The Mother of All Migrationsexcerpted from
August 14, 2003 In 2001, EDS acquired Structural Dynamics Research Corporation and merged it with its Unigraphics subsidiary. Shortly after the merger closed, EDS said it would attempt to migrate I-DEAS customers to a future version of Unigraphics in order to reduce development costs and improve the quality of the company’s top-of-the-line software for automotive and aircraft design. In the intervening two years, plans for how this migration would take place have gradually come into focus. This article summarizes EDS’ current roadmap for I-DEAS customers. EDS’ overarching strategy is to upgrade Unigraphics until UG has all the capabilities of I-DEAS. For example, I-DEAS has been able to model assemblies with multiple part configurations for years. EDS added this capability to Unigraphics NX 1, which was released in the fall of 2002. When the upgrade is finished (in a future release called NX 3), Unigraphics should be able to precisely regenerate models created in I-DEAS version 11. EDS also has continued to upgrade I-DEAS by borrowing concepts from Unigraphics. For instance, I-DEAS 11 will have a three-surface fillet capability from Unigraphics NX. I-DEAS release 10 was made available to customers in the spring of 2003. EDS plans to deliver the final I-DEAS release (11) in the spring of 2004. Unigraphics NX 3 is scheduled for delivery and the end of 2004. Regeneration not translationEDS representatives emphasize that I-DEAS users will be able to migrate to Unigraphics NX 3 without the need for data translators. In a translator, mathematical representations of one CAD format are approximated by another. These approximations can cause errors such as geometric inaccuracy, loss of constraints or mating relationships, failure to replicate patterns, and loss of links between drawing and models. In contrast, Unigraphics NX will regenerate I-DEAS geometry using the same algorithms I-DEAS uses. EDS claims that this approach will assure that no information is lost in translation. EDS has said that not only will NX 3 be able to read I-DEAS three-D part and assembly models but that it will read I-DEAS drawings with complete fidelity. Moreover, the associative relationships between models and drawings of them will be maintained so that changes to the model are reflected in the drawings automatically. 
An I-DEAS 10 drawing migrated to Unigraphics NX version 2. The future I-DEAS 11 and NX 3 releases will convert dimensions and model views. (Click image to enlarge.)
Read more... - Steps in the process
- Homegrown automation
- Commercial terms
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