CATweb Adds Two New Products in Version 2.1; e-business Tools to Exploit Engineering Data Over the Web
Charlotte, N.C (April 29, 1998) – IBM* and Dassault Systemes today introduced Version 2.1 of CATIA** Network Computing Solutions (CATweb)**, with two new products that offer customers high-speed, low-cost Java***-based solutions that place native CATIA engineering design data on the Web and make it accessible and usable by non-engineers.
With Version 2.1 the capabilities are expanded for design review. The new version introduces two new products: CATweb Space for measurement and interference checking and CATweb Publish, with easy-to-use tools to publish engineering data to the Web. Additionally, the existing CATweb Navigator product is enhanced with cross-section viewing and assembly manipulation. General availability of Version 2.1 is May 8.
CATweb is an e-business tool that offers users powerful features previously available only to highly trained specialists in dedicated CAD/CAM/CAE environments. It offers unparalleled opportunities for enterprises to bring together customers, vendors, suppliers and non-engineering employees in ways never before possible. In exploiting these opportunities, companies can make significant changes in their business environment to improve customer service, reduce cycle time and get more results from limited resources.
“CATweb has allowed us to open up access to our CATIA data to manufacturing locations, purchasing, and suppliers. Response time is such that users often do not realize the data they are viewing is not located on their own workstation. We salute Dassault Systemes’ use of open standards such as Java to provide this revolutionary product,” comments Phil Harrison, design manager, Standard Motor Products.
CATweb Space introduces the ability to check 3D-interferences, minimum distances and clearances. Simply by selecting an object, the user can check if the part fits in an assembly, is interference-free and respects minimum design clearances. CATweb Space also adds capabilities for advanced measurement. The user selects two objects in a 3D-window and the minimum distance between the parts or models is highlighted and displayed.
CATweb Publish provides easy-to-use tools that allow anyone with appropriate authority to publish information automatically on the Web. Any user can quickly capture views, embed and annotate them and place them on the Web without special training. These standard Web pages may reside on the CATweb server and any user can access this information with a browser. These pages can also be printed, stored locally or easily sent to a user or group of users who may be part of a review team through an e-mail system such as Lotus Notes.
CATweb Navigator has been enhanced to provide advanced viewing capabilities such as real-time local transformation functions. With CATweb Navigator, 3D-data can now be compressed up to 30 times compared to the typical 3D-data transmission format (VRML). This enables increases in speed that make it practical to work locally with complex 3D-data. Java-based viewing applets can be attached to the document allow recipients to manipulate the 3D-model locally within the HTML page.
“The engineering domain is quickly discovering the benefits of working on the Web. CATweb is becoming as useful and easy-to-use as e-mail. Anyone, even people who could never before directly access product information, can now simply surf to it over the Web. They are able to communicate and share both engineering and company data any time and from any place,” said Bernard Charles, president of Dassault Systemes. “CATweb Version 2 is another step toward Dassault Systemes’ vision of the digital enterprise.”
According to Frank Lerchenmueller, vice president of IBM Worldwide Engineering Technology Solutions, “Customers around the world tell us that a tight linkage among all areas of their business, both internally and with their customers and suppliers, is critical to their success. CATweb provides an ideal way to accomplish this. The synergy between CATIA and the worldwide Web is a strategic solution that helps companies compete more efficiently.”
Source: IBM