dimensioning and tolerances, to JIS, ISO, and ANSI(r) standards.
Mark-up and Data Exchange Capabilities
3D Mark-up documents design changes using mark-up dimensions that automatically indicate both previous and current dimensional values.
Compare function overlays the original model on the changed model and automatically displays all differences in color-coded highlights.
Industry Standard Output of 3D mark-ups is available in MS PowerPoint(r) and XPS(tm).
Data Import: CATIA(r) V5 and V4, NX(r), Pro/ENGINEER(r), SolidWorks(r), Inventor(r), ACIS(r), Parasolid(r), IGES, STEP, DWG, DXF(tm), and VDA.
Data Export: CATIA V5 and V4, ACIS, Parasolid, IGES, STEP, DWG, DXF, and VDA.
Availability SpaceClaim Professional 2007 will be released on 30 March 2007 and will be available for license at a price of $125 per month, per user, based on a 3-year term. A 1-year term is also available, and both terms include full support and updates. The SpaceClaim product line includes: SpaceClaim Professional 2007 with complimentary Home Edition, and a free SpaceClaim Viewer.
In addition, SpaceClaim offers a Data Exchange product for translators beyond the industry standards and a product that supports CATIA V5 data exchange. SpaceClaim also offers a library of standard parts.
For more information regarding sales and support, please visit www.spaceclaim.com.
About SpaceClaim Corp.
SpaceClaim is a privately held company targeting the mechanical design market. SpaceClaim provides breakthrough technology that enhances engineers’ productivity by empowering them to contribute to, consume, and share mechanical designs in a 3D digital form. SpaceClaim has assembled a world-class team of prominent executives, product developers, board members, and advisors with unrivaled experience in bringing new computer-aided design software to market. Founded in September 2005, SpaceClaim is backed by Kodiak Venture Partners and North Bridge Venture Partners.
Source: :: Design World ::
