IBM and Dassault announce new Catia release

IBM and its design software partner-giant Dassault Systemes this month announced a new release of Catia, Version5 Release8 (V5R8) which has 23 new products and some very useful enhancements. Catia has grown into much more than a 3D modelling software product. It’s now all about product lifecycle management - or PLM – and this is really the prime carrot for users this time around. Catia V5R8’s new common PPR (product, process and resource) module allows users to capture, share and re-use design knowledge throughout the product’s lifecycle. Users this time are given access to ‘rules bases’ to validate processes and methods throughout the entire product definition phase. There’s also a new module for the shipbuilding industry which looks very impressive (IBM says a major German shipbuilder is currently looking closely at this) and V5R8 now has an improved 3D collaborative workspace product, allowing OEMs to share design information with their suppliers and partners over the web. V5R8 also has a much improved manufacturing suite this time with a new NC machining software module that’s tightly integrated to the product definition, virtually guaranteeing controlled end-to-end content management from design to manufacturing. And for 5-axis machining of complex parts, there’s new flank contouring capabilities too. But the product isn’t just aimed at the large manufacturing firms. Peter Marley, IBM’s global marketing manager Catia, commented: “50% of Catia sales are actually to groups of less than five users… We expect the majority of our [total Catia] users to switch to the new release in the next six to nine months.” And IBM’s general manager PLM, Ed Petrozelli, said: “We can provide great industry value and insight whether it’s in terms of industry best practices, services or a robust e-business infrastructure. Catia V5R8 is just an example of the innovation IBM’s partnering strategy and collaborative culture can bring to companies both large and small.” Analysts also like what they see. John MacKrell of CIMdata commented: “V5R8’s further integration with Enovia VPM and its continuing implementation of the PPR model facilitates the transition of legacy users from Catia V4 to V5. Furthermore, V5 users will find the knowledge-based engineering and collaboration tools [will] help them realise the broader impacts of PLM.”