Autodesk, Inc. has announced that it intends to invest up to $100 million in 3D printing companies over the next several years. The Spark Investment Fund, which will be operated within Autodesk, is the first of its kind for the 3D printing industry and will invest in entrepreneurs, startups and researchers who push the boundaries of 3D printing technology and accelerate the new industrial revolution. Earlier this year, Autodesk announced Spark, an open and free* software platform for 3D printing that will connect digital information to 3D printers in a new way. Spark will connect to any hardware and be materials agnostic, and the company invites the entire 3D printing community to collaborate, build and improve the platform, its associated Ember 3D printer and materials. Companies and individuals developing groundbreaking hardware, software, materials, marketplaces and maker spaces are encouraged to apply to participate in the Spark Investment Fund’s investment portfolio. In addition

 PDF Key takeaways: Traditional PLM often has low user adoption rates while cloud-based PLM solutions tend to ramp up quickly once selected Cloud-based PLM solutions incorporate technology to support mobile devices, enabling access to PLM anywhere PLM solutions of the future will leverage some aspects of cloud-based technology - Autodesk is doing it today The tools that most companies use for PLM have been around for many years. However, today there are still many companies that have not been able to successfully implement a complete end-to-end PLM solution. Why is this true? Some companies have implemented several different flavors of PLM and have ended up with a maze of solutions with limited integration. Others have implemented one common standard for most of their organization, but user acceptance rates are often low. There are still others that have avoided PLM altogether. One of the reasons for this limited success is that most companies have not been

This free educational webinar, focused on how to gain the maximum PLM implementation value, will take place on December 3, 2014 ANN ARBOR, Michigan, 30 October 2014— CIMdata, Inc., the leading global PLM strategic management consulting and research firm, announces an upcoming free educational webinar, “Not Getting The Most out of PLM? How to Close the Value Gap.” The webinar will take place on December 3rd at 11:00 a.m. (EST). Attendees will find out which key questions to ask in order to help them understand why corporate PLM strategies stall, and where to look for ways to get a PLM initiative back on track towards yielding true business value. The webinar will be presented by Laila Hirr, Senior Consultant & High Technology Electronics Practice Manager with CIMdata. “We know that a substantial number of High Tech companies are facing end of life of their first or second generation PDM/PLM systems, yet are marginally

TraceParts has launched support for WebGL 3D rendering across its entire library of free downloadable CAD models. Users are now able to view and interact with live 3D models directly in any compatible web browser, without the use of plugins or other additional software, making the millions of parts on TracePartsOnline.net easier to access than ever. Due to the dynamic updating of catalog content, the 3D renders are always up-to-date. This allows the user to be confident that the model seen in the browser will always be exactly the same after downloading it in one of the many supported CAD formats. Other benefits of WebGL include faster loading times and improved responsiveness due to the reduced processing overhead of displaying the model. This, along with higher quality renders, means users can find parts more quickly and preview them in a greatly improved level of detail. With an engineering community of over 9.1 million design professionals accessing

Theorem Solutions has today announced the launch of the latest JT CADverter for 3DVIA Composer R2014x and SolidWorks Composer 2013. The CADverter range provides interactive, batch and command line interfaces for 3DVIA Composer and SolidWorks Composer users to directly access JT data independently of any JT products. All versions of JT data are supported via Jtk7.0. JT CADverter v17.2 has been specifically developed for 3DVIA Composer and SolidWorks Composer users, it works with all versions of Composer, is self-contained and version independent for improved ease of use. Composer users can now open JT data including geometry, assemblies, product structure, metadata and product manufacturing information. The system is very quick and easy to learn and use with functionality driven from a pull down menu aiding the creation of assembly procedures, technical illustrations, interactive 3D product experiences, training materials, marketing materials, sales tools and more. Working within the Dassault Systèmes' Composer architecture, CADverter provides two

AVEVA announced today the launch of its latest software solution: AVEVA Control of Work. This advanced suite of products enables the highest levels of safety and efficiency to be achieved when planning and performing both routine maintenance and in-plant engineering operations in potentially hazardous plant environments. It comprises best-in-class applications for Risk Assessment, Work Permit Management, Work Activity Plotting, Isolation Planning, Safe Job Analysis and Lessons Learned Reporting. Jan Edvin Pedersen, Vice President of Enterprise Asset Management, AVEVA, explained some of the advantages of using this new technology: ‘One of AVEVA Control of Work’s major benefits is its interoperability with a wide range of Enterprise Asset Management solutions, such as SAP, IBM Maximo and AVEVA WorkMate. This open approach provides access to the asset information necessary for effective planning and execution of all types of in-service engineering tasks. Not only can this make such tasks safer, it can also enable better

Dassault Systèmes now offers Quality Intelligence Pack, as an extension to its existing Manufacturing Process Intelligence (MPI),Executive Intelligence Center (EIC) and other Quality offerings. Delivered as a DELMIA product, Apriso Quality Intelligence Pack provides visibility into 100+ built-in measures and KPIs tied to quality improvement. Quality Intelligence Pack is pre-configured to work with existing Apriso quality planning, execution, containment and defect tracking applications, delivering a robust quality management solution for global manufacturing operations. Given the level of recent product recalls and safety concerns, the importance of maintaining high quality standards across manufacturing operations has never been greater. Manufacturers implementing Apriso Quality applications can embed quality management as an integrated process across their entire manufacturing operations. This approach reduces the likelihood of production defects – while utilizing operational intelligence to potentially avoid future recalls and identify areas of improvement. Manufacturing Quality managers can use Apriso Quality Intelligence Pack to help identify, investigate and address key quality issues

Bentley Systems, Incorporated, announced the launch of Bentley’s new MineCycle software applications. These innovative offerings facilitate optioneering to help mining industry participants address some of their most pressing challenges, including the need for a continuous rather than intermittent mine planning cycle. The MineCycle products are based on industry-proven, pacesetting Bentley software foundations, with MineCycle Designer extending Bentley’s OpenRoads capabilities, MineCycle Survey extending Bentley Map capabilities, and MineCycle Material Handling extending Bentley OpenPlant and OpenRoads capabilities. They are the first Bentley products to be created through syndicated development, which gives industry participants direct input into the software’s definition and design. The MineCycle Designer and MineCycle Survey syndicate development sponsors were Anglo American Platinum Limited, AngloGold Ashanti Limited, Lonmin Plc, and Royal Bafokeng Platinum. The MineCycle Material Handling syndicate development sponsors were Hatch, GHD, and PDC. MineCycle Designer and MineCycle Survey work together to greatly accelerate mine planning and mine survey iterations. The time consumed by traditional processes (often taking months) prevented consideration of alternatives and also could result in strategies that were out of sync with changing

Arena Solutions today announced the immediate availability of its Fall 2014 release. This new release includes new products, Arena Scribe and Arena DataExtract, as well as significant enhancements to Arena Quality. These newly available products will speed customers' time to market by enabling real-time communication and providing a fast, efficient tool for extracting process data from Arena PLM to an OEM's analytic tools. Arena Scribe gives customers an easy-to-use collaboration platform that enables comment and collaboration in the context of each individual process or record in Arena PLM. The design and manufacturing team can collaborate with one another and with any number of suppliers with  all conversations captured, eliminating the need to search through an endless string of disparate email threads to unearth information from a previous exchange. Arena DataExtract enables customers to extract all process data to a standard flat file format, which can be analyzed using a variety of analytic tools. With this data, customers can

3D Systems announced today the immediate availability of its new Geomagic® SculptTM 3D modeling software with TouchTM haptic 3D stylus. Geomagic Sculpt erases the boundaries of solid modeling, empowering the freedom of designing complex, curvy and organic shapes. With precise positioning input and instant force feedback that mimics the sense of physical sculpting, the Touch 3D stylus adds the ability to literally feel what is being created. Touch uses the power of haptics to allow users to feel every shape, every texture and every curve in design creations. Together, they are the most intuitive way to design functional and beautiful products, and enhance existing product design workflows. Watch Scotty Ziegler, master designer, artist, and inventor, use Geomagic Sculpt and Touch to bring his ideas to reality. Geomagic Sculpt with Touch 3D Stylus Features: Virtual Clay Modeling – Harness the power of virtual clay to easily create exquisitely complex and organic forms. Enjoy the ability to tug, ridge, emboss and