News Briefs - Software:

UGS Announces Products Interoperable w/ CATIA Software

UGS, a leading global provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) software and services, announced a new family of software products that enable high performance and superior quality interoperability between several of its PLM applications and CATIA V5. Unlike many interoperability solutions, these new products do not require the user to have CATIA V5 in order to use them. Powered by UGS' PLM XML component software, they will be available directly from UGS and work with the company's NX, Teamcenter, and E-factory products.

"Our customers conduct their business in an extended global community that requires data sharing among a large network of PLM software products," said Bruce Feldt, vice president of Open Tools, UGS. "To be successful in this new environment of open innovation, PLM software companies must provide technologies enabling their applications to easily and accurately share data. We believe, to be a true partner with our customers we must supply those technologies as part of an open business model that helps to eliminate artificial and expensive barriers to data sharing and interoperability. The new products we are announcing today provide the high performance and functionality our customers require with the interoperability and openness they have come to expect from UGS."

The announcement includes three new products as well as an enhancement to an existing product.

• The NX Data Exchange translator enables users of UGS' widely used NX computer-aided design, manufacturing and engineering analysis (CAD/CAM/CAE) product to read or create CATIA V5 data directly from within an NX session. This new translator product offers robust support for solid geometry, data organization and data presentation as well as assembly structure information. The translation can be performed interactively or in the background if desired. It is scheduled for production release in June 2004 and will be available for NX 2 and the upcoming NX 3 release.
• The JT translator is a new product enabling the users of UGS' collaboration and visualization applications within its Teamcenter portfolio -- the world's most widely used suite of PLM products -- to directly view CATIA V5 data. This translator creates representations for geometry, product structure, data organization and data presentation in the widely used "JT" data format. This product is scheduled for release in June, 2004.
• The PLM XML Data Adapter is a new product enabling users to translate CATIA V5 data to the rich PLM XML data pipeline provided by UGS. Its two-way capability also allows the user to translate the PLM XML data into CATIA V5 format. This is UGS' first PLM XML adapter for third- party proprietary formats and is consistent with the company's open business strategy.
• E-factory, UGS' suite of digital manufacturing products, is being enhanced in two ways. First, E-factory will be able to use native CATIA V5 data for its factory Stamping product -- a comprehensive press-line programming, simulation, and analysis tool. Second, E- factory will utilize two of the new products described above -- the JT translator and the PLM XML data adapter -- as a part of its overall digital manufacturing process management solution for customers with multiple CAD systems.

The new interoperability products announced are the latest additions to UGS' support for the proprietary CATIA V5 data format. The product data management solution within Teamcenter currently offers the industry's most extensive multi-CAD support including the ability to manage both CATIA V5 and CATIA V4 data in the same environment. As the leading supplier of open solutions to the PLM industry, UGS continues to expand the ability of its software products to work seamlessly in heterogeneous environments under an open business model.