think3 Wins Contract With Landini for 3-D Design of High-Quality Custom Tractors
31 October 2000
think3 Wins Contract With Landini for 3-D Design of High-Quality Custom Tractors
Company Expects Dramatic Increase in Design Productivity Due toIntegration of 2-D, 3-D, Solids & Surfaces in Single, Easy to Use
thinkdesign Environment
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--Oct. 31, 2000--Mechanical design upstart think3(tm) today announced that Landini (Reggio Emilia, Italy), a leading manufacturer of high-quality custom tractors since 1884, has selected the company's flagship "mass 3-D" solid and surface modeling software, thinkdesign(tm) as its standard for 3-D design. Landini distinguishes itself in a highly competitive market dominated by global, brand name suppliers like John Deere, New Holland and others, by delivering a product line of more than 10 different tractors to suit the requirements of large, middle, and small size farms, state agencies and hobbyists.
With think3, Landini engineering management expects to achieve a dramatic increase in productivity, improving its efficiency in meeting the stringent demands of its customers for on-time delivery of product, cost-effectiveness, and design innovation.
According to Wilson Bellesia, R&D manager at Landini's San Martino Plant, thinkdesign is an excellent match for the company's sophisticated design applications, which involve large assemblies, smelting, complex surfaces, integration of 2-D and 3-D geometry, tracking and management of bill of materials, and interface with mechanical analysis and manufacturing software. From a technical perspective, thinkdesign offers a unique combination of attributes on the engineer's desktop: true integration of 2-D and 3-D, solid and surface modeling; overall ease of learning/ease of use; tracking, management and revision of complex bill of materials; compatibility with third party tools; and affordable, flexible subscription pricing. From an implementation perspective, Landini is impressed with the speed with which even novice users can become productive in thinkdesign. The company also appreciates think3's novel online approach to customer care which makes it possible for users to take advantage of seminars, online tutorials, etc. at "zero cost, with maximum efficiency."
"Overall, we were faced with a choice between more economical midrange solid modeling solutions that didn't satisfy our needs because they lack 2-D features, can't effect complex surface modeling and can't manage project data -- or, a high-end solution that solved our technical needs but at too high a price in terms of investment and implementation," explains Bellesia. "We simply couldn't afford to wait months before our engineers would be completely operative. think3's solution satisfies all our requirements and more -- plus, the subscription model gives us the freedom to adapt our working model according to current needs."
About Landini
Giovanni Landini founded Landini S.p.a. in 1884 in Fabbrico, a small town in Emilia Romagna, Italy. Landini is a top notch tractor manufacturer -- ranked fifth in the world -- with three production plants in Italy, seven sales branch offices in Europe, U.S., Canada, Australia and South Africa, and 1258 employees worldwide. Under a banner of innovation, with strong roots into tradition, Landini is highly regarded for its broad offering of leading tractor products used primarily for orchards and vineyards. Among its most popular products are: Mistral, Discovery, Globus, Trekker, Atlas, Ghibli, Mythos, Legend and Rex.
About think3
think3 is a privately held mechanical design upstart company that produces software for designing common, everyday physical objects, ranging from home appliances, children's safety products, engines and automotive body parts to boutique home accessories and custom cars, to name a few.
Upstart think3 established a unique market position in March 1999 with the debut of thinkdesign, the first mechanical computer aided design (MCAD) product to offer the power of parametric solids, advanced surfacing, wireframe and 2-D drafting to every designer -- not just an elite few -- on the desktop, all within a single environment.
With the company's flagship 3-D design software package -- thinkdesign -- customers get the benefit of powerful surface modeling and shape design features on par with popular industrial design packages (e.g., Alias from Alias/Wavefront and Rhino from Robert McNeel & Associates and Velum from Ashlar), but as part of a single environment, solid and surface modeling system. They also get comparable power to high-end 3-D mechanical design software packages from companies like Dassault Systems, Parametric Technology Corp., Structural Dynamics Research Corp. and Unigraphics at a fraction of the price -- and at a comparable cost to traditional low-end 2-D packages such as AutoCAD from Autodesk.
think3 is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., with engineering centered in Bologna, Italy and supported by R&D teams in Bangalore, India; Boston, Massachusetts; Marseilles, France; Pesaro, Italy; and Salt Lake City, Utah. think3 products are sold through a worldwide network of distributors and VARs, and online at http://www.think3.com. For more information, call 800/323-6770 or send an email to productinfo@think3.com. Among think3's top customers are adidas, Alessi, Buell Motorcycle Company (a division of Harley-Davidson), Candy/Hoover, Dinan, Matsushita Seiko, Mercedes, Nissin, Perception Kayak, Peugeot Citroen Automobile (PSA), Tokuda Kougyo, and Tycos Tool & Die.
Note to Editors: think3 and thinkdesign are trademarks of think3. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.