Campaigns

Finite Element Analysis Software
Long-term Parker Group client, ABAQUS, was acquired by Dassault Systèmes, a world leader in 3D and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), in 2005. Dassault made ABAQUS’ finite element analysis simulation software part of their SIMULIA brand portfolio. The challenge going forward was to maintain ABAQUS’ formidable position in the global market for advanced simulation technology software, while rebranding it as the “Abaqus” product under the SIMULIA name.

Design for Manufacture and Assembly Software
Boothroyd Dewhurst, Inc., of Wakefield, Rhode Island, develops engineering software that allows manufacturers to simplify product design through parts reduction and ease-of-assembly strategies. The methodology, called DFMA® (design for manufacture and assembly), promised to change the face of American manufacturing productivity. In the late 1980s, the company needed to create visibility for this dynamic product.

Rapid Manufacturing Technology
EOS GmbH Electro Optical Systems, an established international leader in rapid prototyping and manufacturing technology, wanted to build a stronger presence in the United States. They had cleared a number of hurdles to enable them to market their equipment and materials in the U.S. and had begun reaching out to editors of American trade journals. It was a time of exciting change as perceptions about the potential of the technology were beginning to shift. But EOS needed more comprehensive public relations support to build broader awareness about their Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) capabilities and rebrand themselves in the face of several well-established U.S. competitors.

Design Data Exchange Software
Elysium Inc., a leading global provider of design data exchange software founded in Japan, had built a strong reputation within the Japanese automotive industry. But as they focused more on the U.S. market, they needed to compete with other data translation software providers in a fairly crowded environment. What’s more, there was a perception among trade press editors, design engineeers and the manufacturing industry at large that the complex issue of incompatibility between CAD, CAE and CAM software in the all-digital environment had already been solved. Elysium needed to expose the ongoing problems, clarify the outstanding issues, and clearly explain the value of their superior solutions to their target audiences.

CAD/CAM Software
PTC, headquartered in Needham, Mass., is among the world's most successful software companies. The developer of Pro/ENGINEER®, the highly respected CAD/CAM system for mechanical design automation, and Windchill® software for collaborative product commerce, PTC provides indispensable tools for organizations that design and manufacture products in every industry. In the early 1990s, however, the company's technology for parametric, associative, three-dimensional CAD modeling was cutting edge and difficult to understand. PTC faced a formidable challenge: explain to an entire market of engineering designers who were committed to tools for 2-D and 3-D wireframe and surface modeling how they could benefit from moving to Pro/ENGINEER feature-based CAD software.

Tolerance Optimization Software
Sigmetrix LLC, based in McKinney, Texas, develops CETOL Six Sigma software for mechanical tolerance analysis and optimization. The software had a devoted core of users around the world at the highest levels of industry, where innovative concepts of Design for Six Sigma quality and virtual prototyping were taking root in product engineering practices. The next move for Sigmetrix was to reach the section of the design market that had not yet understood the advantages of analyzing part tolerances early in order to improve product manufacturability and quality.

Management Consulting
Goldense Group, Inc., is a Needham, Mass. consulting firm that advises companies on process and technology integration for product strategy, R&D, design engineering, product development, manufacturing, and materials management. In 1998, Goldense Group surveyed 190 companies worldwide that produce medical, electronic, automotive, and industrial products. The goal of this remarkable survey was to gain insight into three areas: how companies currently measure the effectiveness of new product development, whether there are consistent standards used by all industry, and finally, how new product development efforts might be improved. Once the study was complete, the next step for company founder and head consultant Bradford Goldense was to share what he had learned in order to give managers a better understanding of profitability.

Product Development Portal
Mesa Systems International, Inc., of Warwick, R.I., designed a product development portal called MesaVista® specifically for engineering organizations in industries subject to strict regulatory compliance, such as aerospace, telecommunications, and medical instrumentation. This web portal technology offered engineers a new way to collaborate in the development of complex products and systems. MesaVista technology, together with expertise won from a decade of consulting in process management, put venture-funded Mesa ahead of the market. The company's potential customers needed to understand how they could benefit from structured collaboration and process management.

Collaborative Product Design Software
ImpactXoft, a startup in San Jose, Calif., was ready to introduce pathbreaking software to the crowded and rapidly changing market for digital product definition and collaborative product design. Players and prophets had been contributing new definitions of this market, along with matching acronyms, for over a year by the time ImpactXoft debuted the concept of Simultaneous Product Development in the spring of 2001. The company needed to define itself and its IX SPeeD technology quickly. The next step was to build on initial positive response from industry observers. Not only was ImpactXoft presenting next-generation software for digital product modeling — they were also proposing an entirely new approach to product development.

Education
Graduate student programs, particularly in the applied sciences, require support from private industry in the form of money and research information. Having established a graduate program in 1985 at the University of Rhode Island with grants from Ford Motor Company and IBM, the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering (IME) wanted to reach out to American industry.

HyperSizer Software
Collier Research Corporation, of Hampton, Virginia, has a long history with NASA and is the first company to license software developed at the space agency. That software, HyperSizer, is a structural string and optimization tool which is used in a feedback loop to improve designs by significantly reducing weight and cost, while at the same time maximizing structural integrity and manufacturability. The software analyzes complex composite structures, as well as metals and other materials, by quickly evaluating designs in a ply-by-ply and even finite element-by-element method. Collier's software has helped aerospace users such as NASA, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Bombardier trim at least 25% of the weight from structures. Given current economic pressures this innovative weight-saving software solution has application in a wide range of industries; including wind energy, shipbuilding, high-speed rail, and transportation.