In the opening session of Autodesk University on November 28,
2006, Kevin Schneider, whom Autodesk has dubbed a technology
evangelist, demonstrated a new kind of functional modeling
capability running in the Inventor CAD software. It was a
triumphant moment for Attilio Rimoldi, Gian Paolo Bassi, and the
dozens of engineers at ImpactXoft who struggled for seven years
to develop a new way to apply features to CAD solid models.
Although their company is no longer in business, the
technologies they conceived have been adopted by the two largest
CAD companies: Autodesk and Dassault Systemes. CAD customers
will benefit by having the use of tools that might otherwise
have been lost.
ImpactXoft was founded in 1999 to develop CAD software that
incorporated two new technologies: functional modeling and
simultaneous designer collaboration. (See
Having an Impact in the February 2001 CAD Report.)
ImpactXoft's functional modeling features create geometry that
might require multiple features in a typical CAD program based
on the methods pioneered by Pro/Engineer. For example, crafting
a lip around the edge of a plastic casting might require
multiple cuts and sweeps in a conventional CAD program. With
ImpactXoft's IX Design, a separate lip function does the job in
one operation.
Aborted Launch
Although ImpactXoft hatched interesting new concepts, its
original implementation was flawed. The first version of IX
Design had a cumbersome control set, an archaic look, and
inadequate drafting tools. When it didn't sell, ImpactXoft cut a
deal with Dassault Systemes to employ the CAA toolset for CATIA
V5.
ImpactXoft embedded functional features for plastic mold design
into CATIA V5. The menu appears on the right side of the
display
Phoenix from the Ashes
ImpactXoft ceased operation late in 2005. Dassault Systemes
agreed to license ImpactXoft's technologies and patents on a
non-exclusive basis for a fixed sum of money. The CATIA group
will therefore be able to continue supporting and developing FM1
and similar applications indefinitely.
ImpactXoft signed a similar technology-sharing agreement with
Autodesk in November 2006. Some of ImpactXoft's former
developers built software into Inventor that enabled the
demonstration at Autodesk U much as they had built functional
modeling into CATIA V5.
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