Dassault advances with acquisitions

Finite element analysis (FEA) software developer Abaqus and virtual reality simulation package firm Virtools have been acquired by engineering design solutions giant Dassault Systemes. The news came at Dassault’s European Catia Forum in Frankfurt, as firm revealed some of the future direction of its Catia PLM (product lifecycle management ) technology. Abaqus FEA package is extensively used by Boeing on its 787 aircraft, made mostly of composites, while Virtools virtual reality comes from games technology arena. Virtools founder and CTO Bertrand Duplat demonstrated both his software skills and inventiveness – and why, perhaps, he is not running the business – by showing an impressive rally driving simulation, and then how the car might interact with a large teapot, suddenly dropped from the sky. Abaqus software will become Simulia under Dassault. One of its biggest users, apart from Boeing, is Procter and Gamble, concerned, among other things, about the behaviour of plastic bottles full of liquid being handled on production lines. It will not be offered with SolidWorks since Dassault believes it is too sophisticated for SolidWorks users: instead it will form part of the Catia portfolio. However, the position with Virtools remain undecided. Bernard Charles, Dassault president and CEO, says: “You will see a significant expansion in instant global collaboration in V5 Catia PLM. You will only have to click on a part and you will see at once who owns it and whether they are online.” The capability was demonstrated on a 3D model of a Falcon aircraft, where moving a solid query block along the fuselage, instantly produced lists of parts in a window.