CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
14 May 2007
Product News
FreeDesign Receives Patent for FreeDimension Technology
FreeDesign, Inc. announced the granting of a patent in the United States for the software's surface generation technology.
While many improvements in computer-aided design have come piecemeal, the method of 3D curve and surface creation seen in the exciting innovation of FreeDimension constitutes an entirely new - and hence patentable - industry technique.
FreeDimension presents an innovative approach for curve and surface generation in 3D models. The new technology enables designers to stylize 3D models intuitively, unburdened by the need for complex tools to create sculptured surfaces. With an easy user interface, the software expedites what used to be the most difficult task in creating 3D models: the design of naturally looking organic objects, ergonomic surfaces, and rich three-dimensional shapes.
This new freedom in design enables FreeDimension to depart from traditional CAD surfacing based on NURBS (Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines). FreeDimension instead uses a curve-based approach to surface design. FreeDesign's novel surfacing technology, called N-sided surfaces, is now protected under U.S. Patent Number 7,196,702.
"The first year of FreeDesign and the FreeDimension product has been tremendously successful," says FreeDesign CEO Dick Sowar. "Our product has been critically well received, awarded as an innovation and has generated great interest within the design community. Alyn Rockwood, FreeDesign's CTO, deserves special recognition for his formulation of the mathematics that underlies the patent."
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