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CONCORD, Mass.,
October 9, 2001 - SolidWorks Corporation today unveiled
eDrawings Professional,
a new software tool that enables team members to communicate
and review designs via e-mail. Most CAD viewing and markup
tools available in the market require all users to buy the
software in order to mark up a design - however, anyone who
receives an eDrawing published using eDrawings Professional
can review, mark up, and measure it without having to purchase
any software. These unique capabilities eliminate common communication
barriers and expedite the design review process, thereby reducing
costly manufacturing errors.
SolidWorks' eDrawings
breaks down software incompatibility and drawing interpretation
hurdles by allowing engineers and designers to easily create
compressed electronic drawings and email them to anyone. eDrawings'
small file size speeds the delivery of designs, eliminating
the need for "snail mail" or faxing. eDrawings' built-in viewer
and self-explanatory tools make it the ideal solution for
anyone who needs to send drawings, part designs, and assembly
designs electronically.
eDrawings Professional essentially
embeds "a markup pen" in an eDrawing, making it "review-enabled."
Anyone who receives a review-enabled eDrawing can measure
(determine size and distance within a model) and mark up (highlight
specific areas of a part and add written comments) that eDrawing
without having to purchase additional software. Users
can save these markups in separate files called "reviews"
and then later merge them into the original eDrawing.
"There is inherently
a lot of back and forth in the design review process," said
Patrick Crooks, engineering technician with Canadian Tool
and Die, one of the leading welded cylinder manufacturers
in Canada.
"I don't know how
many times I've had to circle something on a drawing and fax
it back to customers. Using a fax machine as the primary means
of communication and securing customer approval on a hydraulic
cylinder design can take a couple of days and a lot of telephone
conversations. Because eDrawings Professional allows our customers
to view measurements on the screen and make changes to the
file, we've been able to cut the design review time down to
a day, or even hours. When you're talking about time to market,
that's a significant reduction."
In addition, users
can protect sensitive design data when creating an eDrawing
by disabling the measurement feature so others can't determine
exact specifications. eDrawings Professional also includes
advanced viewing capabilities such as dynamic component translation
(users can interactively move parts in an assembly model to
see areas of interest that may otherwise be hidden), and cross
section views (cut a model in half to view internal details).
The eDrawings
Viewer , the foundation for eDrawings Professional, has
been upgraded to include several customer requested enhancements.
The eDrawings Viewer
provides higher quality graphics and sharper print-quality
than in previous versions of eDrawings so that designers and
reviewers have a clearer view of the products they need to
prepare for production.
Other eDrawings Viewer
enhancements include:
- Support for parts, assemblies, and drawings - Users can
now create eDrawings from parts, assemblies, and drawings,
making it easier to share data earlier in the design process
when production drawings may not exist;
- eDrawings Manager - This feature provides users easy,
direct access to important data and design interpretation
tools within an eDrawing, such as drawing layout and assembly
structure information;
- Firewall friendly - eDrawings contains a "firewall-friendly"
alternative to sending self-viewing eDrawings. This new
option emails an eDrawing as an HTML file that will pass
through most email virus filtering systems, and automatically
downloads the viewer from the Internet to the recipient's
PC.
"For some companies, the design review process can be a Herculean
task," said Robert McDonald, eDrawings product manager for SolidWorks.
"There may be 50 or more people reviewing a single design, and
that could take weeks. With the eDrawings Viewer and eDrawings
Professional, we've accelerated that process so that once an
eDrawing arrives for review, the recipient can immediately begin
editing it without having to download anything. That speeds
time to market, which is critical in competitive industries."
The eDrawings Viewer
and eDrawings Professional are built using HOOPS technology
from Tech Soft America (TSA). The HOOPS 3D Application Framework,
Stream Toolkit, and Net Server components enable eDrawings
to deliver sophisticated graphics capabilities including advanced
streaming and file compression.
Pricing and
Availability
Pricing for eDrawings
Professional starts at $995.00 (USD) and the eDrawings Viewer
is free. Users can download the pre-release version of the
eDrawings Viewer and a trial version of eDrawings Professional
from www.solidworks.com/edrawings
.
About SolidWorks
Corporation
SolidWorks Corporation,
a Dassault Systemes S.A. (Nasdaq: DASTY, Euronext Paris: #13065,
DSY.PA) company, develops and markets mechanical design software
solutions. Founded in 1993, SolidWorks' mission is to deliver
the power of 3D to everybody in design and manufacturing.
In five years of shipping product, SolidWorks has shipped
more than 145,000 total seats of software consisting of over
81,000 commercial seats and more than 64,000 educational seats
worldwide.
SolidWorks has offices
worldwide and distributes its products through a network of
resellers selling in 70 countries. For the latest news, information,
or a live online demonstration, visit the company's Web site
(www.solidworks.com )
or call 1-800-693-9000 (outside of North America, call +1-978-371-5000).
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SolidWorks and
the SolidWorks logo are registered trademarks of SolidWorks
Corporation. Other brands and product names are trademarks
of their respective owners. Copyright (c) 2001 SolidWorks
Corporation.
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