Toyota partners in collaborative design software

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Jun 4, 2001

ImpactXoft has made public a 15-month-old partnership with Toyota Caelum in their creation of a new generation of digital modeling software for Simultaneous Product Development

ImpactXoft has made public a 15-month-old partnership with Toyota Caelum, (TCI).

Headquartered in Nagoya, Japan, TCI has supported ImpactXoft in their creation of a new generation of digital modeling software for Simultaneous Product Development (SPD).

Today's announcement succeeds the one made by TCI on April 25 at an event in Tokyo hosted by the prestigious Nikkei Business Publications.

Attended by 150 industry professionals, executives and consultants, the event celebrated the Japanese launch of ImpactXoft's new technology, which TCI is making available to the Japanese market starting in June, 2001.

TCI is an independent subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corp.

The firm develops, sells and maintains mechanical design automation (MDA) software for manufacturing industries throughout Japan and has provided longtime systems support for Toyota Motor Corp.

and Toyota's supplier base.

The IX SPeeD Suite by ImpactXoft has been developed for the past 15 months in partnership with TCI.

The terms communicate that TCI will distribute the products in the Japanese market under the name Xxen (pronounced "Zen") while ImpactXoft will continue their distribution as the IX SPeeD Suite to the rest of the world market.

Over two years ago, ImpactXoft co-founder Attilio Rimoldi took a prototype of what would later be known as the IX SPeeD Suite to TCI in Nagoya.

They recognized that the prototype represented a breakthrough for engineering teamwork, and was ideally suited for the type of modeling and collaboration that takes place in Japanese manufacturing markets and among their customers' worldwide supply chains.

The event on April 25th marked the first public acknowledgment of the partnership as well as the first exhibition of the products in Japan.

Attilio Rimoldi, ImpactXoft president and CEO, and Steven Hayes Young, ImpactXoft VP and chief evangelist, attended the event to address editors, analysts and potential users of the new technology.

ImpactXoft's digital product modeling software enables Simultaneous Product Development, a method of design collaboration in which members of the entire global development chain work in parallel to create and finalize part and assembly definitions.

The technology promises to speed time to market and encourage innovation in such industries as automotive, aerospace and consumer goods, among others.

ImpactXoft's technology offers a simplified yet sophisticated approach to digital modeling that lets technical and nontechnical members easily refine product definitions.

"ImpactXoft is a real step forward in realizing the potential of on-line collaboration in product development," explains Charles Foundyller, president of the market research and analysis firm Daratech, Cambridge, Mass.

"IX SPeeD Suite has the potential to deliver a decisive collaborative advantage to adopters of this exciting new technology.".