Collaboration software covers multiple disciplines

A suite of software delivers high-performance visualisation of multidisciplinary product engineering data using a single lightweight viewing technology.

Visual Collaboration Technologies today announced VCollab 2006, a suite of software that delivers high-performance visualisation of multidisciplinary product engineering data using a single lightweight viewing technology.

The new software provides the first common platform for viewing and manipulating 3D digital product design, analysis, and manufacturing information authored in different engineering formats.

With VCollab, individuals and groups throughout product development can share and interact with complex computer-aided-design (CAD), computer-aided-manufacturing (CAM), and computer-aided-engineering (CAE) files without having to access the native applications.

VCollab 2006 extends the opportunity for product visualisation far across the spectrum of engineering disciplines, from the creation of 3D digital product geometry to finite element analysis (FEA), computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and manufacturing assembly simulation.

"Effective collaboration among distributed groups of experts is crucial for competitiveness in product development today", says Vijaya Kalimi, Business Relationship Manager for Tata Consultancy Services.

"Because our customer base is multinational and crosses many industries, we are always looking for tools that improve communication".

"With VCollab we can easily create simple 3D documents and presentations with embedded finite element analysis and computational fluid dynamics simulations, and then share this complex product data efficiently with clients all over the world".

"Our customers have to communicate sophisticated 3D engineering information among their local and global teams and with upstream OEMs and downstream suppliers", says Prasad Mandava, CEO of Visual Collaboration Technologies.

"Many product development teams expend a great deal of time and effort accomplishing this, and they often end up juggling a constellation of viewing tools".

"VCollab 2006 is a significant step forward for industry because it is a multidisciplinary solution".

"Manufacturers can use VCollab to share valuable data and results easily from all of their 3D CAD, CAM and CAE activities".

VCollab allows individuals and groups throughout global manufacturing supply chains to interact with 3D engineering details that have traditionally been difficult to communicate.

The software combines powerful graphics tools with a compression technology that reduces file size while preserving engineering content.

VCollab files can be embedded into Microsoft Office applications or opened directly within Internet Explorer.

Team members can then view embedded CAD, CAM, and CAE product data with laptop or desktop computers, or on graphics clusters in immersive environments, without needing the native engineering software.

The VCollab 2006 software suite comprises three main elements VCollab Pro is scalable, high-performance visualisation software that converts large 3D CAD, CAM, and CAE data sets to highly compressed VCB format.

A file saved in VCB format loads up to 100 times faster than it does in its native authoring format, so communicating 3D product data is easy and convenient.

VCollab Pro contains an array of tools for visualising 3D digital models and simulations.

VCollab Presenter is feature-rich, easy-to-use CAx viewing software that enables nontechnical personnel to view and manipulate 3D CAD, CAM, and CAE information, using Microsoft Internet Explorer, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on laptops and desktops.

VMove CAE is a direct native reader of CAE output results that converts native CAE results files into highly compressed VCollab VCB files based on user inputs.

CAE software supported includes MSC Nastran, LS-Dyna, Ansys and Abaqus.

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