VISTAGY and ESI Group Partnership Provides Unique Simulation Capabilities for Resin Transfer Molding

Integration of FiberSIM data for composites design into PAM-RTM software reduces costs, material waste

WALTHAM, MA, USA and PARIS, France, May 13, 2002�Today at SAMPE 2002, VISTAGY, Inc. and ESI Group announced a partnership agreement for composites modeling. The companies have provided data integration between VISTAGY�s FiberSIM� software, which engineers use to design composite parts, and PAM-RTM (formerly LCMFLOT), an advanced simulation software for Liquid Composite Molding (LCM) from ESI Group. Engineering organizations that design and manufacture composite products will reduce development times, the costs of engineering changes, and material waste as a result of the partnership.

Liquid Composite Molding processes such as Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) are increasingly popular in the automotive, aerospace, medical, and sporting goods industries. These processes simplify and speed up the manufacture of composite parts. Resin Transfer Molding involves infusing resin into a mold cavity filled with a preform of reinforcing fibers. In molds with complex shapes, the fibers can deviate and compact unevenly during draping, which creates areas of varying permeability that slow or stop the flow of resin.

FiberSIM software provides a complete design environment for composite parts, including a draping simulation tool that generates accurate data on fiber orientations. The software then provides this data to PAM-RTM software, which models the flow of resin around the preform fibers. The integration of FiberSIM and PAM-RTM software enables engineers to predict and correct potential molding difficulties without needing to rely on extensive physical prototyping.

V. Chaillou of ESI Group says, �At ESI Group we have a commitment to creating software tools that accurately represent prototyping and manufacturing processes. Our alliance with VISTAGY allows our PAM-RTM software to generate even more realistic molding simulations that eliminate costly trial-and-error procedures for composites design.�

�This partnership allows us to reach an entirely new group of customers,� says Steve Luby, President and CEO of VISTAGY, �and to offer designers working with Liquid Composite Molding processes a capability that they did not have before. In many instances, resin transfer molding is the least expensive process for manufacturing with composite materials. Now that we provide a complete digital product definition that allows faithful simulation of resin injection processes, composites will become an attractive choice in a variety of applications."

About ESI Group 

Editor of virtual testing solutions, ESI Group is a pioneer and world leading provider of numerical simulation prototypes and manufacturing processes that take into account the physics of materials. ESI Group has developed an entire suite of coherent, industry oriented applications to realistically simulate a product's behavior during testing, to fine tune the manufacturing processes in synergy with the desired product performance, and to evaluate the environment's impact on product usage. ESI Group's product portfolio, which has been industrially validated and combined in multi-trade value chains, represents a unique collaborative, virtual engineering solution, known as the Virtual Try-Out Space (VTOS), enabling a continuous improvement on the virtual prototype. By drastically reducing costs and development lead times, VTOS solutions offer major competitive advantages by progressively eliminating the need for physical prototypes. With revenues close to euros 43 million in fiscal year 2001, ESI Group (Nouveau March�: Euronext Paris - Software - Euroclear 6584 - Bloomberg ESI FP - Reuters ESIG.LN) employs over 300 high-level specialists worldwide. The company and its global network of agents provide sales and technical support to customers in more than 30 countries.

About VISTAGY 

VISTAGY, Inc., founded in 1991 as Composite Design Technologies, Inc., develops software that integrates sophisticated tools for engineers into popular CAD systems. Customers for VISTAGY software include more than 100 companies worldwide in the aerospace, high-performance automotive, sporting goods, medical equipment, and marine industries. VISTAGY empowers engineers with software that increases productivity, improves communication, and enables manufacturing organizations to make more-informed decisions. The company offers training and consulting to engineering organizations that wish to integrate their design and manufacturing tools. 

www.vistagy.com.

 

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