ImpactXoft Launches IX SPeeD Suite of Software for Simultaneous Product Development

New tools allow globally dispersed development teams to create and modify digital product models together simultaneously

SAN JOSE, California - September 6, 2001 - ImpactXoft Corp. announced today the launch of its flagship IX SPeeD Suite of software for Simultaneous Product Development (SPD). IX SPeeD software combines next-generation digital modeling for mechanical design with advanced tools for global design collaboration. The interlocking technologies in IX SPeeD serve as a foundation for Simultaneous Product Development, a method of collaboration in which members of worldwide development teams co-develop products in parallel to achieve dramatically reduced time to market.

Created for organizations that wish to practice parallel co-development, IX SPeeD shortcuts the time-consuming steps and handoffs characteristic of traditional product development processes. It is the first design-authoring software that allows project members to create, revise, and finalize digital product models together simultaneously, either in online synchronous mode or offline asynchronous mode. Using IX SPeeD, design specialists anywhere in the world contribute expertise to the same digital product model at the same time, easily merging changes and exchanging ideas over the Internet.

"ImpactXoft's vision for capturing, managing, and applying knowledge about a design, and having it automatically influence and constrain a model's behavior downstream, is a powerful collaborative aid," said Bruce Jenkins, executive vice president of Daratech. "Ultimately, we believe such an approach to modeling and knowledge management could enjoy the same success as parametric feature-based modeling a decade ago."

Attilio Rimoldi, president & CEO of ImpactXoft Corp., said, "Since the wide adoption of the most recent disruptive technology, the Internet, industry has been waiting for a mechanical engineering application that would incorporate such technology within its architecture. IX SPeeD does just that, and we believe mechanical designers will soon change from today's isolated design methodology to a vastly more productive real-time design collaboration."

An article in the February 2001 Computer Aided Design Report stated that collaboration isn't the only area in which ImpactXoft has broken new ground. The geometric modeling is unique and may ultimately prove superior to CAD systems that employ a history tree of features such as PTC's Pro/ENGINEER; Dassault Systemes' CATIA and SolidWorks; SDRC's I-DEAS; and UGS's Unigraphics.

Underlying Technologies

The IX SPeeD Suite is based on three technologies that ImpactXoft developed to enable Simultaneous Product Development:

• IX Functional Modeling. A new authoring method of shaping digital models by applying features with the added notion of functionality. The software automatically generates complex geometry, establishes associative relationships between part features, and frees users from cumbersome history-based rules of operation found in other parametric modelers.
• IX Functional Object Representation?. A new approach to communicating the full intelligence of part geometry by capturing it in a compressed data format, a "design recipe" that can be shared over connections even lower than 28 kbps.
• IX Design Intent Merge. A new scheme for coordinating digital models by automatically synchronizing and blending design modifications into the models stored on each project member's workstation, possible only because of Functional Modeling's non-history-based approach and behavioral features.

The new software architecture necessary to support these technologies provides a foundation for Simultaneous Product Development, a method that existing solid modeling systems cannot support.

In synchronous co-development, for example, project members log on to a design session and work together in real time to create a digital product model. Modeling operations merge immediately with the respective models of participating team members.

In asynchronous co-development, project members work separately on assigned design tasks and then send changes to other team members, who have the option of selectively or automatically accepting modifications whenever they join the project. Asynchronous mode is well suited for product development teams located in different time zones. For role-specific co-design, the software displays different versions of the same model to project managers, industrial designers, mechanical engineers, procurement specialists, molding manufacturers, and so on.

About IX SPeeD Suite

The IX SPeeD Suite consists of two sets of tools: IX Design, digital modeling software reinvented for the age of the Internet; and IX Collaboration, server software that supports global parallel co-design.

IX Design contains the following capabilities and more:

Behavioral Features that extend normal solid modeling beyond the standard form and fit definitions to include functional knowledge, allowing such features to operate according to specific behavioral characteristics.

Sketcher, Wireframe, Surface, and Detailing functions allow users to build and manage complex models and assemblies.

The Organizer and Navigator store, link to, and manage related documents and applications, and manage the model structure, versioning, and alternative configurations.

IX Collaboration contains the following capabilities and more:

Selective and Automatic Sharing where project members can share design changes with all others automatically, or they can select who receives what changes.

Selective and Automatic Merging where project members can merge all design changes they receive into their digital model automatically, or they can select which changes to include and when.

Notification Mailbox with which project members can easily view the design data they have shared and the design data they have received from others.

Global Chat and Bulletin Board with which project members can easily communicate their additions and changes using an automatic chat extension while in synchronous mode. The chat can be saved to document the design progress and to record individual contributions. Project members can also view all past and recent updates to a design.

Pricing and Availability

Available on October 1, 2001, from ImpactXoft and its resellers, this enterprise solution includes both collaboration and authoring software and is offered on an annual subscription basis. Either customer-hosted or ImpactXoft-hosted servers support collaboration. Local language support is available in English and Japanese. German, Chinese, French, and Italian will be added in the near future. The software and documentation are supplied via Internet downloads. The IX SPeeD Suite requires a Microsoft? Windows operating system and runs on most standard PC configurations. Please contact ImpactXoft for pricing information.

About ImpactXoft Corp.

ImpactXoft Corp., a private, venture-funded company, was officially founded in June 1999, after earlier development by founders Attilio Rimoldi and Martin Welch. The company recently completed an oversubscribed second round of funding. Its current focus is on expanding its web-centric collaborative modeling software based on a modern architecture designed for the Internet. The IX SPeeD Suite? application enables globally dispersed team members to create, evaluate, and change product definitions both asynchronously and synchronously. The practice of Simultaneous Product Development (SPD) encompasses manufacturers, supply chains, strategic partnerships, virtual corporations, and other forms of the extended enterprise in all stages of the product lifecycle. http://www.impactxoft.com.

 

Sponsored Links

AnyDWG Offers DWG to PDF, DWG to DXF, PDF to DWG, DWG to JPG, PDF to DXF Converters

AutoDWG offers DWF to DWG, DWG to PDF , PDF to DWG, DWG to Flash Converters, DWG Viewer.

eCampus.com Get your stuff for College... Cheap! Textbooks, Greek Gear, DVD's, University Clothing, Computers and MORE!

Access Your PC from Anywhere Free Trial plus 10% Off!