PDF VIEWER
Capability: Bluebeam PDF Revu Standard Edition is a portable document viewer for unlimited viewing and printing of PDF files. The developer said it released the viewer for users who may be concerned about security attacks on the more commonly used Adobe Reader PDF viewer. The Revu viewer includes tabbed navigation for opening multiple files, a multiview feature that displays up to 16 documents simultaneously, and advanced search options for locating keywords and phrases in portable document files. All PDF files, whether opened from a network drive or downloaded from the Internet, can be opened using the application.
Hardware: PC running the Windows operating system.
Developer: Bluebeam Software Inc., 766 E. Colorado Blvd., Ste. 200, Pasadena, CA 91101; (866) 496-2140; fax (626) 398-9210; www.bluebeam.com.
Cost: Free.
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MAKING MECHATRONICS
Capability: Simplorer is used to help design mechatronic and other multidomain systems found in the automotive, aerospace and defense, and industrial automation industries. Engineers use the application to construct virtual prototypes of all aspects of a system including the electronics, sensors, actuators, motors, generators, power converters, controls, and embedded software. This enables engineers to investigate system functionality and performance and to verify overall design. The upgrade features a new user interface, links to the developer’s other software products, and integration with third-party simulation software.
Hardware: PC running Windows XP Professional or Vista.
Developer: Ansys Inc., 75 Technology Drive, Canonsburg, PA 15317; (724) 746-3304; fax (724) 514-9494; www.ansys.com.
Cost: $20,000 to start.
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CAD INSPECTION
Capability: The reverse engineering and inspection software product ReSpect imports raw, digitized data from portable manual coordinate measuring machines and 3-D scanners into the SolidWorks CAD program. The data is then viewable in SolidWorks as a modifiable parametric sketch. This eliminates the data translation issues that can be associated with reverse engineering, according to the developer. The application offers the capability to scan millions of points and to create lock plane and radial profiles for inspection.
Hardware: PC running the SolidWorks CAD program.
Developer: ReverseEngineering.com, P.O. Box 2746, La Jolla, CA 92038; (858) 488-5231; fax (858) 459-5241; www.reverseengineering.com.
Cost: $3,995 to start.
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AT-HOME ANALYSIS
Capability: Mathematica Home Edition offers computational, visualization, and development capabilities. With it, users can make interactive models and simulations, and analyze real-time data. The home edition contains all the functionality of the recently released Mathematica 7, which includes image processing, parallel computation capabilities, and data on astronomy, geography, and life sciences. More than 100,000 examples of Mathematica functions are at http://reference.wolfram.com.
Hardware: PC running Windows 2000, XP, Vista; Mac OS X; or Linux.
Developer: Wolfram Research Inc., 100 Trade Center Drive, Champaign, IL 61820-7237; (217) 398-0700; fax (217) 398-0747; www.wolfram.com.
Cost: $295.
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IMPORT/EXPORT
Capability: Alibre Translate add-on is integrated with the Alibre Design CAD program for quick importing and exporting of files. It enables Alibre users who collaborate with those using other popular CAD programs to share design files with their upstream and downstream partners.
Hardware: PC running Alibre Design.
Developer: Alibre Inc., 2350 Campbell Creek Blvd., Ste. 100, Richardson, TX 75082; (972) 671-8492; fax (972) 671-8493; www.alibre.com.
Cost: $499.
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