INDUSTRY

New Parasolid Support Driven By Increasing Customer Demand for State-of-the-Art 3D Applications on Mac OS X -- UGS PLM Solutions, the product lifecycle management (PLM) subsidiary of EDS, today announced it has ported Parasolid(R), the world's leading 3D geometric modeling component software, to Mac OS X. The announcement was made in conjunction with the Congress On the Future of Engineering Software (COFES) 2004, which opened today in Scottsdale, Arizona. Parasolid provides the geometric modeling foundation for many of the world's leading computer-aided design, manufacturing and engineering analysis (CAD/CAM/CAE) applications. UGS PLM Solutions develops Parasolid, uses it throughout its product development applications and licenses it to independent software vendors (ISVs) and end-user organizations on a "level playing field" policy that ensures all licensees have equal access to Parasolid updates and enhancements. "We are pleased to offer Parasolid support for the ever increasing customer demand for 3D applications on Mac OS X," said Bruce Feldt, vice-president of PLM Open products, UGS PLM Solutions. "Open innovation is a strategic imperative for today's manufacturer and open solutions like Parasolid help enable this innovation. It is estimated that over 40 percent of the world's 3D CAD data is based on Parasolid's open data format and now Mac users and Mac-based application software developers will be able to link into this vast community." More than one million end-users employ Parasolid-based modeling applications across the product lifecycle and Parasolid is increasingly preferred as the modeling foundation for innovative design and manufacturing applications in markets leveraging the Mac platform. The Mac has traditionally been the platform of choice for graphics professionals and designers who require a creative and flexible computing environment. Apple is also experiencing tremendous success with the Power Mac G5 in the science and high performance computing markets with installations like the Virginia Tech G5-based supercomputer -- the third-fastest supercomputer in the world -- built out of 1,100 Power Mac G5 computers. By making Parasolid available in this environment, UGS PLM Solutions enhances its product offering and opens up new markets and opportunities in non-traditional industries. In addition, Apple benefits from the expanded catalogue of 3D Parasolid-based applications available to the global manufacturing community on Mac OS X. "The stability, high performance and ease of use of Mac OS X and the groundbreaking Power Mac G5 are a perfect solution for creating 3D engineering applications," said Ron Okamoto, Apple's vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations. "Parasolid will further broaden the appeal of the Mac for the manufacturing industry by allowing Mac developers to create robust 3D applications that can benefit from the super fast Power Mac G5." Support for Mac OS X will be available with Parasolid V16.0, scheduled to begin shipping at the end of this month.