Articles, Q&A, News and Views

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND and NEWCASTLE, ENGLAND – 21/04/11 – Processflows Ltd, UK Distributor of Shapespace Enterprise Solution, has won an order at Radford Shelving Ltd, a shopfitting and equipment supply company. The Newcastle based company are using ShapeSpace’s 3D search technology to rationalise their part database before a system migration and to increase future design reuse. To read ProcessFlows’s press release, click here.

About ShapeSpace

ShapeSpace is committed to the development of world-leading search technology for CAD and PLM. Built on a strong background in information retrieval, geometric reasoning and visualization, the company’s search software and consultancy service helps engineering companies reduce costs by increasing design reuse and improving part management through the identification of duplicate components and the rationalization of parts libraries. For more information, contact info@shapespace.com or follow us on Twitter @shapespace.

About Radford Shelving Ltd

Radford Shelving design, manufacture and install bespoke shop fittings for major retail outlets (customers include Tesco, Asda, B&Q and Dixons), public, educational and commercial spaces. For more information, visit www.radford.co.uk .

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND and HERTS, ENGLAND – 14/4/11 – ShapeSpace Ltd, developer of world-leading 3D search technology for CAD and PLM and AESSiS, engineering product development and PLM implementation specialists, have furthered their partnership by announcing that AESSiS will become resellers of ShapeSpace’s 3D search technology.

About ShapeSpace

ShapeSpace is committed to the development of world-leading search technology for CAD and PLM. Built on a strong background in information retrieval, geometric reasoning and visualization, the company’s search software and consultancy service helps engineering companies reduce costs by increasing design reuse and improving part management through the identification of duplicate components and the rationalization of parts libraries. For more information, contact info@shapespace.com or follow us on Twitter @shapespace.

About AESSiS

AESSiS delivers strategic business improvement projects &initiatives to improve operational & financial performance in engineering and product development. For more information, visit www.aessis.com.

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND and MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – 31/3/2011 – ShapeSpace Ltd, developer of world-leading search technology for CAD and PLM have installed their 3D search solution for Bifold Group. They are using ShapeSpace to optimize their parts procurement and avoid duplication in new product design. The order was won by ShapeSpace’s UK distributor ProcessFlows.

About ShapeSpace

ShapeSpace is committed to the development of world-leading search technology for CAD and PLM. Built on a strong background in information retrieval, geometric reasoning and visualization, the company’s search software and consultancy service helps engineering companies reduce costs by increasing design reuse and improving part management through the identification of duplicate components and the rationalization of parts libraries. For more information, visit www.shapespace.com or follow us on Twitter @shapespace.

About Bifold

Bifold are leaders in the design and manufacture of hydraulic and pneumatic stainless steel directional control valves and accessories for hazardous, corrosive and subsea environments. For more information on Bifold, visit www.bifold-fluidpower.co.uk.

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND and VIBY, DENMARK – 25/2/2010 – ShapeSpace Ltd, developer of world-leading search technology for CAD and PLM and Minerva Denmark A/S, a Scandanavia based PLM integrator, announced today that an agreement has been made for Minerva to become a reseller of ShapeSpace 3D search solutions to ARAS Innovator PLM customers in Scandanavia, Benelux and the UK.

About ShapeSpace

ShapeSpace is committed to the development of world-leading search technology for CAD and PLM. Built on a strong background in information retrieval, geometric reasoning and visualization, the company’s search software and consultancy service helps engineering companies reduce costs by increasing design reuse and improving part management through the identification of duplicate components and the rationalization of parts libraries. For more information, visit www.shapespace.com or follow us on Twitter @shapespace.

Abount Minerva

Since 1995 Minerva has offered consulting and advanced IT solutions for manufacturing businesses. Minerva has had a rapid growth with a highly successful focus on PLM solutions and implementation. For more information about Minerva, visit www.minerva-plm.com

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND and BERKELEY, CA — 06/01/2011 — Tech Soft 3D (TS3D), leading provider of component technologyto the engineering software industry, and ShapeSpace Ltd, developer of world-leading search technology for CAD and PLM, announced today that the ShapeSpace Enterprise Solution will feature the advanced data access capabilities of HOOPS® 3D Exchange (HOOPS 3DX) in 2011.

Now integrated with most PLM applications, ShapeSpace Enterprise Solution’s unique 3D Shape Search function locates criteria within complex CAD libraries, be it parts, size, text attributes or shape. HOOPS 3DX supplies ShapeSpace with the geometric attributes of the queried data, even across multiple file formats, for accurate search results that encompass the entire database.
“Engineers rely on ShapeSpace to browse CAD parts in CATIA, NX, SolidWorks, Solid Edge, Inventor or JT,” says Andy Sherlock, ShapeSpace CEO. “HOOPS 3D Exchange captures the original structural intent of all of these file formats to ensure our CAD queries are thorough and precise.”

“ShapeSpace Enterprise Solutions is impactful because of its comprehensive search functionality,” says Tech Soft 3D CEO, Ron Fritz. “We are pleased that HOOPS 3DX is entrusted as the underlying data access technology in a product that maximizes efficiency, reduces cost throughout so much of the PLM market, and increases the communication value of 3D data.”

About ShapeSpace

ShapeSpace is committed to the development of world-leading search technology for CAD and PLM. Built on a strong background in information retrieval, geometric reasoning and visualization, the company’s search software and consultancy service helps engineering companies reduce costs by increasing design reuse and improving part management through the identification of duplicate components and the rationalization of parts libraries. For more information, visit www.shapespace.com.

About Tech Soft 3D

Tech Soft 3D provides premier component technologies and related services that enable software developers to rapidly create world-class technical software. The company’s flagship HOOPS 3D Framework has been incorporated into nearly 300 commercial software applications. Tech Soft 3D also develops HOOPS 3D Exchange and resells premium components such as Autodesk’s RealDWG® Toolkit and AutoCAD® OEM platform, and Parasolid® Modeling Kernel from Siemens PLM Software. The company maintains corporateheadquarters in Berkeley, California and can be reached through www.techsoft3d.com.

All brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Tech Soft 3D Media Contact:
Jackie Aaro
Phone: +1.541.385.6158
Email Contact

ShapeSpace Ltd Media Contact:
Andrew Sherlock
Phone : (+44)7747 012555
A.Sherlock@shapespace.com

ShapeSpace and AESSiS Joint Solution Embeds Geometric Search in Aras Workflow to Intuitively Identify and Eliminate Duplicate Parts and Increase Part Reuse

ANDOVER, Mass. and Solothurn, Switzerland – December 15, 2010 – Aras^®, the leading enterprise open source Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) software solution provider, ShapeSpace, developer of the world-leading geometric shape search technology for CAD and PLM, and AESSiS, an expert in PLM solution services for complex engineering processes, have developed a 3D Geometric Search connector for the Aras Innovator PLM suite that goes beyond traditional search methods, enabling designers, engineers and others in the product design workflow to locate and identify parts and components based on shape, size or other attributes. 3D geometric search improves part reuse, reduces part number counts and optimizes external part purchasing and part inventories, resulting in dramatic cost savings for the business.

3D Geometric Search in Aras Innovator is Available Today
To see a Demonstration and for more Information please visit http://www.aessis.com/Services/Aras3DSearch

The 3D Geometric Search connector combines ShapeSpace’s adaptive browser, and geometric indexing and retrieval algorithms with AESSiS’s in-depth knowledge of the Aras PLM suite to enable users to locate, navigate and filter product shapes and manage part libraries from within the Aras PLM environment.

3D geometric search enables engineers to quickly and easily locate and use previously designed parts and build future products based on common standard parts. As Andy Sherlock CEO ShapeSpace explains, “3D geometric search goes far beyond traditional metadata and key word searching, creating a unique geometric signature for every CAD model, comparing that signature across tens of thousands of models and delivering instant results displayed in an intuitive and visual manner.”

“Until now, only the human eye has been able to determine if two part designs were the same. As new products are designed, the problem continues to build on itself resulting in the creation of massive part inventories for what is often the very same part. 3D geometric search embedded in the PLM system changes all that by automatically classifying part items and integrating duplicate analysis into the change and release workflows so every part is analyzed for reuse before it is released,” said James Byrne, CTO of AESSiS.

About ShapeSpace
ShapeSpace is committed to the development of world-leading search technology for CAD and PLM. Built on a strong background in information retrieval, geometric reasoning and visualization, the company’s search software and consultancy service helps engineering companies reduce costs by increasing design reuse and improving part management through the identification of duplicate components and the rationalization of parts libraries. For more information, visit www.shapespace.com or follow us on Twitter @shapespace

About AESSiS
AESSiS are an integrated PLM service provider and are global leaders in helping organisations build world class engineering processes and then streamlining and automating these processes by careful implementation of appropriate product lifecycle management or PLM technologies. In so doing AESSiS help organisations chart their course and find a reliable way through to simplicity, speed and profitability that are so often promised but so rarely fully attained. For more information, visit www.aessis.com

About Aras
Aras is the leading provider of enterprise open source Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) software solutions. Freedom from licensing eliminates up-front expenses and per user costs while superior technology makes Aras the most advanced enterprise PLM solution suite available. Customers include Motorola, Rolls-Royce, Freudenberg, Lockheed Martin, Ingersoll Rand, Klöckner Desma, Hi-P and ACCO Brands. Aras is privately held with global headquarters in Andover, Mass. For additional information visit www.aras.com or follow us on Twitter @aras_plm

FMB Oxford Ltd Manufacture and supply instrumentation to the scientific community. They are using newly developed ShapeSpace Enterprise 3D shape search technology to help them maximise the reuse of existing parts accumulated in their large library of components.

ShapeSpace’s advanced 3D search-by-shape technology integrates with all the major CAD, PDM/ PLM and back office systems used in the engineering and manufacturing industry. It allows designers to quickly find and re-use existing components/designs (even when a part number or name isn’t known or it can’t be found using keyword and metadata search because it is ‘too buried in the system’) and presents the results collectively for visual comparison in full 3D. This increases a design engineer’s productivity and reduces costs by avoiding the wasted time and expense involved in ‘re-inventing the wheel’.

FMB said, “The 3D visualisation provided by the ShapeSpace solution makes it easy to search and browse for geometrically similar parts without opening CAD files, so searches are quick and easy. We found that by searching for and reusing existing components we could reduce the number of parts we designed by around 5% – providing a significant saving on the costs of new part introductions. This is a very useful tool which was easily installed and from which we can already see very good business benefits.”

Avanquest ProcessFlows, providers of business process transformation solutions which help you ‘do more with less’, is the sole UK distributor for ShapeSpace. “The business drivers for users in the fields of engineering and manufacturing are no different from customers in the Public Sector, healthcare or banking industry sectors” said Gary Pesticcio, Product Sales Manager for ShapeSpace. “They all want to ‘wring more’ from their existing system investments and deliver a higher level of customer service and profitability.”

Editors Notes:

Further information about ShapeSpace is at www.shapespace.com

Further information about Avanquest ProcessFlows at http://www.processflows.co.uk

Gary Pesticcio is available for comment. An image of Gary, with ShapeSpace’s developer, Andrew Sherlock, can be downloaded at www.processflows.co.uk/press/images/

Press Information:

Alison Hall
Email: ahall@processflows.co.uk
Tel: 01962 835000
Mobile: 07899 986932

Thursday, 16 September 2010 – Avanquest ProcessFlows, providers of business process transformation solutions, has been appointed the sole UK distributor for ShapeSpace – a new, enterprise scale, 3D CAD data search engine/document management solution developed by ShapeSpace Ltd, for users in the fields of engineering and manufacturing.

Dr Andrew Sherlock, Founder and CEO of ShapeSpace Ltd, said, “Engineering companies, such as motor and aerospace manufacturers, invest heavily in product design and in the systems to help them create, manage, store and process product data. But typically, these systems provide only basic search and retrieval tools, so opportunities are regularly missed to re-use designs or to rationalise existing parts libraries. Using ShapeSpace allows an organisation to ‘wring more’ from their existing investments in product design, ultimately delivering a higher level of customer service and profitability – a message very much aligned with Avanquest ProcessFlows’ philosophy.”

The addition of ShapeSpace technology expands the portfolio of solutions ProcessFlows can offer, as well as opening up new business opportunities in alternative vertical markets for their Channel Partners.

Chris Thompson, Managing Director, ProcessFlows said, “All our solutions are designed to maximise business performance and deliver efficiencies across the whole organisation. We are excited to be working with ShapeSpace to bring these benefits to engineering companies. ShapeSpace also represents a fantastic opportunity for a select group of our channel partners to offer a step-change in 3D storage and retrieval to their customers.’’

ShapeSpace’s advanced 3D search-by-shape technology allows designers to quickly find and re-use existing components/designs, even when a part number or name isn’t known. This increases a design engineer’s productivity and reduces costs by avoiding the wasted time and expense involved in ‘re-inventing the wheel’.

ShapeSpace improves Product Data Management (PDM) and/or Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) capabilities. It integrates with all major CAD, PDM/ PLM and back office systems, delivering search-by-shape with text search and 3D visualisation capabilities – enhancing keyword and metadata searches with a simple to use geometric search. It is a new and powerful way for users to locate parts and associated data – with results presented collectively for visual comparison in full 3D.

By understanding the geometry of components, ShapeSpace gives organisations a set of powerful tools with which to manage their parts libraries, allowing them to browse, quickly find, consolidate and rationalise duplicate parts.

ShapeSpace delivers the following business benefits:

• Saves the management and inventory costs of duplicate designs

• Simple deletion or archiving of non-current duplicate parts keeps databases up-to-date and is ideal for data cleansing prior to migrating to a PLM solution

• Reduces the rate of new part introduction

• Saves designers’ time by allowing rapid retrieval of proven designs

• Improved customer service – it is easy to identify, select and deliver the correct replacement part more quickly

Editors Notes:

ShapeSpace is available for review. Please contact Susie Cornelius at ProcessFlows to arrange scornelius@processflows.co.uk

Further information about ShapeSpace can be found at http://www.shapespace.com

Further information about Avanquest ProcessFlows can be found at http://www.processflows.co.uk

Both Avanquest ProcessFlows (Chris Thompson, MD) and ShapeSpace (Dr Andrew Sherlock, CEO) are available for comment. Their images are available at http://www.processflows.co.uk/public_html/wp-content/press-f… and http://www.processflows.co.uk/public_html/wp-content/press-f…

Press Information:

Alison Hall
Email: ahall@processflows.co.uk
Tel: 01962 835000
Mobile: 07899 986932

or

Susie Cornelius
Email: scornelius@processflows.co.uk
Tel: 01962 835050