CLOUD

MSC.Software Corp., the leading global provider of virtual product development (VPD) products including simulation software and services, today announced the release of MSC.Dytran 2004, featuring the first integrated release of MSC.Dytran and LS-DYNA and new tools for helping manufacturers comply with federal safety regulations. "MSC.Software has a very clear product development roadmap that is based upon the integration of our core software products to the benefit of our customers. The combination of MSC.Dytran and LS-DYNA is another milestone in the integration process," said Frank Perna, chairman and chief executive officer of MSC.Software. "We are committed to the continued integration of LS-DYNA with the MSC.Software product portfolio, including MSC.Nastran, and are confident that customers will be extremely pleased with the new functionality of the combined products." "The successful integration of the LS-DYNA solver within MSC.Dytran will provide crash and occupant safety customers with a powerful tool capable of handling complex models that require the advanced fluids capabilities of MSC.Dytran," said John O. Hallquist, President, LSTC. Automotive OEMs and suppliers must comply with an increasing number of safety-related regulatory requirements including standards for crashworthiness (FMVSS 201-224), crash avoidance (FMVSS 101-135), out-of-position occupants (FMVSS 208) and new regulations for fire protection and rear-collisions (FMVSS 301). MSC.Dytran 2004 provides the tools and processes to help manufacturers virtually test crash and safety-related systems and ensure all regulatory requirements are met before physical prototypes are built and tested. MSC.Dytran 2004 includes many new features and enhancements enabling engineers to simulate complex high-speed interactions, provide critical feedback to product development teams and meet strict regulatory requirements. Some of these new features of MSC.Dytran 2004 include: -- The combination of MSC.Dytran and LS-DYNA: MSC.Dytran 2004 is the first version of MSC.Dytran to combine LS-DYNA's structural capabilities within the MSC.Dytran architecture. This new functionality is designed specifically for simulation of large models within high performance computing (HPC) environments, where engineers rely heavily upon distributed memory parallel (DMP) to decrease the solution time for complex analyses of large models. -- Airbag and Occupant Safety Enhancements: In addition to enhancements to the out-of-position (OOP) technologies introduced in MSC.Dytran 2002, MSC.Dytran 2004 includes a new virtual crash dummy model of a Hybrid III 5% female occupant. -- A new web-based forum has been launched to serve MSC.Dytran customers and other safety engineers to share the latest developments and technologies in the areas of airbags and occupant safety. The objective of the forum is to provide an opportunity to our customers and prospects to have an active participation along with MSC.Software developers to define and create the next generation occupant safety models. This forum is intended to be a platform to share information, provide feedback, create discussion groups and check out the latest developments. Please visit the VPD Community MSC.Dytran Forum at http://forums.mscsoftware.com/ . Once there, you can register to discuss and receive news related to MSC.Dytran, as well as all of the products from MSC.Software. -- Availability on MSC.MasterKey: MSC.Dytran 2004 is available under the MSC.MasterKey licensing system. The MSC.MasterKey system is tailored to the unique environment of every customer, maximizing productivity and engineering budgets by providing full-range simulation capabilities and flexible product management from a token-based system.