PROCESSORS

ESI Group announced that PAM-QUIKFORM for CATIA V5, developed under the CAA V5 Gold Software Partnership Agreement signed with Dassault Systèmes (DS) (NASDAQ: DASTY; Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA), a world leader in 3D and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, is available starting January 2007. PAM-QUIKFORM is currently implemented in CATIA V5 Composites Design, Dassault Systèmes’ composite design module. The purpose of PAM-QUIKFORM for CATIA V5 is to enable decision-making early in the design process, by eliminating bad design choices that would later lead to manufacturing problems. “This new product from ESI Group will allow users to leverage CATIA V5 Composites Design, which increases productivity by performing fiber simulations that are directly built upon the laminate definition in CATIA.” said Frederic Vacher, Manager of Partnership Business Development at Dassault Systèmes. "This additional CAA V5 product complementing the V5PLM composite portfolio will strongly benefit our PLM customers from the aerospace industry." ESI Group’s PAM-QUIKFORM software is a simulation tool capable of predicting the deformation of the reinforcement of composite parts during manufacturing. PAM-QUIKFORM is based on geometrical methods and can tell, in a matter of seconds, if a selected material can be used to form a part without potential problems, like wrinkling. The flat pattern of the plies of the laminate are computed simultaneously and can be used for nesting and cutting machines. PAM-QUIKFORM features a unique capability on the market that enables the simulation of unidirectional composite deformation during the draping process. The PAM-QUIKFORM algorithms capture the specific deformation mechanisms occurring in unidirectional draping, like intra-ply sliding, or the spreading of the fibers. The benefits resulting from the integration of PAM-QUIKFORM in CATIA V5 Composites Design are important and numerous. The simulations can be directly performed based upon the laminate definition built in CATIA V5 Composites Design, dramatically increasing productivity. All the existing CATIA V5 Composites Design options are available, like flattening and 2D/3D transfer, and they are exportable to digital manufacturing machines like Automatic Laser Pointer or nesting and cutting programs available in CAA V5. Generally speaking, PAM-QUIKFORM customers will benefit from the powerful CATIA V5 3D-PLM collaborative engineering environment. PAM-QUIKFORM for CATIA V5 integration follows the integration of resin transfer molding and infusion simulation in CAA V5. The next steps include the enhancements of PAM-QUIKFORM for CATIA V5 capabilities, like the simulation of the draping of a non aligned ply along a seed line. Automatic tape laying (ATL) and automatic fiber placement (AFP) will also be considered. “The integration of PAM-QUIKFORM for CATIA V5 is an example of the physics-based simulation brought by ESI Group that can be embedded in CATIA V5 Composites Design in order to offer a complete solution that covers the design and the virtual manufacturing of composite parts. This kind of step should accelerate the current effort of aeronautics toward a simulation-based design,” declares Patrick de Luca, Composites Center of Excellence Manager at ESI Group.