Press Release

Engineering Animation, Inc. Announces Deal with Ford

10/03/96

Engineering Animation, Inc. to Supply Ford Motor Company With
Real-Time 3D Visualization and Digital Prototyping Software EAI to
Play Major Role in C3P Concurrent Engineering Process

AMES, Iowa, Oct. 1 -- Engineering Animation,
Inc. today announced that its 3D visualization and
digital prototyping products have been selected by Ford Motor Company
to be a strategic part of Ford's C3P concurrent engineering
initiative. EAI estimates the selection will represent approximately
$15-20 million in revenue to EAI from Ford and its suppliers over the
next five years.

Under the agreement, EAI will provide Ford with software licensing,
consulting and training services for a suite of 3D visualization and
digital prototyping software products including VisFly(TM),
NetFly(TM), VisLab(R) and a new digital prototyping software that will
be introduced later this year. EAI will also provide Ford with server
technology for general third party access to its digital prototype
databases.

Using EAI's software and services, Ford engineers for the first time
will be able to visualize and interact with entire vehicle assembly
designs in real-time. This capability will dramatically improve
communication across Ford's design groups and will help take
significant time out of the product development process. In addition
to helping reduce the amount of time needed to introduce a new model,
these tools will also help Ford lower costs by reducing the number of
physical prototypes that are needed to validate a design concept.

"The suite of visualization and digital prototyping tools we are
providing Ford will directly address Ford's cycle-time reduction
goals," said EAI President and CEO Matt Rizai. "Ford is working to
reduce the amount of time it takes to introduce a new model by about
one year, and we're going to help them achieve that goal," he added.

The C3P project at Ford integrates the company's computer-aided
design, engineering, and manufacturing into a global system of common
data functions that will result in a seamless, unified system
encompassing all stages of vehicle and component development. This
system will lead to breakthrough improvements in quality and
time-to-market. Ford estimates that these measures will help to
eliminate half of costly late development changes.

"We have been working very closely with Ford during the past two years
to demonstrate the capabilities of our software and support team,"
Rizai said. "Ford selected EAI because we presented an integrated
approach to 3D visualization and digital prototyping that will meet
the company's needs now and in the future," he explained.

EAI Software Products

EAI's software products address the 3D visualization and digital
prototyping needs of engineering and design organizations in the
automotive, heavy equipment, aerospace and other manufacturing
industries. These high-speed, integrated 3D software tools are used
across the conceptual, design, analysis and manufacturing phases of
product development.

EAI's 3D software tools work ideally in today's team-based
environments. The products facilitate the concurrent engineering
process and help reduce the amount of time necessary to introduce new
products by reducing the need for physical prototypes. Engineering and
design teams can use the tools to more easily visualize their
projects, see the effects of changes and then communicate in
real-time. This increased interaction can help reduce the total time
it takes for products to move from initial concept to final
manufacturing. EAI's multiplatform tools integrate seamlessly with the
most popular CAD/CAE environments.

Software Suite Components

The suite of 3D visualization and digital prototyping products EAI is
providing to Ford includes the following:

VisFly, a large CAD model viewer, enables engineers to interact with
complex CAD designs in real-time and lets them "fly through" large
models to view assemblies and components in detail. VisFly is
comprised of a high-speed viewer and a model generator. The viewer is
used to load and interactively view an optimized visual database,
while the model generator automatically creates and updates the
database directly from the CAD application.

NetFly is an intranet connection that makes VisFly files accessible to
entire design teams and managers. Using NetFly, engineers can interact
with VisFly files across a corporate intranet and communicate about
specific design issues, significantly enhancing the concurrent
engineering process. NetFly's ability to interact with corporate
intranets, Product Data Management (PDM) and database systems can
shorten design cycles and reduce costs while also boosting the overall
quality of the final design. NetFly enables non-VisFly users to
participate directly in the design review process regardless of the
computer platform they use.

VisLab uses proprietary hardware rendering technology to produce 3D
animations from CAD models at unprecedented speed -- enabling users to
transform complex, technical information into accurate, clear,
visually accessible computer animations in a matter of minutes or
hours, saving valuable time. These animations can be used in design
reviews, as well as for service and sales training.

A powerful new digital prototyping software product will be introduced
in the fourth quarter which combines 3D visualization technology with
total design packaging analysis functions that can eliminate physical
prototypes. This software will enable engineers to interrogate
complete designs and correct potential component conflicts before
files are released to manufacturing.

The server component of the agreement will provide interface
capabilities between SDRC and other software vendors developing
analysis tools for the C3P system. EAI's software already provides
engineers with a seamless interface to the SDRC I-DEAS software
that Ford adopted for the CAD/CAM/CAE portion of the
C3P process.

About EAI

EAI specializes in applying 3D visualization technology to meet the
productivity, communication, education and entertainment needs of its
clients through three interrelated product lines: 3D visualization
software, interactive multimedia, and custom animation. EAI's
corporate headquarters and technology center are in Ames, Iowa, with
additional offices in Detroit, Chicago, Boston, Portland, Los Angeles,
New York, Salt Lake City and Amsterdam. The company's software is
distributed in Japan by Itochu Techno-Science Corporation.

VisLab is a registered trademark, and VisFly and NetFly are trademarks
of Engineering Animation, Inc.

For more information about EAI, visit our website at www.eai.com.