27 April, 2000
FEGS launches CADfix 3.1
New release signals the way forward for CADfix technology
FEGS has announced the launch of CADfix 3.1, the latest version of its industry leading CAD data interoperability tool. As well as incorporating some important new functionality, the new release will break new ground by introducing flexible licensing and free training. It will also form the core of a new initiative, CADfix Solutions, to be launched later in the year.
"We are in constant dialogue with our users, ensuring that we know exactly how we can improve our CADfix offering," says John Meaney, Sales and Marketing Director at FEGS. "The success of the product so far has shown us that there is a real demand for a universal interoperability solution. With this release we have expanded on the ways CADfix can be used, kept up to date with the evolving core modelling technologies that must be supported and begun to look at ways that we can open up the technology to more and more users."
CADfix tackles fundamental inconsistencies and inaccuracies which make the efficient transfer of solid modelling geometry between different CAD systems and downstream applications such as finite element analysis (FEA) all but impossible. It offers a series of diagnostic and repair tools in the form of user friendly 'wizards' which allow users to identify problems areas, put them right (without compromising design intent) and, if necessary, tailor the repaired model for use in the target system.
Increased functionality
Release 3.1 introduces a number of new features that enable more and more users to take advantage of the power of CADfix, as well as some general speed and performance improvements. These include full native import and export support for Catia models and assemblies, full support for ACIS 5.0 and Parasolid V11 (the latest generic solid modelling kernels) and a new flavoured IGES for SDRC Master Series 7. Between them, these and other new streamlining features ensure that CADfix can offer an unrivalled level of data support across both Unix and Windows-based operating platforms.
In addition, the latest release coincides with a number of moves by FEGS designed to make CADfix easier to buy, learn and use.
Floating licences
A further change comes in recognition of the fact that many CADfix users only use the software to solve short term problems which can crop up without warning at any time or place within an organisation. For this reason, a floating licence system has been introduced for the first time. John Meaney: "A typical CADfix scenario would be a toolmaker accepting CAD files from a number of different customers. There may only be a small proportion of files which are causing problems but at an unpredictable rate and from a number of different sources. We have therefore introduced a floating licence scheme so that such companies can have CADfix exactly where they need it but without the expense of having to buy a licence for every single machine."
The way forward
These two moves mark the first stage in the evolution of CADfix technology from a stand-alone product to the core of a fully rounded offering to be known as CADfix Solutions. "At an early stage we recognised that the powerful technology we have been evolving over the years - which we ultimately bundled into a single entity called CADfix - should be available beyond the confines of a discrete product," says Meaney. "With this launch we have made certain decisions - free training, floating licences and flexible finance - which make the product itself easier to use and own, but before long we plan to take this a stage further so that users need not own the software at all.
"Later this year we will be launching CADfix Solutions, a family of schemes that will complement the product by offering the core technology and our expertise on a formal consultancy basis, in the form of workshops and - ultimately - across the Internet," he explains. "Unless something dramatic happens within the solid modelling industry - and as developers strive to make their products more and more sophisticated that seems unlikely - the problem of data interoperability is not going to go away. CADfix will continue to provide the solution."
Note to editors:
FEGS Limited was founded in 1978 by Dr Geoff Butlin and is an established name in pre- and post-processing for finite element analysis. CADfix is the fruit of FEGS’s ongoing R&D in data exchange over the past 18 years. FEGS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ohio-based International TechneGroup Incorporated (ITI).
For further information, please contact:
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Ben Bush/Nick Lerner
The CroCodile Public Relations. Tel: 020 7749 4400 Fax: 020 7739 4042 |
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John Meaney
TranscenData Europe Limited. Tel: 01223 237 111 Fax: 01223 234 192 |
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2/4 Hoxton Square, London N1 6NU