Spatial Technology Inc. Announces Shipment of ACIS 5.1
6 April 1999
Spatial Technology Inc. Maintains Industry Leading Release Schedule, Announces Shipment of ACIS 5.1
BOULDER, Colo.--April 5, 1999--Spatial Technology Inc. (AMEX: STY), the world's leading developer of open, component 3D modeling technology, today announced the shipment of ACIS(R) 5.1, the newest release of its de facto standard 3D modeling kernel.Version 5.1 of the ACIS 3D Toolkit(TM) features a highly-optimized extension for architectural, engineering, and construction (AEC) applications, faceted silhouette edges for interactive hidden line and drawing generation, and full naming support for feature-based modeling applications. With this release, Spatial continues to set the standard for the velocity at which new modeling technology is brought to market.
Roger Mollon, director, Component Technology -- Mechanical Market Group, Autodesk, Inc. , said, "The highly anticipated release of Mechanical Desktop 4.0 includes several ACIS 5.1 features requested by our users -- improved lofting, enhanced surfacing, and selective booleans, plus a number of important performance improvements. The pace of new ACIS releases directly benefits our mechanical customers. In addition, our implementation of advanced component technologies being developed at Spatial allows us to exceed our customers' requirements in the 3D modeling marketplace."
Gary Stoll, vice president of engineering, Visionary Design Systems, said, "Our close technical relationship with Spatial and IronCAD's modern architecture have helped Visionary Design Systems to turn ACIS technology into advanced modeling tools for our customers. We share Spatial's commitment to rapid innovation, especially in the critical area of Hyper-operability, and we're extremely pleased with the new features they're announcing today."
"With the release of ACIS 5.1, Spatial again responds to its customers' requirement for the rapid deployment of advanced performance, functionality, and interoperability enhancements. Our primary goal is to help our customers succeed in a highly competitive market by enabling them to develop industry-leading solutions for the over 1.4 million ACIS end user base," stated Bruce Morgan, president and CEO, Spatial Technology. "As a technology center of excellence, Spatial is committed to bringing new technology and 3D CAD model interoperability solutions to market at a velocity unmatched in the industry."
ACIS 5.1 Features
o AEC component added for architectural and construction
engineering -- produces a highly-optimized representation of
planar ACIS bodies.
o Faceted silhouette edges for interactive hidden line and drawing
generation.
o Completed feature naming support within ACIS.
o Selective booleans enhanced for more complex terminations.
o New functions for deep copy of geometry allows programmers to
produce unshared geometry.
o Native 64-bit Silicon Graphics Inc. (SGI) support.
o Interactive Vertex Alignment for loft and skin surface
generation.
o Interactive Space Warping (twisting and bending).
o Real-Time Level of Detail Control allows users to incorporate
more detail in an object by adding more facets during Interactive
Space Warping and viewing. For example, when zooming in and out
of an object, objects that are far away will have fewer facets;
objects that are close-up will have more facets.
Other product releases and enhancements to coincide with the release of ACIS 5.1 include the first release of the ACIS STEP Translator Husk and enhancements to the ACIS IGES Translator Husk.
Spatial Technology Inc. is the world leader in the development of open, component 3D modeling technology. The ACIS 3D Toolkit, Spatial's flagship product, is universally recognized as the de facto standard 3D modeling kernel for the MCAD, CAM, CAE, and AEC industries. With over 490 ACIS licensees and more than 1.4 million end users of over 175 ACIS-enabled applications, ACIS is indisputably the most widely used 3D modeling kernel in the world.
The open architecture of ACIS and the industry standard ACIS SAT(TM) file format are known as the "ACIS Geometry Bus." The ACIS Geometry Bus is the key to 3D model interoperability among ACIS-enabled applications, including ABAQUS/CAE by Hibbitt, Karlsson & Sorensen, Inc., AutoCAD and Mechanical Desktop by Autodesk, Inc., CADKEY by Baystate Technologies, Inc., GAMBIT by Fluent Inc., Grade/CUBE II by Hitachi Zosen Information Systems, GSCAD by Intergraph Corporation , IronCAD by Visionary Design Systems, Inc., Maxwell 3D Field Simulation by Ansoft Corporation , TurboCAD Solid Modeler by IMSI , Vellum Solids by Ashlar Inc., and Working Model 3D by MacNeal-Schwendler Corporation .
To further extend Spatial's leadership in sharing and accessing CAD model data throughout the design and manufacturing process, Spatial and InterData Access, Inc. (IDA) have combined their technical expertise, products, and financial strength. IDA, Spatial's Interoperability Solutions Subsidiary, is a leading provider of product data viewing, data translation, and digital mock-up software and consulting services to Fortune 500 industrial companies worldwide. IDA products include IntraVISION(R), CALSVIEW(TM), VisionShare(TM), Data Exchange Manager, and IGES/STEP development tools. IDA's customers include Boeing, Bombardier, Caterpillar, Diebold, General Electric, Harley Davidson, Hitachi, Learjet, Motorola, Northrop Grumman, and Silicon Graphics. For more information, visit IDA's Web site at http://www.ida.com.
Spatial Technology is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, and has offices in Europe and Asia. Shares of Spatial stock are publicly traded on the Nasdaq-AMEX exchange under the symbol "STY" (AMEX: STY). For more information, visit Spatial's Web site at http://www.spatial.com, or call 303/544-2900.
Statements made in this news release that are not historical facts may be forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statement. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by any forward-looking information. A description of risks and uncertainties attendant to Spatial Technology Inc. and its industry, and other factors which could affect the Company's financial results, are included in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including, but not limited to, the Company's annual report on Form 10-KSB for the year ended December 31, 1998.
Spatial Technology Inc. and SAT are trademarks. ACIS is a registered trademark of Spatial Technology Inc. CALSVIEW and VisionShare are trademarks of InterData Access, Inc. IntraVISION is a registered trademark of InterData Access, Inc.