IRONCAD RECEIVES SECOND CADENCE EDITORS’ CHOICE AWARD

Revolutionary Solid Modeling Software Wins Twice In One Year, Adds to Growing List of Top Industry Accolades 

November 15, 1999 – Santa Clara, CA – Visionary Design Systems, Inc., a leader in Web-based design chain collaboration solutions, continues to garner top accolades and awards from leading CAD publications for its IronCAD solid modeling software. Today, IronCAD 3.0 software received the prestigious CADENCE Editors’ Choice award, a distinction that follows hot on the heels of the first CADENCE Editors’ Choice award that IronCAD 2.0 received in July, earlier this year.

"We have been impressed with the technology and strategic thinking behind IronCAD ever since its first release,” said Arnie Williams, Editor in Chief of CADENCE. “The Visionary Design Systems team continues to push the envelope in delivering powerful design tools. IronCAD 2.0 and 3.0—both of which received Editors’ Choice awards from us this year—exemplify a high standard of developer excellence and user value. We applaud the IronCAD team for setting its goals so high and then achieving them."

We’re honored to add our second CADENCE Editors’ Choice Award to our growing list of industry accolades,” said David W. Tiley, president and CEO. “IronCAD’s architecture allows us to bring dramatic feature enhancements to market very rapidly. We released IronCAD 2.0 in March of this year, and followed that in October with another major release, IronCAD 3.0, which includes additional breakthrough functionality. IronCAD 3.0 is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the advanced technology that we plan to offer over the course of the next year.

IronCAD’s Interoperability and Sheetmetal Functionality Stand Out

In assessing the latest version of IronCAD and comparing it to other new releases of CAD software that were announced this year, the CADENCE editors were most impressed by the new Unified Modeling Engine incorporated in version 3.0, which enables different solid-modeling kernels to be used simultaneously. The editors noted that “IronCAD 3.0 has stolen the interoperability show this year by shipping its product with its customary ACIS solid-modeling kernel from Spatial Technology and incorporating into the product the Parasolid kernel from Unigraphics. Users needn’t be that concerned with which kernel is hard at work—the magic takes place seamlessly in the background.

IronCAD’s drag-and-drop sheetmetal tools—another new feature in version 3.0—also got a nod from the CADENCE editorial team. “IronCAD 3.0’s already easy-to-use sheet metal functions have been improved with new features such as round dimples, features that can be dragged out and automatically dimensioned from the nearest corner, editing that can be done automatically or manually and a choice between ANSI or DIN 6935 standard formulas for calculating bend allowances.

Full details of the award can be seen in the December issue of CADENCE and on the web at http://www.cadence-mag.com.

IronCAD has garnered numerous awards from top CAD publications, including the 1999 Product of the Month from NASA Tech Briefs (February); New Equipment Digest’s 1999 Excellence in Innovation finalist and the 1998 Computer Graphics World Innovation Award. In addition, industry experts and power users consistently recognize IronCAD as the tool that enables companies to innovate faster. At the Archimedes MCAD Competition at M/Tech 1998, IronCAD won the competition in both Parts Modeling and Assembly Modeling. The CADENCE editors also gave IronCAD a “Show Stopper” award at the National Design Engineering show in both 1998 and 1999.