PTC LAUNCHES FIRST-EVER FREE, FULLY FUNCTIONAL 3D SOFTWARE SOLUTION FOR DESIGN ENGINEERS

PTC's Pro/DESKTOP Express 3D Design Software Extends Collaboration Throughout the Entire Product Development Value Chain

NEEDHAM, Mass. - Feb. 18, 2002 -- PTC (Nasdaq: PMTC), the product development company, today launched Pro/DESKTOP? Express, the breakthrough design software that allows all engineers to collaborate with other users in the marketplace's most comprehensive product development value chain for free.

Pro/DESKTOP Express is the powerful new parametric solid modeling software that perfectly meets the needs of engineers, designers, students and even home engineers who support, work or collaborate within PTC's Pro/ENGINEER? product development environment. Pro/DESKTOP Express is easy to use, easy to learn and free, and it supports native file geometry transfer and associativity with Pro/ENGINEER.

Even more importantly, Pro/DESKTOP Express users, when participating in a Pro/COLLABORATE? virtual project, will be empowered with CAD design and manipulation functionality.

The Power of Collaboration

PTC also announced today a new, full version of Pro/DESKTOP, available for $995 per license worldwide. In addition to photo-realistic rendering and Visual Basic for Applications, this package provides Pro/DESKTOP users under maintenance contracts with the same Pro/COLLABORATE project creation entitlement enjoyed by maintenance-paying Pro/ENGINEER users. PTC's Pro/COLLABORATE? is a Web-based service allowing PTC customers to work collaborative in virtual project workspaces with anyone in the world.

The www.procollaborate.com Web site delivers collaboration both within the enterprise and across firewalls with external suppliers, manufacturing partners and customers. This can lead to decreases in time-to-market, improved product quality and reduced overhead costs. Pro/COLLABORATE has attracted an incredible 5,700 users since it became available to Pro/ENGINEER licensees in August 2001.

"By integrating Pro/DESKTOP with Pro/COLLABORATE and offering Pro/DESKTOP Express for free we are extending the reach of the product development value chain," said Brian Shepherd, senior vice president of technical marketing at PTC. "Pro/COLLABORATE project participants who are not Pro/ENGINEER licensees can now use Pro/DESKTOP or Pro/DESKTOP Express to access, modify, and manipulate Pro/ENGINEER designs."

Shepherd added, "This is the first time any software developer has offered fully functional 3D design software for free."

Pro/DESKTOP Express users can collaborate over the Internet via an invitation to Pro/COLLABORATE service from a user of either Pro/ENGINEER or the full version of Pro/DESKTOP.

Built on Granite

Bruce Jenkins, executive vice president of the analyst firm Daratech, said, "With Pro/DESKTOP, PTC has launched what users might profitably see as the 'sport' version of its premium modeling technology. Everything is aimed at making the software easy to handle, easy to learn and even exhilarating in the freedom it gives users to interoperate and collaborate with other value-chain members who use Pro/ENGINEER, PTC's 'luxury model.' "

This interoperability is possible because Pro/DESKTOP (as well as Pro/DESKTOP Express) is built on the Granite? One modeling technology PTC introduced in 2001. Granite delivers native file interoperability with any other Granite application, including Pro/ENGINEER.

According to Jenkins, "Granite raised the bar for the merchant-modeler industry by allowing applications built on it to exchange not just geometry but also to create an associative connection. With the addition of collaboration-enabled Pro/DESKTOP, Granite is at the center of an expanding universe that began with Pro/ENGINEER and includes a growing number of third party applications. With this, we believe PTC's vision is unique among product lifecycle management companies."

Easy to use

Pro/DESKTOP is already deployed in a number of large companies where users are engaged in conceptual design, jig and tool design, manufacturing, project management and other functions where Pro/ENGINEER is not required.
"We use PTC's Pro/DESKTOP in our concessions department at Airbus UK to detail modifications to design manufacturing, and in our service support department to detail repair work for aircraft damaged while in service," said Stephen Tothill, engineering CAD / KBE solutions manager at Airbus. "There are approximately 120 users of Pro/DESKTOP within Airbus UK, and they find it very easy to use."

At smaller companies, Pro/DESKTOP often supports the transition from 2D to 3D design. It is also immensely popular among a range of users who place a premium on ease of use, from project engineers to home engineers.

"Choosing Pro/DESKTOP as our primary CAD tool was easy -- it's a logical, inexpensive choice considering all of its capabilities. It has been the ideal tool for us to move from 2D to 3D because of its intuitive features and ease of use," said Peter Readey, president of Steam Machines Inc., a California-based manufacturer of sophisticated scuba gear. "We've used Pro/DESKTOP as our CAD package since 1997 for all of our computer aided design. We use it for all our engineering design work and drawings - for sterolyth parts, molds, even for electronic circuit boards. It is a most versatile tool."

Accelerating development

Steven Bennett, chief executive officer of Starchaser Industries, the United Kingdom-based developer of NOVA, the world's first commercial re-useable manned launch vehicle, said, "The design of NOVA would have been impossible without PTC's Pro/DESKTOP. The aggressive development schedule for this project has meant we need to have our designs right the first time and we have been able to achieve that."

In a testament to Pro/DESKTOP software's ease of use, more than 1 million middle and high school students in the United States and United Kingdom are using Pro/DESKTOP as part of their design and technology curricula. PTC has also announced a new student edition of Pro/DESKTOP that will allow school children to collaborate on creative projects with their peers all over the world.

Both Pro/DESKTOP packages include 2D sketching, parametric feature-based modeling, feature-based drafting, assemblies, 2D and 3D kinematics, collaboration, configurations, animations, Pro/ENGINEER interoperability, and the ability to export PTC ProductView? data. The new versions of Pro/DESKTOP are also integrated with the latest shipping version of PTC ProjectLink.

Where to get Pro/DESKTOP Express and Pro/DESKTOP

Pro/DESKTOP Express is downloadable for free at www.ptc.com/products/desktop or www.procollaborate.com. Alternatively, a CD may be obtained for $15 postage and handling from PTC's e-store https://www.ptc.com/estore/catalog/catalog.jsp.

Pro/DESKTOP is available from PTC's e-store at https://www.ptc.com/estore/catalog/catalog.jsp, from PTC sales representatives, and from industry-leading software resellers listed at http://www.ptc.com/partners/drp/index.htm.

Users who download Pro/DESKTOP Express will be asked to register to receive an activation code. This code is valid for six months; at this point users will be asked to register for another six months. This will ensure they are kept up-to-date on the latest versions and functionality.

About PTC 

TC (Nasdaq: PMTC) develops, markets, and supports software solutions that help manufacturers win with superior products. PTC is the world's largest software company with a total commitment to product development. The company services more than 33,000 customers worldwide. 

www.ptc.com

 

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