The challenge of introducing a new product into the highly competitive consumer electronics market can be a daunting proposition for any company. For Cue Acoustics, a Massachusetts-based start-up co-founded by CEO Sam Millen, a veteran industrial designer and product development specialist, choosing the right design solution was a critical first step to developing a next generation best-in-class tabletop audio system. The company needed design software that would enable it to maintain the core design intent while providing the flexibility to quickly incorporate late stage changes without impacting time-to-market. Familiar with competitive CAD tools, Millen immediately selected Pro/ENGINEER for its flexibility and superior top down design, complex surfacing capabilities, and ability to seamlessly integrate with ECAD data.
Pro/ENGINEER enabled the design team to create the complex curvature continuous surface of the Cue radio in one week and supported an iterative design process to achieve the desired final shape. With Pro/ENGINEER, the team was able to adjust the outside depth of the product by a microscopic one – one-hundred-thousandth of an inch to accommodate a late stage change to internal subcomponents and ensure manufacturability - without having to rebuild from scratch. Cue Acoustics enlisted the services of Boston Engineering, a PTC reseller, to help complete manufacturing engineering work and chose a vendor in Singapore that uses Pro/ENGINEER to tool the plastic parts for the radio. By using Pro/ENGINEER, the Cue radio was developed in one year from design to manufacturing.
“Our goal was to develop a premium radio that would be differentiated in the market by its superior sound quality, elegant design and tactile user interface,” said Sam Millen, co-founder and chief executive officer, Cue Acoustics, Inc. “As an industrial designer, I have experience using all of the well-known tools and Pro/ENGINEER was my top choice. It delivers top down design capabilities that other solutions only promise.”
“Using Pro/ENGINEER helps small and medium businesses like Cue Acoustics level the playing field in highly competitive industries like consumer electronics by providing them with the same powerful design capabilities used by leading companies already established in the market,” said Matthew McGovern, director, vertical market strategy, PTC. “PTC is committed to delivering solutions that help customers drive innovation and create high quality products.”
About Cue Acoustics, Inc.
Established in 2006 by co-founder and CEO Sam Millen, Cue Acoustics, Inc. is a consumer audio brand whose mission is to develop high performance, high style, and easy to operate entertainment components for the home. Cue Acoustics is comprised of consumer goods industry and mechanical and industrial design veterans. Cue Acoustics’ first product is The Cue Radio Model r1; the company plans to bring other innovative audio products to the market beginning 2009-2010. http://www.cueacoustics.com.
About PTC Solutions for SMB
PTC solutions for the small and medium business (SMB) market are designed to provide easy-to-use, yet scaleable 3D CAD/CAM/CAE solutions for manufacturing companies at an affordable price. In addition PTC provides dedicated product lifecycle management (PLM) solutions for the unique product data management and collaboration requirements to the midrange market. PTC currently serves over 35,000 SMB customers in 41 countries through more than 320 Value Added Resellers (VARs).
About PTC
PTC (Nasdaq: PMTC) provides leading product lifecycle management (PLM), content management and dynamic publishing solutions to more than 50,000 companies worldwide. PTC customers include the world's most innovative companies in manufacturing, publishing, services, government and life sciences industries. PTC is included in the S&P Midcap 400 and Russell 2000 indices. For more information on PTC, please visit http://www.ptc.com.
Except for the historical information contained herein, matters
discussed in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements
that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those projected. These include: the successful
development and integration of the technology necessary to support an
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from time to time in reports filed by PTC with the Securities and
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most recent reports on Form 10-K and 10-Q. The announcement of any
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