Solid Edge Version 16 Supplies Enhancements for Design of Process Equipment

FOR RELEASE Tuesday, June 29, 2004

PLANO, Texas– UGS, a leading global provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) software and services, today announced Version 16 of Solid Edge®, its industry-leading, value-based 3D computer-aided design (CAD) system for the mainstream product lifecycle management (PLM) market, has been significantly expanded to add capabilities to ease the design of complex process equipment.

Since its inception, Solid Edge has been at the forefront of design for mechanical machinery.  Now Solid Edge provides tools for a specialized segment of the machinery market -- process equipment. Process equipment combines a maze of pipes, frames and pumps with mixing and monitoring devices to form some of the largest, most complex custom or semi-custom equipment in the industry today for use within industries such as oil and gas, chemical processing and pharmaceuticals. 

Solid Edge’s capability to design assemblies with more than 100,000 parts is further extended with Version 16’s ability to efficiently provide complete accurate virtual prototypes that slash time to market and reduce errors for the process equipment and other industries by adding:

• Piping Systems Design – Uses Solid Edge XpresRoute technology (also includes wiring and tubing, $995 U.S.) to create predefined paths for pipes to follow through an assembly. Once established, paths are populated with the proper pipes and fittings to create a virtual mockup of the piping system complete with bills of material and cut lists.  Standard piping libraries may be user-defined or licensed separately as an additional option ($495 U.S.)
  
• Frame Design – Develops rigid frame structures for process equipment and other machinery by creating a 3D sketch of a frame skeleton, complete with its relationships. Standard structural cross sections are then used to automatically create the 3D model of the frame and its cut lists for bill-of-material and down stream processing.  Additional weld features may be added as required.  (Included with Solid Edge Classic.)

In addition to these process equipment-specific enhancements, Solid Edge also has added increased capabilities to its industry leading Systems Design and Hybrid 2D/3D strategies. Among the enhancements are:

• New features for adjustable parts, fastener systems and dynamic families of assemblies, all of which deliver more flexibility during the design process. (See Systems Design press release.)
• New tools for hybrid 2D/3D design, including a new and unique “Zero D” capability that allows the definition of product structure before any geometry is committed to paper. (See Zero D press release.)

“Over the past two years, the popularity of Solid Edge has expanded substantially, even during a difficult global economic climate,” said Bruce Boes, vice president of Solid Edge marketing and business strategy. “This popularity is due in part to the attention that Solid Edge pays to the detail of how our customers do their jobs. Designed ‘by engineers for engineers,’ Solid Edge delivers industry-oriented workflows and a user interface designed to make it easy for designers of complex equipment. Our latest enhancements for the process equipment and machinery industries are just two more examples of how we help customers to Design with Insight.”

For more information on Solid Edge Version 16, please see UGS Launches Solid Edge Version 16, June 2, 2004.

The Solution

Solid Edge (www.solidedge.com) from UGS is powerful 3D CAD software that allows manufacturing companies to Design with Insight and achieve competitive advantage through cost reduction, while increasing top line revenues. The exclusive Solid Edge Insight technology embeds design management capabilities directly within CAD, providing insight into design intent to the entire organization and enhancing collaboration. Insight, complemented by Solid Edge’s superior core modeling and process workflows, greatly eases the design of increasingly complex products required to meet continually changing market demands. The extensive Solid Edge user community is comprised of designers at thousands of companies worldwide, including Alcoa, NEC Engineering, and Volvo. The Solid Edge Voyager Program includes 200 integrated engineering software applications and computer hardware solutions.

About UGS

UGS is a leading global provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) software and services with more than 3 million licensed seats and 42,000 clients worldwide.  The company promotes openness and standardization and works collaboratively with its clients in creating enterprise solutions enabling them to transform their process of innovation and thus begin to capture the value of PLM.

Note to editors:  Solid Edge is a registered trademark of UGS Corp. or its subsidiaries in the United States and in other countries.  All other trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks belong to their respective holders.