CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
4 June 2004
Product News
think3 Introduces thinkiD - the Next Generation Industrial Design Solution
think3 ( http://www.think3.com ) introduced its new industrial design solution, thinkiD. Part of think3's recently released 9.0 product suite, which also includes thinkdesign and thinkteam, thinkiD revolutionizes consumer product design. Designers enjoy full product development capabilities from conceptual design, surfacing and solids to modification, visualization and engineering.
"This major product release provides breakthrough technology, like Zone Modeling, which will change the design process as we know it, and reinforces our product focus and level of commitment to the industrial design market," said Dan Meyer, vice president of worldwide marketing at think3. "thinkiD's advanced three-dimensional solid and surface modeling capabilities further improve our customers' product aesthetics, product quality and production cycles."
With "Zone Modeling," exclusive to thinkiD, designers can make creative, precise and detailed modifications as a solid feature to any shape, native or imported. Designers can create localized "freeform" modifications while inside a history-based, solid model. New in thinkiD, users can create parametric "styled" fillets with full control over the result shape for highly aesthetic and precise transitions. Additionally, Smart Objects, a library of adaptable parts, allow users to capture, reuse and share all or part of a design and can be extended into company-customized libraries.
"I've already completed five projects using think3 software, with only six hours of training. I have a background of several surfacing products, and found it an easy transition to think3," said Jeff Hoefer, director of technology, Lunar Design. For the past 10 years, BusinessWeek has named Lunar one of the top award-winning design firms in the US for consumer product design and engineering. "Being able to work from surfaces and then to solids gives me the best options for creating clean and accurate parts. Having the option to work in both modes has given me a 50% increase in productivity in terms of making changes on the fly. I can also update imported ProE and Alias files within think3, as well as update its native geometry, which gives me complete control. There is a comfort zone for me with so much tool flexibility, and I know I get high tolerance parts to export without the concerns of unstitched surfaces."
think3's Global Shape Modeling (GSM) provides industrial designers with proven design freedom and dynamic, real-time control. GSM's approach to modifications increases designer creativity and productivity, saving companies as much as 75% in overall development costs. "With think3's proprietary modeling kernel, designers can seamlessly work with surfaces or solids," adds Meyer. "Designers can sculpt and create product shapes in thinkiD that would be impossible with other standard modelers."
"Because the majority of industrial design work is still done in 2D and tied to an outdated paradigm, most designers today are not free to be creative," says Alain Massabo, think3 vice president of advanced research and development. "Many companies understand the importance of creative exploration as a design differentiator. thinkiD not only provides tools that support total integration, but also extend user creativity, with a system that is easy and is fun to use. Additionally, thinkiD includes features such as Multiple Purpose Commands (MPC), which allow users to easily streamline their design processes by providing dynamic creation, editing and analysis tools in one operation."
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