Felix Cad Version 3 example essay topic

Before 1970 The first graphic system was used in the mid 1950's. The system was developed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Laboratory. The system involved the use of CTR displays to show computer-processed radar data and other information. In 1960, Ivan Sutherland used the TX-2 computer to produce a project called SKETCHPAD, which is considered the first step to CAD industry. Parallel projects were developed at ITEK and General Motors. The ITEK project was called The Electronic Drafting Machine and used PDP-1 computer from Digital Equipment Corp. Inputs commands were done with an electronic light pen.

While at General Motors Research Laboratories in the 1960's, Dr. Hanratty was a co-designer of DAC (Design Automated by Computer), the first production interactive graphics manufacturing system. In 1960 McDonnell Douglas Automation Company (Mc Auto) founded. It will play a major role on CAD developments with the introduction of CADD program. The first Computer-Aided Design programs used simple algorithms to display patterns of lines at first in two dimensions, and then in 3-D. Early work in this direction had been produced by Prof. Charles Eastman at Carnegie-Mellon University. The only significant attempt to create a commercially CAD system was Control Data Corporation's Digi graphics division, a successor to the previously mentioned ITEK. The system costs half million dollars and were sold in few units.

In March 1965 Donald Welbourn heard a lecture on the early work at MIT on Computer Aided Design (CAD). He was so fascinated by this that the following morning he caught the Head of the Cambridge University Engineering Department, Prof. J.F. Baker (later the Lord Baker of Trumping ton) in the tea-room, told him about it, and said that we must get started in this field. Baker was enthusiastic, and by the end of the year, the Science Research Council had awarded Baker and Welbourn a grant of lb 65,000 with which to start work on CAD. In 1968 Donald Welbourn, now the Director in Industrial Co-Operation at Cambridge University, had the vision to see the possibility of using computers to assist pattern makers to solve the problems of modelling difficult 3 D shapes. Today we take for granted 3 D modelling, in 1968 only crude 2 D drawing systems were available using terminals linked to large main frame computers.

Initial work was sponsored by Ford but finding money to support the development was a constant problem for Donald Welbourn. Six years later he managed to obtain sponsorship from Control Data in Germany, and The Delta Engineering Group. Control Data offered DUCT initially as a bureau services, especially to two of its largest German customers Volkswagen and Daimler Benz. In 1969 Computervision was created to produce systems for production drafting and in the same year it sold the first commercial CAD system to Xerox. 1970-80 Meanwhile, in 1971, Donald Welbourn had become Director in Industrial Co-operation and Director of the Wolfson Cambridge Industrial Unit. He persuaded the Pye Foundation to support T.H. Gosling, a member of the Unit, in developing DUCT.

Control Data had also become interested in the work, seeing it as a front end for creating Finite Element meshes. As a result of this industrial support, Welbourn, had been able in 1974 to get a grant from it for Dr. R.B. Morris and Dr. J. Matthew man to continue developing DUCT. The Science Research Council had said that this work was no longer research, while industry was saying that a lot more development was required. Faced with a potential disaster vis-'a-vis the DTI, Welbourn took the direction of the work back into his own hands. and started systematically to test the programs, and the instruction manuals. This resulted in a quality of handbook which was partly responsible for VW and Daimler-Benz taking licenses for DUCT, since they said that they had never seen such clear instructions produced by any firm, let alone by a university. Welbourn never did any of the programming in connection with the work, but made it his job to set targets for what needed to be done, to get money and to get able staff to do the work.

In the early stages of the work, up to the oil crisis of 1973, he had got a dozen or so firms to second men to work with the team in Cambridge, thus enabling the firms to get experience of CAD without having to find the capital for a dedicated computer. MCS was founded in 1971 by Dr. Patrick J. Hanratty. Since the day it was founded in 1971, MCS has enjoyed an enviable reputation for technological leadership in mechanical CADD / CAM software. In addition to selling products under its own name, in its early years MCS also supplied the CADD / CAM software used by such companies as McDonnell Douglas (Unigraphics), Computervision (CADDS), AUTO TROL (AD 380), and Control Data (CD-2000) as the core of their own products. In fact, industry analysts have estimated that 70% of all the 3-D mechanical CADD / CAM systems available today trace their roots back to MCS's original code. The company's first product, ADAM (Automated Drafting and Machining), was released in 1972, ran on 16-bit computers, and was one of the first commercially available mechanical design packages.

In 1972 the CUED was able to obtain two 3-axis n / c machine tools with a DTI grant to help the m / c tool industry, thus enabling the work in CAD to be expanded into CAM. One of these, a Hayes milling machine, went onto the firm's stand at the Machine Tool Exhibition at Olympia that Autumn, and thanks to a sterling effort by P.J. Payne, a jug-like object, was cut on the stand. This was probably the first ever public demonstration of 3-D CADCAM at a machine tool exhibition. 1972: The earliest Intergraph (M&S Computing) terminal was designed to create and display graphic information. Composed of unaltered stock parts from various vendors, the terminals consisted of a single-screen Tektronix 4014 display terminal with an attached keyboard and an 11-inch by 11-inch "menu" tablet that provided the operator with a selection of drawing commands. Electronic Data System Corporation (EDS) is founded in 1975 A major improvement was the new 19" display terminals from Tektronix in 1975, which allows to display larger drawings than the original 11" units.

In 1975 Avions Marcel Dassault (AMD) purchased CADAM (Computer-Augmented Drafting and Manufacturing) software equipment licenses from Lockheed thus becoming one of the very first CADAM customers. Early solid modeling software first started showing up in the late 70's. Taking basic geometric objects such a sphere, block, cylinders and wedges and combining them using Boolean operations such a remove a cylinder from a block to create a hole. In 1976, MCS introduced AD-2000, a design and manufacturing system for the first 32-bit computers. 1970-80 By 1977, Avions Marcel Dassault assigned its engineering team the goal of creating a three-dimensional, interactive program, the forerunner of CATIA (Computer-Aided Three-Dimensional Interactive Application). Its major advance over CADAM was that all-important third dimension.

While CADAM automated the existing world of two-dimension engineering, essentially drafting and calculation with roots in descriptive plane geometry, CATIA lifted Dassault engineers into the world of 3-D modeling, removing the possibility of misinterpreting two-dimensional data and generating a host of immediate benefits. In 1978, Computervision introduced the first CAD terminal using raster display technology. In the late 70's, Computervision made a costly decision to build their own computer system. Once the new 32-bit systems replaced the old systems, Computervision was no more on the first line and switched to Sun Microcomputers. Finally it was acquired by Prime. In 1978 the Computer Graphics Newsletter, a 2 years old publication, change the owner and will become Computer Graphics World magazine.

In 1979 Boeing, General Electric and NIST develops a neutral file format as a contract from Air Space called IGES (Initial Graphic Exchange Standard). It will become the industry standard format and the most widely accepted format for transferring complex surface information, such as NURBS curves. At the end of 70's a typical CAD system was a 16-bit minicomputer with maximum of 512 Kb memory and 20 to 300 Mb disk storage at a price of 125,000 USD. 1990 Autodesk ships Animator Pro, a 2 D painting and animation program for DOS. By 1993 over 15,000 copies have been sold worldwide. 1990 Visionary Design Systems Inc. is founded as an industry pioneer in solid modeling technology.

1990 Visio Corporation is founded and start producing graphics and drawings software. 1990 Autodesk ships in October AutoCAD Release 11 with network support features which allow the installation of a single copy of AutoCAD on a network server. Release 11 comes with the largest list of enhancements to date. Paper Space is used for the first time.

ADS was added for use on most platforms. ADI (Autodesk Device Interface) version 4.1 was provided primarily to facilitate optimal usage of display drivers when using Paper Space facility. 1990 Auto Shade version 2 from Autodesk is an add-on for AutoCAD 11 that allowed to shade 3 D models produced with AME. Autodesk Renderman was an addition for AutoCAD 12.1990 Intergraph was ranked No. 1 supplier of computer-aided design, manufacturing, and engineering (CAD / CAM/CAE) systems in North America and No. 2 in the world 1990 By the end of this year, Autodesk has sold 500,000 copies of AutoCAD, 300,000 copies of Generic CAD and 200,000 copies of Auto Sketch. At the time the three products were the world's top three best selling CAD programs. 1990 AutoCAD has won since 1990, "The Best CAD Product" awards from Byte magazine every year for the next 8 years.

(Byte magazine started its award in 1990). 1991 Since 1991, Microsoft developed Open GL for use with Windows NT. Open GL is an API procedural software interface for producing 3 D graphics and includes approximate 120 commands to draw various primitives such as points, lines, and polygons. Also includes support for shading, texture mapping, anti-aliasing, lighting and animation, atmospheric effects such as fogging and simulation of depth-of-field. Open GL, developed by Silicon Graphics, is a standard for the 3 D color graphics programming and rendering. 1991 1991 The first Japanese version of UltraPaint ships.

Canvas 3.0 is released concurrently with Apple's System 7 and takes the industry by storm. The long list of industry firsts include: support for all System 7 technologies including QuickTime, next-generation open architecture, font conversion to Bezier curves, object combinations, text on a curve, advanced typographic features, Smart Mouse, Smart Lines, vector gradients and much more. This quickly leads to numerous industry awards including Best Drawing program (Mac User) and Best Illustration Program (Mac Week). Canvas 3.0 goes international in a big way with the introduction of Japanese, Swedish, French, German, Italian and Spanish versions. 1991 1992 Dassault Systems decides jointly with IBM to transfer the responsibility of CADAM to Dassault Systems of America, a company created in 1992 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Dassault Systems. IBM agrees to acquire a minority interest in Dassault Systems.

Since then, CATIA and CADAM are progressively unified by merging the best technological features of both systems. 1992 AIA CAD Layering Guidelines, First Edition - The document turned out to be a best seller 1992 Tri-Service CADD / GIS Technology Center Established - Based on a defense review to consolidate diverging DOD efforts 1992 Autodesk ships 3 D Studio version 2 for DOS. 1992 Autodesk ships AutoCAD Release 12 for DOS in June. Includes AutoCAD SQL Extension (ASE) /Autodesk SQL Interface (ASI) that lets you establish links between AutoCAD and an SQL database. Advanced Modeling Extension (AME) release 2.1 is supported by Release 12, with region modeling and new solid primitives. AutoCAD Render is included with AutoCAD.

Release 12 uses ADI version 4.2. 1992 By the end of this year over 21,000 seats of Unigraphics worldwide installed. 1992 Inc. Magazine names Deneba Software as one of America's fastest growing companies. Deneba ArtWorks succeeds UltraPaint as entry-level graphics app of choice. Canvas for Windows is introduced at Comdex in Las Vegas.

The Japanese version of Deneba ArtWorks ships. Deneba takes advantage of Canvas 3.0's advanced open architecture technology and introduces three add-on products for Canvas 3 in the form of "Tool Paks". Years later, an entire industry would be created around this concept. 1993 CAM specialist mbp UNC Software GmbH (Cologne) acquired by Unigraphics Solutions. 1993 Unigraphics introduces hybrid modeling, featuring both advanced parametric and traditional constructive modeling technologies.

Company becomes founding member of Pro STEP. Opel chooses Unigraphics as strategic CAD / CAM/CAE system. 1993 CATIA-CADAM Solutions Version 4 is announced. It significantly improves product line, robustness, open architecture, performance and ease of use. A new approach repackages individual software products into ready-to-use, user-based configurations of related products. The new CATIA software family enables a company to perform several operations concurrently, such as designing in three dimensions, creating engineering drawings, analyzing a product or assembly, viewing it as a rendered image and speeding up manufacturing processes.

1993 A committee of 16 institutions and companies and SoftSource defined and developed SF (Simple Vector Format) considered the most efficient method to work with vector based drawing files on the Internet. 1993 EDS Corporation ships Unigraphics vers. 10 with the Space Ball 3 D positioning device. 1993 Autodesk acquires Micro Engineering Solutions 1993 Autodesk ships 3 D Studio version 3 for DOS. Can be used to create sophisticated animation of AutoCAD drawings. 1993 Canvas 3.5 for Windows ships.

Canvas 3.5 for Macintosh ships. Secret work on a complete rewrite of Canvas begins. 1993 John Kirsch tick from Computervision founded a new CAD company called SolidWorks, Inc. 1993 The first AutoCAD (Release 12) for Windows platforms. It required 8 MB RAM and 34 MB Hard Drive space for complete installation. The Windows version of AutoCAD includes 36 icons toolbox, allows multiple AutoCAD sessions, separate Render window, support for Windows GUI, DDE and OLE, as well as Drag-and-Drop and Bird's Eye view capabilities.

The AutoCAD main menu has been eliminated; After initial configuration, AutoCAD displays the graphics screen. AutoCAD 12 for Windows was one of the most successful CAD programs ever. 1993 Aut Canvas 3.5 for Windows receives the Win 100 Award from Windows Magazine. By the end of this year AutoCAD alone topped one million mark worldwide. The next two CAD systems (outside Autodesk) were Cadkey (with 180,000 copies sold) and MicroStation (with 155,000 copies). 95 Bentley's MicroStation Advanced solid modeling for mechanical design ships.

Installed base reaches 200,000 3 M selects Unigraphics Solutions for major software, services and consulting engagement CINEMA 4 D version 3.0 for Amiga Delphi Interior & Lighting Systems chooses Unigraphics' iMAN product for enterprise-wide PIM integration worldwide Unigraphics Solutions named Most Promising Company of the Future at Auto fact Asia '95 CATIA-CADAM AEC Plant Solutions are announced. This next generation object-oriented plant modeling system enables powerful knowledge-based engineering capabilities that can dramatically streamline the process of plant design, construction and operation. It brings the power of "smart" applications to the desktop with next generation object-oriented modeling. Autodesk develops the WHIP driver. Autodesk acquires Automated Methods Ltd., a GIS developer. First Autodesk Web site web By end of 1995, Autodesk has sold 3 million software copies worldwide from which 1.3 million are AutoCAD (200,000 AutoCAD Rel.

13), and 300,000 AutoCAD LT. EDS Corporation announced that has an installed base of 35,000 seats of Unigraphics worldwide, including General Motors, McDonnell-Douglas, US Navy, Fujitsu, Apple Computers and Cannon. Autodesk ships the first version of 3 D Studio for NT platform, called 3 D Studio MAX. AutoCAD View from Autodesk is a CAD tool for viewing and redlining drawings. It can access more than 150 file formats. FIT, Inc., purchased ISIC AD and their product C ADVANCE.

CADKEY version 7. Drafix CAD version 4 from Foresight Resources Co., followed by Drafix Quick CAD. Design Post version 1 from Computervision, based on PELORUS object oriented architecture. Canvas 5 is announced to a stunned public at MacWorld Expo in Boston and then at Comdex Las Vegas. Where Canvas 3.5 integrated painting and drawing, Canvas 5 integrated image editing, vector illustration, advanced typography and desktop publishing into one seamless cross-platform environment. Felix CAD version 2 from Felix CAT (Germany).

IDEAS Master Series version 2.1 from SDRC. Mazda Motors Corp. will install 2,400 seats of this product. Medusa, a mechanical engineering, high-end CAD program from Computervision. Computervision ships Micro Draft version 6.1, a 2 D CAD program for DOS and UNIX platforms. MicroStation 95 from Bentley includes a Basic programming tool and ODBC support. First delivered for Windows 95 platform.

A Windows NT version available two years later. MicroStation Modeler version 1, based on ACIS Kernel engine. An entry-level architectural CAD program from Foresight Resources: PLAN IX HOME. Parametric Technology ships Pro / E version 15, the first parametric modeling CAD / CAM program and the first high-end 3 D solid modeling package available on NT platforms. Parametric Technology releases a cut-down version of its high-end product called Pro / Junior which runs on Windows 95. Dassault Systems ships Pro CADAM, a shorter version of CATIA for use on NT systems.

AutoSurf version 2.1 for use with AutoCAD 13, integrates precise NURBS technology and Advanced Surfacing. Bundled with AutoSurf was the AutoCAD IGES Translator which ensured data translation across many different CAD systems. AutoCAD Designer release 1.2 from Autodesk, is a parametric solid modeling tool integrated with AutoCAD 12 and 13. It can import AME models and export models created with Designer into 3 D Studio. It can calculate mass propriety and momentum of inertia.

By the end of 1995 over 40,000 copies has been sold worldwide. Autodesk ships the first version of Mechanical Desktop, a design system for the mechanical workgroup integrated into AutoCAD 13. Includes AutoCAD Designer 3, Assembly Modeler 1.0, Auto Surf 3.0, Auto Vision and Part Spec library. Runs under Windows 95 and NT platforms. Autodesk becomes the fifth largest software company in the world.

PTC is ranked the no. 1 supplier in Mechanical CAD / CAM/CAE industry. By the end of the year over 350,000 users of Generic CAD worldwide. 1996 Spatial Technology goes public. Bentley's MicroStation Architectural modeling & plant engineering products ship Bentley launches Geoengineering initiative and products After a longer than expected development cycle, Canvas 5 ships simultaneously for Windows and Macintosh platforms in late 1996.

Polaroid Japan is named as an exclusive distributor of Canvas to the Japanese market. EDS splits off from GM, becoming an independent, publicly owned company, with stock traded on the New York Stock Exchange Unigraphics introduces advanced assembly capabilities featuring interference checking, state-of-the-art CAM and industrial design capabilities for Class A surface modeling General Motors signs largest CAD / CAM contract in history selecting Unigraphics as its single vehicle development software platform. Parasolid rapidly gains widespread penetration into market as defacto standard for high-end, mid-range and commercial CAD / CAM/CAE development CATIA-CADAM Solutions Version 4 are made available on Silicon Graphics, Hewlett Packard and Sun platforms. In April Intergraph ships the first version of its 2 D CAD program Imagineer Technical.

Bentley SELECT technology and service subscription program debuts Solid Edge version 3 from Intergraph hits the market at the price of around USD 6000. SolidWorks Co. ships Solid Works, an ambitious 3 D package based on Parasolid modeling Kernel. It comes with a good complex surface modeling and a good graphical user interface. 3 D / EYE Inc., ships Tri Spec tives Technical version 2, a modeling, illustration and animation program for Windows platforms, at a very low price. IMSI ships TurboCAD 2 D/3 D version 3 for DOS, Windows and Mac. The 3 D capabilities were available only for Mac platforms.

EDS Unigraphics version 11 with 4 new CAM modules. EDS Corporation delivers Unigraphics / Creator, a cut-down version of Unigraphics for Windows NT platforms, full inter-use ability with the full version. Varimetrix ships version 5 of its high-end CAD / CAM program. Varimetrix is based on the property Unified Parametric Geometry architecture.

Used by companies such AT & T and British Aerospace. Xitron Software Corp., ships XCAD version 3.1 for Windows platforms. In August Autodesk ships Mechanical Desktop version 1.1 Light scape version 3, a high-end rendering and animation package, comes with IES photo-metric data capabilities. IES (Illuminating Engineers Society) is the industry standard for describing the shape and intensity of light energy distribution from light source, ray tracing, natural light according to location and orientation of the building.

In September CINEMA 4 D vs. 4 for Windows, Alpha NT and Mac was released with great success. Next month the first Multi-Processor version of program is made available. Lightwave 3 D version 5 and 5.5 from New Tek, a high-end rendering, modeling and animation program. Visual Software ships the first version of Render ize Live, a rendering and animation program.

AutoCAD LT 95. Diehl Graphsoft released MiniCAD 6 for Windows, the first cross-platform version of MiniCAD. NIBS, AIA, CSI and Tri-Service CADD / GIS Technology Center sign a Memorandum of Understanding to develop the NCS Cam and version 11, a CAM product from SDRC. In October is founded DATACAD LLC by purchasing the rights for development, distribution and marketing for DataCAD product line from Micro Control Systems, Inc.

DataCAD is a professional A / E/C CADD program for architectural design, photorealistic renderings and animation. By 2000 the company reports over 250,000 installations worldwide, the second most widely used CAD software by architects. ACIS 2.1 is realized in October. Corel Visual CADD version 2 (a 2 D program) and Corel CAD (a 3 D version) from Corel. Drafix CAD from Itek Software. Felix CAD version 3 is compatible with AutoCAD.

Hewlett Packard delivers version 8 of HP-ME 10, their 2 D package for DOS, UNIX, and Windows platforms. Qick Draw System (AU) ships Qick Draw version 6. Autodesk ships AutoVision an rendering add-on program for AutoCAD 13. Matra Datavision ships Mold maker, a 3 D modeling package for UNIX platforms. Pro / E version 17 with a new module which allows files to be exported into VRML file format for display on the Internet. In December Bentley ships version 4 of MicroStation Modeler.

To the end of this year over 250,000 copies of AutoCAD LT sold. 1997 AutoCAD LT 97 Autodesk provides World Creation Toolkit which is a collection of 500 MB of prebuilt objects, meshes, fonts and animation. Autodesk ships 3 D Studio MAX release 2 and a cut-down version called 3 D Studio Viz. Autodesk Walk Through 1.1, an animation program for AutoCAD modules.

Autodesk ships AEC Professional Suite 2, an integrated package of AutoCAD 14, AEC AutoCAD utilities, Autodesk Walk Through, Design Blocks, Autodesk View and 2000 architectural symbols. Autodesk ships AutoCAD 13 Internet Publishing Kit, a program used for view, access and sharing drawings on the Internet. It compress the drawings in DWF (Drawing Web Format) a new compressed file format designed specifically for the Internet. Bentley ships MicroStation Modeler version 5.5 (based on ACIS 2.1 modeling Kernel) Bentley starts engineering back office and Model Server product line. Dara tech lists Bentley as fastest-growing in CAD / CAM/CAE CAS. CADE is a new modeling Kernel developed in 1997 by Matra Datavision.

The Canvas 5 USA Tour kicks off. This coast-to-coast seminar series offers Canvas enthusiasts a chance to get up close and personal with their favorite graphics application and Deneba's in-house artists. Deneba introduces Colada, a Java-based web sharing technology for Canvas 5. Canvas is used to design many of the computer screen shots in Steven Spielberg's Hollywood blockbuster The Lost World. NASA uses Canvas to illustrate the Mars Pathfinder. DenebaCAD for Macintosh is introduced.

Focusing on the needs of professional architects and engineers, the program integrates 2 D drafting, 3 D modeling, and photo-realistic rendering in one application. Dassault Systems S.A. acquires Deneb, the recognized provider of leading digital manufacturing solutions. Deneb and its subsidiaries, become a wholly owned subsidiary of Dassault Systems and operates as a separate entity under the brand name "Deneb", the digital manufacturing company of Dassault Systems. Dassault Systems S.A. and SolidWorks Corporation announce in June the signing of a definitive agreement whereby the privately-held SolidWorks, a leading provider of mechanical design software products for Windows, is acquired by Dassault Systems in a stock transaction.

In July, Delcam plc was floated on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM). In preparation for this, Delcam UK was established to spearhead UK sales and customer support. Coinciding with the floatation, Delcam opened a northern sales office in Bolton, Lancashire. Overseas activities continued to develop, with strong emphasis on joint ventures, especially in the Americas, Europe and the Far East. Delcam now has more that seventy sales offices worldwide and has a wholly owned subsidiary in the USA, exploiting the country's massive complex manufacturing market. In 1997, MCS took the next step forward by releasing the first CADD-through-CAM system for the 21st Century, ANVIL EXPRESS.

EDS introduces a number of new industry-leading capabilities with its new version of Unigraphics, including WAVE - which will enable the definition, control and evaluation of product templates - considered the most important new technology affecting the CAD / CAM/CAE industry in the next five years. AIA CAD Layer Guidelines, Second Edition - Second edition published to improve on original version CSI Uniform Drafting System (UDS) Modules 1-3, - Separate effort focused on drawing. Ultimately 8 modules ISO 13567 - Standard for Structuring Layers in CAD - International effort to structure layer naming for translation between various languages and vendors First version of IDEAS Artisan Series from SDRC, fully compatible with Master Series, priced at ~ USD 5,000. Revit Technology Corporation is revolutionizing building design with Revit - the world's first parametric building modeler developed for the AEC industry.

Form Z, a solid and surface modeler, first available only for Mac platforms, debuts on Windows market. Helix Design System from Cadcam System Company, version 4, based on Design Base modeling Kernel with CAM facilities. Imagineer Technical version 2, fully compatible with Microsoft Office and AutoCAD. AutoCAD Release 14 for Windows is proved to be the best and more stabile version ever. It comes with a lot of improvements in both 2 D and 3 D. Includes Object ARX 2.0, ActiveX Automation Interface which allows Visual Basic for Application to drive AutoCAD or to write a single application that integrates AutoCAD with other ActiveX Automation compliant application, AutoVision is included. In October EDS and Intergraph announces plans to pool the assets of their CAD software (Unigraphics and Solid Edge) in a joint venture.

Matra Datavision ships Euclid Quantum version 1, based on CAS. CADE geometry modeling Kernel. Over 47,000 copies will be sold in one year. Matra Datavision ships STRIM, a CAD / CAM package.

MiniCAD version 7 for Mac and Windows. Parametric Technology ships PT / Modeler, a CAD / CAM package based on a proprietary modeling engine. Pro / E version 18 with over 50 integrated modules. The price starts at 26,000 USD for 13 modules. SoftSource ships V / Draft, a 2 D CAD program for Windows with AutoCAD interface, support for Visual Basic, C++ and ActiveX programming. Solid Works 97 with 65 new capabilities like support for Visual Basic for Applications, Visual C++ and HTML.

Surf CAM version 7 with support for AutoCAD and Mechanical Desktop files. TurboCAD Professional version 4 from IMSI. Unigraphics version 12 from EDS with over 30 integrated modules. Price started at USD 17,000. In November Autodesk ships Mechanical Desktop version 2 integrated with AutoCAD 14. Uses the new ACIS 3.0 modeling Kernel, support AutoLisp and C languages and includes ANSYS Design Space 3.0 Stress Wizard.

VG technology from SDRC provides intuitive interaction for the design and modification of parametric feature - based solids. It will be used first in I-DEAS Master Series 5. Visionary Design Systems took over 3 D Eye Systems. XCAD version 4 and XCAD LT from Xitron Software Corporation.

CINEMA 4 D XL version 5.0 launch in December. 40,000 copies of ArchiCAD sold worldwide to date. Spatial Technology announced that it has over 350 licensees and an estimated 600,000 end-users of its ACIS modeling Kernel. CAD / CAM market worldwide: 1. Parametric Technology 2. Dassault Systems 3.

EDS / Intergraph 4. SDRC 5. Autodesk In 1997, AutoCAD pass 1.5 million copies sold worldwide and AutoCAD LT pass half million copies sold. Intergraph announced that 6250 copies of its Solid Edge program has been sold worldwide.

Solid Works Corp. announced that has sold 3000 of its 3 D solid model worldwide, including companies such AT & T, Boeing, General Motors, Sharp, Siemens and Mitsubishi. IMSI announced that has been sold over 600,000 copies of TurboCAD to date. Parametric Technology announces 105,000 seats installed of Pro / E 1998 Spatial Technology acquires Inter Data Access, Inc. Dassault Systems creates ENOVIA Corp., a wholly-owned company in charge of developing ENOVIA's PDM II solutions. IBM creates two new worldwide organizations to sell and support ENOVIA products.

In February, Dassault Systems and IBM announce a new Strategic Alliance to address the Product Development Management II (PDM II) market. Dassault Systems acquires Matra Datavision key software products in the fields of surface and free-form modeling, numerical control machining (NC) as well as complementary products dedicated to plastic injection simulation. The products concerned (EUCLID Styler, EUCLID Machinist, Strim and Strimflow) correspond approximately to the portfolio acquired by Matra Datavision at the time of the Cisigraph acquisition in 1994. The team in charge of those products (90 people) will join the Dassault Systems Group. - Matra Datavision will become a service company providing support for the CATIA, CATweb, ENOVIA and Deneb products lines of Dassault Systems and the migration of EUCLID 3 to CATIA. - Matra Datavision will be appointed an IBM International Business Partner to market, sell and support CATIA, CATweb, and ENOVIA as well as IBM's e-business Solutions.

Autodesk acquire Genius Software GmbH. Unigraphics Solutions becomes a subsidiary of EDS, takes the name Unigraphics Solutions EDS Unigraphics Solutions finalizes acquisition of Intergraph's Mechanical CAD / CAM Business - Solid Edge and EMS software Maxon, the producer of CINEMA 4 D animation and rendering program announced it will no longer support the Amiga platform. CADD Council changes name to Facility Information Council - To represent a larger base of involvement, NCS Committee operates under this group Unigraphics Solutions Becomes First CAD / CAM/CAE / PDM Organization to be Awarded ISO 9001/Tick IT Certification AutoCAD Mechanical is an integrated mechanical tool in AutoCAD 14. Autodesk Architectural Desktop - integrated architectural solution based on AutoCAD 14. First version of Ironclad for VDS market. IntelliCAD 98 from Visio with support for Visual Basic for Application, AutoLisp and AutoCAD release 14 files.

Canvas 6 is released and takes the industry by surprise with the introduction of Deneba's Sprite technology. This amazing technology allows vector drawings, images, and text to be blended together with infinite control over transparency. In effect making it possible for regular folks to do sophisticated photo-compositing and graphics pros to do things they could only dream of - compositing vector illustrations with images. Canvas 6 garners a long list of awards and reviews around the world.

DenebaCAD 1.5 is released. Qick Draw System (AU) ships Qick Draw version 7. Visual Lisp, an Object ARX application that runs inside AutoCAD 14. Consists of several modules that the developers use to create new applications.

Autodesk ships 3 D Studio MAX version 2.5 Lightwave 3 D version 5.6 from New Tek, comes with Procedural shades for snow, water and rust, Stereoscopic rendering, Ski Tracer image warping for real time visualization of generated sky, and more. Solid Edge version 3 from Intergraph with more than 150 new features. Solid Works 98 adds 150 new capabilities. TurboCAD Professional version 5 from IMSI. During 1998, DUCT has gradually been replaced with a new incorporated range of products, which covers the full manufacturing cycle from design to manufacture. Delcam's new "Power" range of products, which combine the full functionality of the DUCT suite with the latest user interface technology offers users many new benefits.

Visio Corporation ships Visio Enterprise, a technical drawings and documentation program, and Visio Technical version 5. The company announced over 250,000 users to date. Over 60,000 AMD copies installed worldwide. Customers: Hughes Aerospace, Lockheed Martin, Philips, Hyundai.

Upside Magazine names Bentley to the 1998 Hot 100 companies. Listed as largest privately held software company on Soft letter 100. Installed base of MicroStation reaches 300,000 and that of Bentley SELECT reaches 200,000 1999 Spatial Technology acquires Sven Technologies Unigraphics Solutions Acquires German high-tech Company, cade. Dassault Systems establishes Dassault Systems AG in Germany in March, as its reference site for development and consulting of new generation styling solutions. March - Dassault Systems introduces CATIA Version 5 for native Windows NT and UNIX. CATIA V 5 is based on: - Next generation technologies (Native Windows implementation, powerful interface, Plug & Play extensibility, consistency with standards such as OLE) - Windows Web metaphor to ensure a natural, productive and fun to use environment, - Scalability to address all user profiles - Capture and reuse of the company know-how - Smooth transition to protect V 4 investment.

In April 1999, Dassault Systems signs definitive agreement to acquire a majority interest in Smart Solutions Ltd. Smart Solutions has become the leading provider for the "Team PDM" market, developing Web based Windows TM centric Product Data Management (PDM) and Workflow solutions for small and medium size enterprises (SMEs). These solutions complement ENOVIA Solutions, which address the needs of large enterprises and their supplier chain, the PDM II market space. Together, Smart Solutions Ltd. and ENOVIA Corp. will offer dedicated solutions for both market segments, thus meeting the needs of customers at all levels of product and process complexity. - At the same time Dassault Systems creates Dassault Systems Provence for the development of advanced applications in the field of surface reconstruction, tooling design and 3-axis machining, as well as powerful surface algorithm components for CATIA Version 5 Dassault Systems acquired SAFEWORK. With this agreement, SAFEWORK becomes the Dassault Systems company in charge of providing an advanced human modeling infrastructure within the V 5 architecture.

It will also become the leading Dassault Systems human modeling Competency Center for Dassault Systems' brands, CATIA, DENEB and ENOVIA. SAFEWORK can also provide turn-key solutions by complementing their software solution with consulting services for ergonomic processes in various industries. Unigraphics Solutions signs five-year, $43 million contract with Boeing for CAD / CAM Software Varimetrix ships VX Vision version 1.74, a high-end CAD / CAM program based on VP 2 modeling Kernel. National CAD Standard (NCS) 1.0 released - First compendium and coordination of efforts Lightwave 3 D version 6 from New Tek.

Unigraphics ships Solid Edge version 6 with over 200 changes. Think 3 entry in the CAD market with think design, the first mechanical design software product to offer the power of parametric solids, advanced surfacing, wireframe and 2-D drafting on the desktop, all in one environment. VectorWorks is released as a replace of MiniCAD. Diehl Graphsoft, Inc. ships Render Works, a photorealistic rendering plug-in for VectorWorks.

The next generation of Sprite technology is unveiled in Canvas 7's SpriteEffects. For the first time, designers can apply any imaging filters - blurs, distortions, textures, plus third-party plug-ins - to any object, whether it's vector, bitmap, text, or even a group. Combined with Sprite Layer effects, SpriteEffects in Canvas yields unequaled power for graphic design. Like previous versions of Canvas, version 7 goes on to receive worldwide user and critical acclaim. Deneba makes it effortless to share graphics information online with the Deneba Internet Graphics Server (DIGS).

By using a web browser, DIGS enables instant deployment of graphic files on the Internet. DenebaCAD 2 is released for Macintosh and Windows platforms. In June Pro / E 2000 i Parametric Technology acquired Computervision and their product CADDS 5. Autodesk announces 1 million users of LT and 100,000 users of 3 D Studio MAX.

3 D Studio MAX cumulus 29% of the entire 3 D-animation market and 38% of the 3 D PC markets. 2000 Spatial ships ACIS vs. 6.0 CoCreate Software Inc., a subsidary of Hewlett Packard Company, announces release of Solid Designer 2000 with five new modules. Nemetschek North America introduced in January the VectorWorks Industry Series with the launch of its first product, VectorWorks ARCHITECT. SPOTLIGHT and ARCHITECT will be joined shortly by VectorWorks LANDMARK, a landscape and site design package. Eagle Point, the leading supplier of AEC applications software, announced the release of Eagle Point 2000 26 Ian - Parametric Technology Corp. announced that In Part Mechanical, the world's largest 3 D CAD library, now exceeds 1 million parts. On end of February, Autodesk will be selling AutoCAD 2000 over the Internet.

On-line price is $3,195 for AutoCAD 2000 -- that's 10%- 15% above the estimated street price. Upgrades from Release 14 are $545, and upgrades from Release 13 are $745. Price includes 60 days of direct support from Autodesk. Sales available US and Canada only.

16 Feb - CoCreate Software Inc., a subsidary of Hewlett Packard announced ME 10 2000 the latest version of its popular 2 D CAD software, ME 10 Design Futures announced the release of DRAW 2000 for Windows 95/98/NT, a design, drafting and illustration for all 2 D design and illustration requirements. 18 Feb. - Diehl Graphsoft announced that Nemetschek AG of Germany had acquired it REAL VIZ S.A., a leader in image processing technology, announced the availability of its ImageModeler (R) photo-modeling software application for easy and realistic 3 D model creation. Designed specifically for computer graphics professionals and animators, ImageModeler is the first high-end 'Image-Based Modeler' that produces 3-D models from photo, video or cinematic still images. Eliminate the complications of building complex models from scratch, and let ImageModeler do the hard work. By selecting points on as few as four still photographs of an object, the revolutionary software application builds models that are amazingly photo-real.

7 March - IntelliCAD 2000 March 15, 2000 -- Sensible Technologies today made the revolution in digital modeling with the release of FreeForm (TM) Version 2. The FreeForm system allows users to model on the computer using their sense of touch, blending the intuitiveness and expressiveness of physical modeling with the power and productivity of digital modeling. Light Work Design announced on 14 March that there are more than 500,000 active users of its flagship Light Works renderer. SDRC, a global supplier of e-business collaboration solutions for the product lifecycle, announced on March I-DEAS 8, a major software release to enable e-design automation Alibre, Inc. announced the availability of its feature-based mechanical CAD software, Alibre Design which allows users to employ the internet as a collaborative platform for product design and development. Dassault Systemes and announced the readiness of CATIA Solutions Version 5 Release 3 (b) (V 5 R 3) for Microsoft Windows 2000 operating platform. Graphisoft paid around $2 million to acquire Draw base Software, a facilities management software and services provider.

CoCreate Software Inc., a subsidiary of Hewlett Packard Co., announced on 12 April the release of On eSpace 5.0, a design-chain-integration solution that provides global teams a virtual conference room to interact in real time on mechanical designs. Autodesk also launched Point A, a new portal serving designers and engineers, which can be found at web The goal of the site is to provide designers, engineers, and architects with a centralized online community and resource. PTC announced on 24 April two major updates to its PTC i-Series of flexible engineering solutions: Pro / MECHANICAL 2000 i^2 and Pro / DESKTOP 2000 i^2. SDRC announced SDRC Imageware Version 10 (V 10), a major software release enabling customers to design, build, and fully inspect high-quality, free-form shaped products in less time.

Imageware is advanced 3 D surface modeling and verification technology solution that allows users to realize and maintain the design intent from concept through manufacturing. Unigraphics Solutions Inc. announces in may that its industry-leading kernel solid modeling product, Parasolid, exceeded 500,000 active end-users Graphisoft offers a set of Web-based tool to help encourage the AEC CAD community to adopt its GDL (Geometric Description Language) as a file format. The GDL Object Web plug-in, for ArchiCAD users, delivers GDL objects via the Internet. TurboCAD Professional 6.5 Matra Datavision reports in June that more than 5,000 downloads of the latest version of its Open CASCADE open source library of 3 D modeling components. MicroStation / J vs. 7.1 6 June Bentley Systems, Incorporated, announced a new visualization technology that provides photorealistic lighting solutions for large models created by architects, interior designers and plant designers.

"Particle tracing" is a new, easy-to-use technology which requires relatively little memory and provides stunningly realistic lighting effects. Spatial Inc. announced Release 6.2 of the ACIS 3 D Toolkit and Husks, featuring performance enhancements and added functionality. Will be the latest release of ACIS under Spatial name because the product will be aquired by Dassault Systems in a surprising deal which took the CAD world by surprise. Mechanical Desktop Release 5 incorporates AutoCAD (R) 2000 i software, with its more than 400 new or enhanced features and 24-percent gain in productivity over the previous release. The Power Pack adds 1.2 million predawn standard 2 D and 3 D parts, holes, features, and structural steel profiles, complete AutoCAD Mechanical 2000 functionality, and intelligent part placement and engineering calculations.

The Deneba Internet Graphics Server 2 (DIGS) is released and updated to take advantage of key new features and technologies available in Canvas 7. On 14 July 2000 the new version of CATIA version 5 release 4, become available for Windows and Unix. The new version of Parasolid (Version 12.0) incorporates improved Direct Modeling technology, which provides the function to enable CAD users to perform feature level edits to a model that has not been defined using a history based feature approach. To date, July 2000, TurboCAD has shipped more than one million units. Inventor Release 3. Most of the enhancements center around assemblies, as evidenced by the addition of motion constraints as well as predefined section cuts.

PTC has just announced a new version of CADDS 5 i, called Release 11. According to the company, this new release offers increased integration with PTC solutions, such as Pro / ENGINEER, by using what the company calls the Associative Topology Bus (ATB). DataCAD 9, 2 D and 3 D architectural package, the new version offers support for AutoCAD 2000 DXF and DWG files, can export in WMF and Adobe Acrobat PDF formats. Unigraphics Solutions Inc. announced on 20th September Solid Edge Version 9, the latest release of the company's award-winning mechanical design software. Caligari has released a new version of True Space, its 3 D modeling and animation program. ME 10 2000+, the latest version of its CoCreate's 2-D CAD software, introduces new capabilities, such as a 2-D to 3-D accelerator kit, design management with Microsoft Windows-compatible user interface, a Windows user interface customization toolkit, and the ME 10 macro suite, a free library of ME 10 extensions.

Chief Architect 7.0 ($895) is a Windows-based architectural design program designed for builders, designers, and developers to create full working drawings and accurate 3 D models. Unigraphics Solutions Inc. (NYSE: UGS) announced in October Unigraphics Version 17, the latest release of its industry leading, high-end CAD / CAM/CAE software. With this release, UGS becomes the industry's first major vendor to ship a world-class MCAD software product containing a deeply imbedded knowledge based engineering (BE) language.

KDA consists of capturing and recycling knowledge that exists in many forms at every stage of the product life cycle, then re-using that knowledge to dramatically enhance the design, engineering and manufacturing process. Dassault Systemes announced that it plans to integrate Microsoft's Visual BASIC for Applications into its products, including SolidWorks, CATIA, SmarTe am, ENOVIA, and DELIA... IBM and Dassault Systemes launched Version 5 Release 5 of CATIA, to be available for Windows and UNIX on November 17, 2000. Autodesk released Inventor Release 4, on first week of December.

Inventor costs $4,995, and upgrade pricing will be available. Release 4 contains more than 150 new features and enhancements, with particular attention paid to support for enterprise-wide collaboration. CADKEY 19, a new version of its flagship product line available for Windows 95/98/00 and NT 4. x. CADKEY 19 assembles new customer-driven features for hybrid modeling and blending, 2 D drawing and detailing, data translation, display and graphics.

The software also includes six new CDE (CADKEY Dynamic Extensions) AutoCAD Architectural Desktop passed the 100,000 mark worldwide. Unigraphics Solutions Inc. announced on 21 December the release and immediate availability of Parasolid Version 12.1, its industry-leading kernel solid modeling product. UGS was the vendor with the most rapidly growing computer aided manufacturing (CAM) software revenue in 2000.31,290 CATIA seats were licensed in 2000 SolidWorks licensed 22,053 seats for the full year. Delcam has been the world's leading specialist supplier of NC machining software and services during 2000.

Second position is Hitachi Zo sen followed by Cimarron.