Enables design reviews of non-nominal 3D CAD models generated by aesthetica to be held using the Autodesk Showcase digital mock-up solution.


Manchester, UK. 6 July, 2009. – Icona Solutions Ltd., the developer of the innovative perceived quality simulation and visualisation software solution, aesthetica, has announced the availability of a direct interface to Autodesk’s Showcase digital mock-up and visualisation software.

aesthetica is used by automotive industry OEMs and manufacturers of consumer electronic devices and domestic electrical appliances etc to help them improve perceived quality while reducing development time-scales and costs. Unlike other visualisation software products, aesthetica applies manufacturing tolerances and deformation information directly to a 3D CAD model of a product to enable real time, ‘what you see is what you get’ (WYSIWIG) perceived quality studies using realistic imagery, early in the product development process.

“The addition of an optional direct interface from aesthetica to Autodesk Showcase will enable existing and new users of Showcase to undertake design reviews and perceived quality studies by viewing deformed 3D models generated by aesthetica within their familiar digital mock-up and visualisation environment”, said Tim Illingworth, chief executive, Icona Solutions Ltd.

Perceived quality reviews
Using the new FBX file format, deformed 3D models generated by aesthetica and showing several worst-case/best-case examples of predicted product variation caused by manufacturing constraints can be exported to Autodesk Showcase to enable perceived quality studies using either a desktop computer or a virtual reality environment such as a Powerwall.

No additional data preparation is required because the exported models include all required geometry, materials and viewing positions, meaning that the models only need to be visualised in Autodesk Showcase.

"The way in which Icona's aesthetica software helps companies improve the perceived quality of their products is unique and we are pleased to be associated with it in this way," said Richard Blatcher, head of manufacturing marketing, Northern Europe, Autodesk. "Being able to use Autodesk Showcase to visualise aesthetica's non-nominal 3D models as they will look in production will be of enormous benefit to the growing number of Showcase users for whom high perceived quality is an increasingly important selling factor," he added.

Autodesk Showcase software provides an environment in which designers and engineers – in fact, a wide variety of people – can effectively present and review designs, enabling a design review process where important design decisions can be made in a well-informed way. It provides tools to enable realistic materials, such as car paint, leather, glass and textures, to be applied to the digital model and for the model to be placed in an environment, or scene, for greater context and reality. It also enables dynamic, cinematic movement of the model in order to show the effect of highlights and environment reflections on the model surface.

Availability.
The new Autodesk Showcase interface is available in the latest version of aesthetica, V3.1, which is shipping now.

About Autodesk
Autodesk, Inc., is a world leader in 2D and 3D design software for the manufacturing, construction, and media and entertainment markets. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk has developed the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art digital prototyping solutions to help customers experience their ideas before they are real. Fortune 1000 companies rely on Autodesk for the tools to visualise, simulate and analyse real-world performance early in the design process to save time and money, enhance quality and foster innovation. For additional information, visit www.autodesk.co.uk .

About Icona Solutions Ltd.
Icona Solutions develops software that uniquely combines variation simulation and high-end visualisation to provide immediate insight into the impact of manufacturing variation and deformation on perceived quality, improving the desirability of the finished product while saving time, avoiding costs and improving communication and collaboration. Icona Solutions is a member of both Dassault Systèmes’ CAA V5 Adopters and Siemens PLM Software’s JT Open programs and a development partner of Autodesk, enabling the company to develop software solutions as an integral part of the broader PLM software environment. Icona’s products are supplied and supported globally through a network of qualified resellers and engineering service providers. Find out more at: www.iconasolutions.com
ENDS
Editors: for further information, contact:
Tim Illingworth: +44 (0)1706 629882, e-mail: Email Contact
Neil McLeod: +44 (0)1666 504293, e-mail: Email Contact