The combination of ease-of-use and lower cost ensures that the total cost of ownership of SpaceClaim is less than 50% of the cost of traditional CAD products. With this release, SpaceClaim continues to expand into markets where its unique tools address previously unsolved problems and where SpaceClaim Engineer meets users' complete CAD needs. SpaceClaim continues to penetrate markets where traditional CAD is the wrong product for basic engineering tasks, and where ease-of-use, interoperability, and maturity are required to enable engineers, designers, and machinists to work in 3D.
"Before SpaceClaim, it wasn't possible for me to do my job in 3D," said Steve Tyler, Owner, Austmarinetech. "We deal with so many design changes that it wasn't worth the time, let alone the investment, to use feature-based CAD. With SpaceClaim, I can open 2D and 3D designs from suppliers, assemble them into a design, and make changes on the fly. The direct modeling interface gives me instant updates and lets me communicate with team members who don't speak English. Overall, SpaceClaim has improved my process by a factor of two and made my life a lot easier."
"SpaceClaim 2012 is a milestone release for the company. SpaceClaim is now by far the most mature of a new generation of 3D CAD products, and we're now seeing SpaceClaim Engineer selected as a tool of choice for the complete design process, not just for discrete tasks," said Chris Randles, SpaceClaim President and CEO. "Traditional parametric, feature-based tools have reached the limits of their market penetration, but there still exists a huge underserved market for 3D CAD. Most users still use 2D or 3D products with limited capabilities and poor interoperability. SpaceClaim is innovative, affordable, and accessible. It makes it as easy for any user to create, document, and share 3D designs as it is to use mainstream office productivity tools. What we are seeing is the democratization of 3D CAD."
New capabilities in SpaceClaim 2012 include:
- New SketchUp conversion detects regions where SketchUp's approximated, facetted geometry was derived from analytic surfaces such as cylinders and cones, and automatically replaces them with precise geometry.
- Multiple solid editing capabilities, such as cone manipulation, surface pivoting and distance-by-angle chamfers, extend SpaceClaim's lead in direct modeling.
- Smart tools for manufacturing, such as recognition and editing of standard holes, make SpaceClaim increasingly practical for machine shops and detailed design.
- Significant performance improvements to large parts and drawings further confirms that SpaceClaim is the fastest 3D direct modeler available.
- A new lightweight viewer and Microsoft extensions that allow viewing of models from compatible programs such as Microsoft Outlook and Explorer, as well as from a new standalone application.
- JT with PMI export, in addition to existing capabilities, makes SpaceClaim the most comprehensive JT editor on the market today.
- Detailing improvements including exploded views, aligned and unfolded sections, arc length dimensions, text fitting and alignment tools, and BOM templates let more users create detailed drawings in SpaceClaim.
- A new set of 2D and 3D curve repair tools facilitate working with existing drawings and wireframe data and converting them to solid models.
- Several sheet metal enhancements representing unprecedented depth, including mitered flanges, faster unfolding, weld tabs, and improved identification and interaction with sheet metal features.
- Environment reflection and textures enable users to work interactively on more realistic looking models.
- Usability improvements, such as improved selection rendering and reduced selection flashing, make it easier to work on large models.
- Flexible configuration and IT-friendly options facilitate large rollouts to corporate, government, and educational customers.
- Improved interoperability with support for KeyShot 3, Creo 1.0, SolidWorks 2012, and Inventor 2012 ensures compatibility with data from colleagues, customers and suppliers.
- The improved batch file translation utility now supports all formats that SpaceClaim can read and write.
- Expanded API coverage now includes access to more sheet metal parameters, drawing view renderings, and advanced mass properties.
"SpaceClaim and Google SketchUp share a long-term vision of enabling everybody to work in 3D. SpaceClaim's ability to turn SketchUp files into precise solids suitable for manufacturing -- without remodeling -- will enable mechanical SketchUp users to more quickly realize their vision, and help SpaceClaim users take advantage of the millions of models available in our 3D Warehouse," said Tom Wyman, Business Development Manager for Google SketchUp.
SpaceClaim more than doubled its installed base in 2011 and continues to enable more users to be productive in 3D while adding value to manufacturer's existing investments in CAD. SpaceClaim is being rapidly adopted by small-to-medium businesses as a dedicated CAD tool and by large organizations as an engineering tool complementary to long-standing production CAD deployments, thus broadening the use of 3D throughout the entire product development lifecycle.
About SpaceClaim Corporation
SpaceClaim, the leading provider of 3D Direct Modeling software, develops the best direct modeling solution for engineering and manufacturing. SpaceClaim's acclaimed software is easy to learn and use and is completely CAD-neutral. It enables engineers and other manufacturing professionals to rapidly create new designs or manipulate and edit existing 2D and 3D geometry, without the complexity of traditional CAD. Customers include Toyota Motor Corporation, Nokia Siemens Networks, Bosch, TE Connectivity, BorgWarner, Medtronic, Lotus Cars, Sharp, Ford Motor Company, LG Electronics, Eaton, K2 Medical Systems, FuelCell Energy, Emhart Glass, GE Aviation, Carl Zeiss, General Dynamics, and the U.S. Navy. SpaceClaim is privately held and backed by Borealis Ventures, Kodiak Venture Partners, North Bridge Venture Partners, and Needham Capital. For more information on SpaceClaim, please visit
www.spaceclaim.com.
Contact: Bernie Buelow SpaceClaim Corporation (978) 482-2211 Email Contact