The movie “Iron Man 3” just showed up on pay cable this week, and I had to watch it again. (Better than 2, worse than 1, in my opinion.) For those who did not see it, or could care less, the lead character, who has a sky high Q rating, meets a kid and refers to himself as “The Mechanic.” In some ways this is true, because throughout all three films, Tony Stark (played wonderfully by Robert Downey Jr.) is always making and fixing things. He anthropomorphizes his industrial robots, talking to them (and they seem to understand), and even putting a Dunce cap on one in this latest installment. And they help him do his bidding in his formidable workshop. OK, all fine and dandy, you might be saying, but what does this have to do with PLM? Over the last 12-18 months, CIMdata has had calls with a number

After the announcement of five new dealerships in 2013 JETCAM International s.a.r.l. continued their expansion with the formation of JETCAM Pacific Pty. Based in Sydney, Australia, the company will offer sales and service for all existing and prospective companies in the sheet metal and composite manufacturing sectors. JETCAM already has a strong user base in Australia, driving virtually every CNC punch, laser, combination, waterjet, plasma, oxyfuel, router and knife cutter available today. JETCAM Expert is suitable for all companies - from small sheet metal shops up to multi-national companies. JETCAM’s CrossTrack manufacturing suite bridges the gap between the shop floor and ERP system by providing unparalleled traceability and control. Said Martin Bailey, General Manager of JETCAM International s.a.r.l.; “Now that Australia’s post-recession roots are taking firm hold we want to help manufacturers take their CNC efficiency to the next level. Last year we announced several new features, and 2014 will continue with our

SolidProfessor, a SolidWorks Solution Partner focused on delivering the best eLearning resources for CAD, CAM and BIM organizations, today announced that it will demonstrate its eLearning platform at the SolidWorks World 2014 Conference, being held from January 26-29, 2014 at the San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, California, USA. The 16th annual SolidWorks World Conference brings together designers, engineers, managers, and partners to discuss ideas, trends, and the technology shaping the future of product design. Show attendees will see how SolidProfessor and SolidWorks® software allow customers to stay ahead of the curve with the latest design practices, standardize skills across a global team, and get the most out of the design tools they rely on. As a SolidWorks Solution Partner, SolidProfessor provides an integrated skills development solution that allows companies to lay a foundation for innovation by providing access to the latest training and education to ensure that their team is always up-to-date. A comprehensive

Delcam’s dedicated channel on YouTube for its Advanced Manufacturing Solutions now contains more than 1,000 videos.  The Delcam AMS channel, which is located at www.youtube.com/DelcamAMS, includes product demonstrations, tutorials on new features in recent software releases, and testimonials from customers and technology partners.  To make navigation easier, the videos have now been grouped into sections by product.  There are separate playlists for each of Delcam’s CAM products, PowerMILL for high-speed and five-axis machining, FeatureCAM for feature-based programming, PartMaker for programming turn-mill equipment, Swiss-type lathes and bar-fed mills, and the Delcam for SolidWorks integrated CAM system, and for the PowerSHAPE CAD system and PowerINSPECT inspection software. Similarly, the customer testimonials are separated by industry, with individual playlists for applications such as automotive, aerospace and medical.  Each testimonial details the reasons why the customer chose Delcam software and the benefits to the business since adding the programs. What’s New videos have been added for all

At the 2014 JEC Composites show, March 11-13, 2014 at the Paris Expo, Porte de Versailles, CGTech will be demonstrating the process of programming automated composite machinery. Visitors to CGTech's stand, Q12 Pavillon 7.3, will have the opportunity to receive a thorough overview of the steps needed to get from a CAD designed composite part to CNC programs that drive an Automated Fiber Placement (AFP) or Automated Tape Laying (ATL) machine. There will be updated information on projects presented at past JEC events, as well as information on new projects that highlight the implementation and use of machine independent off-line NC programming software for AFP and ATL machines. Current customer projects to be highlighted include extensive use of robots, lasers, probing, and ultrasonic knifes. “Manufacturers of AFP and ATL machinery typically supply in-house developed off-line NC programming software with their machine, forcing companies to inconveniently adopt multiple software applications for multiple brands

IMSI®/Design released upgrades for TurboSite® Pro and TurboSite Plus, the award-winning apps for field reporting. Exposing BIM properties and displaying 3D section cuts lead the list of new features for TurboSite Pro v2.5. Both TurboSite Pro and TurboSite Plus v2.5 get the ability to add maps to drawings and, for the first time, mark up 2D PDF files with playable video that is directly inserted into the portable document format. No other mark up application in AEC -- whether on mobile or desktop -- has this powerful capability. Innovative GeoMarks™ are one of the powerful features that set TurboSite apart from other mobile AEC apps, allowing architects, engineers, and construction professionals to richly document findings in the field with videos, audio, photos, and text notes. A field report can be immediately shared electronically in a variety of ways, including "dynamic" PDF, HTML, and using TurboSite® Standard as a freely-distributed reader. A user can

Lattice Technology, Inc., today announced XVL Studio version 12.1. This latest release contains features that improve productivity and collaboration capabilities. Lattice Technology delivers solutions that build on top of existing 3D design data, allowing companies to seamlessly increase the use of 3D data beyond engineering to all segments of the product lifecycle -- including to customers. Organizations use the company's XVL technology as the backbone for sharing 3D model data across the extended enterprise because it is ultra-lightweight (usually one half of one percent of the native CAD model), accurate and remains associated to the native CAD model. XVL is an ideal foundation for uses such as assembly process planning, work instructions, technical illustrations, electronic spare part catalogs and service portals. "With this release, we continue to make our products easier to use and more powerful," explained Bill Barnes, General Manager, Lattice Technology, Inc. "Our goal is to make it easy for users

AVEVA today announced its release of a new business paper ‘Plant Design for Lean Construction – at your fingertips’. This paper explains how new mobile technologies improve project access by design decision makers and enhance communication effectiveness across the project team, saving time and reducing design rework. “Industry research tells us that between 5 and 15 per cent of a lead designer’s productive project time can be lost when they are unavailable to make pressing decisions. That is the equivalent of losing a critical-path resource for up to three working days every month – a big impact on project efficiency. With today’s technology, there is no reason why this should be the case,” said Bruce Douglas, Senior Vice-President, EDS Strategy & Marketing, AVEVA. “This new business paper describes how the new AVEVA mobile app can be used as a serious productivity tool for plant design projects.” Industry analyst Tony Christian from Cambashi

Anark Corporation, a provider of automated Model Based Enterprise (MBE) and 3D CAD visualization solutions today announced the release of Anark Core™ 4.2 and MBEWorks™ for SolidWorks 2014 that adds powerful new features, including new 3D Model Based Enterprise authoring and viewing capability which integrates gently into existing PLM Enterprise infrastructure. Anark Core MBEWorks for SolidWorks 2014 will be demonstrated for the first time at SolidWorks World 2014 Jan. 26-29, 2014 (booth # 644) at the San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, CA. This new release of Anark Core and Anark Core MBEWorks adds to its ability to transform native SolidWorks® 2014 parts and assemblies with 3D MBD data (i.e. 3D GD&T, 3D notes, and Annotation Views) the ability to also transform native CATIA V5 and V6 data with 3D MBD (i.e. PMI and Captures) into high-fidelity 3D PDF and 3D HTML MBE documents. "These new breakthrough MBD capabilities enable Anark's SolidWorks and

Zuken announces the expansion of its annual Zuken Innovation World conferences following the success of previous years. This year’s theme is “Power of Innovation”, which has already inspired confirmed speakers from companies around the globe. The call for papers for North American and European conferences is now open and the conference programs are taking shape. Incorporating sessions presented by Zuken technology experts, customers, and industry partners, the previous conference series drew more than 1,200 attendees around the globe. Registration for most events will be open by the end of January. “Our program offers practical and engaging sessions that spark discussions and knowledge sharing. We go beyond how-to sessions to offer presentations that show how users are using our software to create world leading, innovative products that shape the future.” - Steve Chidester, Zuken’s Head of International Marketing Each of the 11 events has a local flavor, with conference programs tailored to the interests