CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
12 December 2012
Company News
Altair's HyperWorks Partner Alliance Continues to Grow, Adding Tolerance Analysis from Dimensional Control Systems
Altair's HyperWorks Partner Alliance (HWPA) today announced a new partnership with local Michigan company, Dimensional Control Systems, Inc. (DCS). The company's product, 3DCS Variation Analyst Multi-CAD (3DCS Multi-CAD), performs tolerance analysis, predicting the amount of variation inherent in designs and identifying the sources of that variation. While 3DCS is best known in the automotive industry, it is also applied in aerospace, defense, energy, medical device, consumer electronics and industrial equipment. Any company that manufactures a product and is interested in controlling quality can benefit from 3DCS Multi-CAD's capabilities.
"We look forward to the new opportunities presented by being a part of the HyperWorks Partner Alliance, as well as the value this partnership will provide to both companies," said DCS Product Manager Dave Johnson. "The addition of tolerance analysis will open new doors for dimensional engineering initiatives within companies through the easy access of the HWPA and allow users the opportunity to realize the value of 3DCS Multi-CAD with little risk."
3DCS Multi-CAD adds capability to the HWPA in a discipline that was previously unavailable within the program, furthering Altair's commitment to offering users a complete solution. The variation and tolerance analysis software creates a virtual prototype by simulating the assembly process and final product variation. This determines the design's ability to be manufactured before the first product is ever made. The result makes it possible for manufacturers to predict and solve problems before they arise, which in turn helps control costs by reducing the need for redesign and retooling and by avoiding future warranty claims.
In addition to 3DCS Multi-CAD, DCS is providing 3DCS FEA Compliant Modeler (FEA CM) as an add-on solution to allow users to accurately model variation of compliant parts and assemblies. FEA CM incorporates variation from clamping, welding, springback and stresses on a vast array of materials and assembly methods into a 3DCS model. 3DCS Multi-CAD and 3DCS FEA Compliant Modeler provide fast visualization of these deformations and predicted results, as well as targeted studies for evaluation of advanced design concepts.
"The addition of DCS to the HyperWorks Partner Alliance will help our customers increase their product quality," said Tony Norton, Altair's senior director for global automotive and off-highway vehicles. "The 3DCS Multi-CAD technology also will save HyperWorks customers money through reduced scrap rates. Obviously this is important not just to our automotive customers but also to those in many other industries."
For the past 12 years, Altair's innovative and versatile unit-based licensing system has allowed HyperWorks users to access a growing portfolio of applications while optimizing their investment. Every license is composed of a pool of recyclable HyperWorks units (HWUs), which can be used to access any application within the HyperWorks family. After seeing the success of the unit-based system, Altair decided to expand the model to third-party companies and allowed them to run their own applications under this unit-based system, a collaboration known as the HyperWorks Partner Alliance. The overall flexibility of these HWUs empowers users and allows them access to the largest and most complete suite of CAE applications available. This licensing model makes the benefits to participating HyperWorks customers infinite, with their return on investment increasing each time a new application is added to the offering. They can access any of the partner programs using the same leased HWUs they are already using to run HyperWorks, all available at no incremental cost or long-term commitment.
To learn more about 3DCS Variation Analyst MultiCAD, attend one of the introductory webinars being held on December 14th at 9am ET and January 16th at 11am ET. Both will be hosted by Altair and presented by DCS.
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