CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
20 March 2007
Product News
Proficiency Launches Collaboration Gatewaytm Version 6.0; Offers Manufacturers Complete Solution for CAD Product Knowledge Migration
Proficiency, Inc. introduced version 6.0 of its Collaboration Gatewaytm, an advanced computer-aided design (CAD) interoperability solution. The new version introduces a higher level approach to the overall CAD migration process, as well as additional market-driven functionality and support for model-based definition (MBD) methodology.
The new product release is available immediately worldwide. Customers of previous versions of the Collaboration Gateway can easily upgrade to the new version.
Proficiency's Collaboration Gateway is used by leading organizations to more effectively extract and share implicit product knowledge from diverse engineering and manufacturing environments. The solution enables organizations from different industries, such as automotive, aerospace and heavy machinery, to significantly reduce the cost and time of product design and development by automating the exchange of product knowledge between product development teams regardless of the CAD system being used.
Proficiency offers solutions in conjunction with certified service providers to deliver solutions that enable the sharing of product knowledge between supported CAD systems. The service providers add details to complete the solution and configure it to meet specific customer conventions and best practices.
"Proficiency's Collaboration Gateway offers manufacturers a unique solution for CAD Product Knowledge Integration (PKI). This new version offers a comprehensive package for migration from CATIA V4 to CATIA V5, which enables a reliable and controllable migration process for the most complex 3D models," said Alex Shapira, President and CEO, Proficiency, Inc. "Combining state-of-the-art methodology and technology, Proficiency's unmatched solution has an impact similar to that of Lean Six Sigma processes: it dramatically reduces the variability of the migration process, compresses the migration time, and increases the parallel reliability and output quality," added Shapira.
Far beyond the traditional translators, which offer only geometry, limited feature support and no record of what was successfully exchanged, Proficiency's Collaboration Gateway addresses the complete product knowledge incorporated in the CAD and PDM models. Precise geometry, feature and history tree manufacturing information can be exchanged and shared with partners and throughout the supply chain.
Proficiency's Collaboration Gateway version 6.0 is a major release, including important new functionality that was developed based on feedback from key Proficiency customers. It supports industry-leading programs and initiatives. The new capabilities in this most recent release have been proven in production with leading customers in the automotive and aerospace industries to effectively handle some of the most complex real-life challenges encountered by their engineering teams.
Highlights of the new release include:
Support for Model-Based Definition Methodology:
Collaboration Gateway version 6.0 now offers the exchange of Product Manufacturing Information (PMI), such as Datum Features, Datum Targets, Dimensions and Feature Control Frames, which are commonly used to place manufacturing data directly on CAD models and drawings. The PMI retains its associativity to the 3D model during a translation.
Support for Top-Level Design Methodologies
CATIA V4 Multi-Model Link (MML): Proficiency now translates complex CATIA V4 designs that use Multi-Model Link methods, while maintaining the associative nature of the design. MML methods are commonly found in automotive engine and transmission designs, such as those typically found in Powertrain. This new support enables users to migrate designs built with links to external bodies and models.
Support for CATIA Hybrid Modeling (V4 and V5 Combined)
Proficiency now translates the CATIA V5 hybrid environment (an environment composed of both CATIA V5 CATParts and CATIA V4 Model files) to any supported CAD application.
Additional enhancements include :
• Support for Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 3
• Support for I-Ideas Open Body methodologies.
• Support of Entity Delete and Surface Delete features.
• Support for most common surface modeling Boolean operations.
• Remastering hints added during import to CATIA V5
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