Today, the Altair Partner Alliance (APA) announced that multi-body dynamics (MBD) software from ChassisSim Technologies is available for download. Traditionally used in the racing industry, ChassisSim simulates and predicts numerous vehicle parameters. "ChassisSim Technologies is delighted to be working with Altair to provide our simulation technologies to their user community," said Danny Nowlan, Director at ChassisSim. "ChassisSim is a natural fit for any project involving motorsport, race engineering or automotive vehicle dynamics." ChassisSim allows race teams and vehicle dynamics engineers to simulate all aspects of vehicle behavior early in the design process, saving time and resources by preventing unnecessary cycles. Users can predict lap times by performing full multi-body transient simulation and then export the data for review. "ChassisSim is a product which has been created by race engineers, for race engineers," said Michael Hoffmann, Sr. VP Math & Systems at Altair. "It combines ease-of-use with predictive simulation technology, both of which are absolutely necessary

Kubotek USA has released Kubotek Comparison Suite 2014 Version 12.5.  Comparison Suite products include Validation Tool and ECO Manager. The engineering change identification and documentation tools found in the Kubotek Comparison Suite help users avoid the costs and pitfalls resulting from undetected or undocumented changes in CAD files. Comparison Suite 2014 Version 12.5 adds several new capabilities, updated translators, and user-driven improvements to save time and improve user control: CATIA V5 version to version compare   Added ability to enter disposition text next to related geometry in validation quality documents Updated CAD interoperability readers for Inventor 2014 and Parasolid R26.  CATIA V5 import now reads Hidden Assembly Instances User control options for locating closed sets of curves. Geometry ToolTips to identify entity locations for all entities and entity components Tony Anderson, VP and General Manager of Comparison Suite Products, states, “Our Comparison Suite products help design and quality teams confidently compare two CAD models, regardless of file type, to find differences in product

PDF3D today announced their support for AutoCAD’s latest 2014 software version. PDF3D’s latest update of their popular ReportGen tool goes beyond other AutoCAD plugins with a new level of 3D PDF creation for 3D CAD users. Working in parallel with Autodesk’s aim of providing highly sophisticated 3D design tools, PDF3D’s ReportGen allows AutoCAD users to easily convert DWG files to rich, fully interactive, beautifully animated 3D PDFs at the touch of a button. “As unaffiliated, independent developers, we are great fans of Autodesk and admire what the company has done with their 2014 version. The brand’s values fit perfectly with those at PDF3D and so evolving ReportGen to work seamlessly with AutoCAD 2014 felt like a natural evolution of our tool. It’s good to be able to add value to such a popular design authoring product,” explained Ian Curington of PDF3D. “Just as Autodesk has done, we have focused on usability, functionality and

Engineering software provider CAD Schroer today announced the release of a standalone version of its P&ID software for standards-driven creation of high quality piping and instrumentation designs, with a free 30-trial.  Affordable High Quality P&IDs Mark Simpson, Product Line Manager at CAD Schroer, developer of MCAD, plant and factory design solutions, explains, “We’ve launched this product in response to the needs of smaller engineering departments or individual consultants, who need to quickly create quality P&IDs in a flexible yet controlled, standards-driven manner.  M4 P&ID FX is a good value stand-alone system for those not requiring integration with 3D piping or large-scale industrial plant design software.” M4 P&ID FX free trial: http://www.cad-schroer.com/products/m4-pid-fx/free-trial.html?pk_campaign=pr140319_m4pidfx Configurable P&ID Symbol Libraries M4 P&ID FX includes symbol catalogs in support of the EN ISO, ANSI and ISA standards. Users can add or edit individual symbols, create new symbol catalogs, and configure catalogs for specific projects. Dynamic P&ID Creation and Editing Dynamic tools allow

Longview Advisors, organizers of the annual 3D Collaboration & Interoperability Congress (3DCIC), today announced its lineup of speakers for the 2014 event to be held May 28-30 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. 3DCIC (www.3dcic.com) is dedicated to fostering and improving collaboration and interoperability throughout the product lifecycle. The theme of 3DCIC 2014 is “Driving Product Development with Collaboration, Simulation, and Integration”. Executives have long understood that seamless integration of design, analysis/simulation, manufacturing, downstream operations and the supply chain is the key to effective global business. It’s the very foundation of the PLM vision. Making this work requires highly trained people, sharing information in efficient processes, supported by world-class technology. This will be a focus area of 3D CIC this year, especially between design-analysis/simulation and design-manufacturing. Conference organizers are pleased to announce that NAFEMS  (the International Association of the Engineering Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Community) will hold their North American bi-annual conference at 3DCIC 2014. In addition, the PDES Board of

Delcam will demonstrate how the “design for manufacture” options in its PowerSHAPE CAD software can rapidly convert product designs into tooling designs on stand 4011 at the MACH exhibition to be held at the NEC, Birmingham, from 7th to 11th April.  The software provides a powerful set of easy-to-use tools to increase productivity for mouldmakers and other tooling designers through increased automation and improved workflow.  Full details, including video demonstrations of the new functionality and the option to download an evaluation version, are on http://lz.powershape.com. By offering a combination of solid modelling, surface modelling and direct modelling functionality, PowerSHAPE provides the most comprehensive range of design techniques available in a single CAD program.  Having all the different technologies in the same package reduces the need to transfer data between multiple programs and so streamlines the whole product development process.  At the same time, the combination of quick and easy direct modelling options,

Major enhancements to feature extraction, part modeler and 5-axis toolpath functionality, are included in the latest release of Alphacam, which is being unveiled at the forthcoming MACH Exhibition. Alphacam 2014 R2, from Vero Software, will be released shortly, and is being highlighted on stand 4361 in Hall 4 at the NEC in Birmingham, between April 7 - 11. Amongst the new functionality and enhancements: Feature Extraction: All feature extraction commands will extract to the current workplane if possible, and the active user layer. Noteable enhancements include improvements to the extraction of partial holes. This can now be anabled or disabled, and uses the specified partial angle to filter results. In addition, small hole chamfers can now be extracted, and there are options on the Feature Configuration dialog to set the preferred tool directions for internal and external paths. Part Modeler: This now includes the ability to convert a 2D drawing into a 3D model

Today, from Ford Field, Siemens announced a $55.8 million in-kind software grant to Mott Community College. Students there will now have access to the same Siemens product lifecycle management (PLM) software used in nearly every manufacturing environment in the world – and by more than 80% of automakers – to improve productivity and efficiency in the manufacturing process. The announcement was made during the 2014 Automotive Summit at the Manufacturing in America Symposium sponsored by Siemens and Electro-Matic. “The manufacturing industry in America is on the rise and it is being transformed by a software revolution that is enhancing productivity, increasing efficiency and speeding time to market,” said Chuck Grindstaff, president and CEO, Siemens PLM Software. “This revolution requires a highly trained workforce. With this grant, Mott Community College will be able to integrate world-class PLM technology into its curriculum, so that its students are even better prepared for co-op assignments

Autodesk, Inc. unveiled the 2015 versions of its popular 3D animations tools: Autodesk 3ds Max, Maya, MotionBuilder, Mudbox, Softimage, and the newest addition to the lineup, Maya LT, a 3D animation and modeling tool for professional indie game makers. Autodesk also announced the availability of the 2015 Entertainment Creation Suite for 3D animation and visual effects. “Our strongest releases in many years, the 2015 versions put more creative power back into the hands of the artists,” said Chris Bradshaw, senior vice president, Media & Entertainment at Autodesk. “To achieve this, we redesigned core parts of our applications focusing on performance, ease-of-use and innovative new tools like Bifrost that make it simpler to do complex tasks. Whether our users are creating effects for a movie blockbuster, a game for one of the new consoles or developing a mobile app, the 2015 versions allow artists to focus on what they do best – storytelling.” Creating animation today is

PTC announced that Fujitsu Limited has adopted the PTC Service Parts Management solution to optimize its service parts management process. The PTC solution will enable Fujitsu to improve the performance of its service parts function and reduce unnecessary inventory.  Today, Fujitsu's locations in and outside of Japan use and manage personal computer service parts differently with different process maturity levels. The lack of a standardized process prevents Fujitsu from accurately forecasting demand, stabilizing inventory, and fulfilling parts shipment requests on a timely basis. Fujitsu selected the PTC Service Parts Management solution to achieve a consistent domestic and overseas planning process, centrally manage its parts inventory, and implement standard operational processes around the world.  According to a report by leading industry analyst firm the Aberdeen Group, (Service Parts Management 2013: Align Planning and Forecasting with Efficient Resolution) "the efficient management of service parts has become a strategic business operation which can drive not only operational efficiencies but