Industry Summary Articles

Stephen Webster Ltd, founded by one of Britain’s leading designers of luxury jewellery, Stephen Webster, is internationally renowned for its chic and dramatic glam-rock jewellery, with over 200 points-of-sale worldwide and seven boutiques in London, Beverly Hills, Moscow, St Petersburg, Kiev, Vienna and Marbella.  Its pieces have been worn by celebrities such as Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Kate Moss, Sir Elton John, Rihanna and Kate Beckinsale, to name but a few. Edward Slater, head of the company’s CAD department, explained how the company created its jewellery – "Our designers always start with a brief as to the theme and inspiration for a particular project before they sketch out their designs.  Our Jewels Verne or Le dents de la mer collections, for example, were initially inspired by 2000 leagues below the sea.”  Each collection consists of up to thirty or forty pieces, including earrings, rings, necklaces and larger statement pieces, such as cuffs.  The

PTC today announced that it will release its fiscal 2014 third quarter results on Wednesday, July 23rd after the stock market closes. Senior management will host a live webcast and conference call to review the results on Thursday, July 24that 8:30am Eastern Time. The earnings press release and accompanying prepared remarks will be accessible prior to the conference call and webcast on the Investor Relations section of the Company’s web site at PTC - Investor Relations. What: PTC Fiscal Q3’14 Conference Call and Webcast                                When: Thursday, July 24th, 2014 at 8:30am (ET)                                          Dial-in: 1-800-857-5592 or 1-773-799-3757 Call Leader: James Heppelmann Passcode: PTC                                          

CADLearning subject-matter experts were awarded more than 20 sessions as part of the speaker selection process for Autodesk University 2014 to be held at Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada December 2nd - 4th. Speakers include Matt Murphy, Award-winning speaker from 4D Technologies and subject-matter expert David Butts, top speaker award winner at AU 2011 and creator of CADLearning for AutoCAD MEP courses and BIM Specialist at Gannett Flemming. "That our team has been awarded nearly 25 classes at Autodesk University 2014 proves to me that we work with the best subject-matter experts in the industry," said Matt Murphy, Director of Content Management and Development. "Team members will share their real-world knowledge on how to improve productivity, performance and interoperability, in various lectures, labs and roundtable sessions.” Additional CADLearning subject-matter experts speaking at the event include Jason Boehning, Seth Cohen, David Cohn, Rick Ellis, Scott Moyse, Steven Schain and Michael Thomas. To view

GRAPHISOFT® announced that a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed with the Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA). The MOU signals a commitment to working together for the advancement of architecture and specifically to promoting Building Information Modeling (BIM) knowledge and enhancing professional BIM skill levels among architects in Singapore. The MOU was signed by Tibor Stahl, Director and Colin Kum, Sales Director of GRAPHISOFT Hong Kong Singapore Branch; Theodore Chan, President of SIA; and Mr. Ashvinkumar, Immediate Past President of SIA. The MOU was designed to establish a SIA-GRAPHISOFT Partnership Program to boost collaboration and jointly host seminars, workshops, and events. The Partnership Program includes sponsorship in the following areas: Archifest and ArchXpo Sponsorship (2014, 2015, and 2016) SIA Practice Convention Sponsorship and Knowledge Sharing (2015, 2016, and 2017) SIA Design Awards Category Sponsor (2014, 2015, and 2016) Professional Knowledge Seminars (2014, 2015, and 2016) With this partnership, GRAPHISOFT is committed to sharing deeper knowledge of

Altran UK and Theorem Solutions announced a partnership to implement Product Data Managed (PDM) Exchange, a new solution that allows companies with different CAD and PLM systems to exchange information seamlessly and securely throughout the product lifecycle.  Theorem Solutions will provide the underlying software and technical support while Altran’s engineers and consultants will provide the implementation expertise as part of its Lifecycle Experience solution. “The new partnership between Altran UK and Theorem Solutions will enable our clients to collaborate electronically using complex product data without having to use the same PLM or CAD products,” remarked Mike Simms, CEO of Altran UK. “This missing link in the PLM story has forced OEMs to impose CAD systems and PLM processes on their supply chains, holding back innovation. We intend to release this brake by giving companies back the incentive to invest in their own competitiveness. The technology offered by Theorem Solutions will be a

Mentor Graphics Corporation announced the acquisition of XS Embedded GmbH (XSe), a technology leader in the creation of automotive system architectures and hardware reference platforms. XSe has over ten years of direct experience in the automotive electronics design industry across twenty automotive programs that combine hardware and software expertise. XSe brings a pioneering approach to accelerate system design and verification by providing automotive-grade hardware and software to reduce the time to SOP. Mentor is now well positioned to address the cross-functional collaboration needs required to address the trends towards integration of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), Driver Information and Infotainment domains. Modern automotive systems push the technology envelope with feature-rich embedded systems that combine high-quality graphics, domain-specific audio, multi-media, mobile device integration and connectivity.  The design challenges are tremendous with millions of lines of code per vehicle, cross-domain function consolidation, mixed safety criticality, security, and the use of heterogeneous multi-core SOCs. These challenges

ZW3D today announced the release of its brand-new CAD/CAM user community, in a bid to provide its members a forum to share ideas, insights and concerns with other professionals in the world. ZW3D builds a community of 450,000 CAD/CAM users, representing various industries including consumer goods, consumer packaged goods, electronics, home appliances, automotive parts etc., for the interchange of knowledge, experiences, and technical information about the application of ZW3D CAD/CAM solutions. Besides, the forum is also a platform for users to communicate with ZW3D regarding the current and future capabilities and use of CAD/CAM software. This ZW3D forum consists of the following 4 sections: ZW3D Discussion – Designers and engineers worldwide can exchange opinions, voice concerns and seek support regarding product design, mold design and CNC Machining. Learning Center – A large pool of tutorial resources, including installation guide, technical tips & tricks, videos and CAD/CAM white papers is provided to assist designers and

Optitex today announced the release of Version 12.3 of its software. This latest version includes several major developments: a new tool within Optitex PDS that significantly improves the design and development workflow for garments that use printed fabrics; and a new add-on module to Optitex CutPlan that enables improved inventory utilization. The new Printed Fabric Tool , now integrated into Optitex Pattern Design Software (PDS), facilitates the accurate positioning of style pieces on printed fabric. From within Optitex PDS, designers and pattern makers can see how the printed image will lie on the garment, make adjustments and immediately view the effects of every change. With Optitex 3D Suite, users can make changes on the 2D pattern or 3D model and see the results simultaneously in both. This greatly increases pattern design accuracy for any garment that utilizes printed fabric, and eliminates the time and costs of creating physical samples. Full 3D visualization also

Software training firm Infinite Skills Inc. last week introduced its "Mastering Autodesk Inventor - T-Splines," an advanced course teaching experienced Inventor users how to apply cutting edge t-spline technology to enrich smooth surface models in the popular computer assisted design (CAD) program for mechanical engineers. T-Splines were invented in 2003, and were first available as a plug-in for Rhino. Autodesk acquired the technology in 2011, introducing it first in Autodesk Fusion 360. The technology now comes as a palette of tools within Inventor, significantly enhancing the program's capabilities for smooth surface modeling. Infinite Skills' Mastering Autodesk Inventor - T-Splines Tutorial demonstrates how to use these powerful tools with a highly focused course that includes projects for learning to apply the lessons in everyday design situations. Course author Paul Munford began his career as a woodworker building sets for the movie and television industry. He later moved into the digital design world, eventually becoming

Software training firm Infinite Skills Inc. this week introduced its “Learning SketchUp Pro 2014 Tutorial,” an introductory course teaching the popular, easy-to-use functionality of the 3D modeling program for application in all types of professional design. SketchUp Pro provides several inventive features that have made the program popular amongst amateur and professional designers. Its drawing layout functionality provides a user-friendly interface, making the program easy to learn, while its fully interactive 3D Warehouse provides an infinite world of models to incorporate in the user's designs. Infinite Skills’ Learning SketchUp Pro 2014 Tutorial teaches all the fundamental tools and techniques for getting started with SketchUp, providing a foundation of SketchUp skills that can be applied to any design practice. Course author Daniel Brown is a recognized expert trainer for SketchUp and currently runs his own 3D modeling and training service, DV-3D. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Nevada at