- Email: [email protected]
CAM systems market
NEWS, SOFTWARE New for the European CAD/CAM Systems Market Cahna Vice President-European Sales, James Carro, has recently demonstrated three new major products for the European CAD/CAM systems market. They were: a 32-bit VAX-based processing capability for the company's three-dimensional CAD/CAM software; - a low-cost system, the Calma 170, which although priced much lower than 'standard' CAD/CAM systems performs many of the same functions as its more expensive counterparts; - a networking product, CalmaNet, which will bridge the company's CAD/CAM systems and other 'islands of productivity'. CahnaNet allows the co-ordination of the entire manufacturing process, from initial design to final production and assembly. The new Calma 7000 series BAX-based systems give users more powerful, efficient and versatile CAD/CAM processing by offering engineers and designers 32-bit processing directly coupled with Cahna's CAD/CAM software. The result is a fully-integrated turnkey CAD/CAM system with greater problem-solving and analysis power than any system Calma has ever offered. Calma 170 system incorporates major improvements in both hardware and software technology. It makes maximum use of microprocessor technology and combines it with new data storage systems and display technology. The result is a CAD/CAM system with the feature and functions of a large system, but at a much lower price. The Calma 170 can be placed directly in the engineering office and plugged into standard 240 V outlet. It is modular and compact in design, and includes a desk-like enclosure for the electronic hardware and a desktop 19-inch graphics display. The graphics displays are available in black and white or colour, and feature high-resolution raster technology for greater design detail. Flexibility is an important feature of CalmaNet. Disciplines vary from electronics to mechanical engineering to architectural design. The distance between work areas may be as short as 15 ft or as long as 15000 miles. This may require point-to-point, local area, satellite, baseband or broadband communication networks. CalmaNet is designed to meet all these needs. The new networking system links designers, engineers and manufacturing disciplines, allowing them to use common data. This access to a single source of information eliminates many of the mistakes associated with constantly updated design and manufacturing data. Contact: Nell Asten. Tel: 0t-773 0938. Telex: 8952560.
Maribus Launches a Manufacturing Software System which can Grow A fully integrated manufacturing software system which has been specially designed for medium sized engineering companies with growth potential, it is a comprehensive management system .ideal for manufacturers and distributors using DEC PDP I l and DEC compatible minicompu-
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ters. The systeln is fully menu driven and easy to use. even for the first thne computer user. It is modular in design which allows for the introduction of new applications when expansion of the system is required. Enquiries: Mr Steve Nesbitt, Maribus Limited, Crestina House, Archibold Terrace, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 1DB.
Breakthrough in Software Development Perspective, a major new software engineering product, is this year being launched in UK, Europe and USA by Systems Designers. Perspective is lk~r large software development teams, particularly in complex applications involving distributed processing and microprocessors. Complex systems can now be developed in a controlled environment. Systems Designers say it solves the problems of communication and integration between the various members of a software teanL and of control throughout the time scale of project development. Benefits are provided by a rich and powerful set of software tools including a programming language based on ISO PASCAL. The tools are based on a central database that holds the program source text and, more importantly, the structural relationships between database items. Perspective also contains manager and designer features, including configuration control, high level system design language and a supporting methodology. Now available on DEC's VAX range of powerful minicomputers, supporting the lntel 8086, the Motorola M68000 and the Zilog Z8000 microprocessors. L)Tquiries: George Waddington. Tel.: 0276 62244.
Project Management Software for DEC Computers TRACK 70, launched by Sydney Development, provides users of DEC VAX 32-bit minicomputers with an interactive project management system capable of handling 20000 or more activities for a basic price of around £11000. The systenr was created by T & B Computing of Ann Arbour, Michigan, which also wrote the TRACK 50 system for Prime Computers, of which over 50 have been sold worldwide to construction companies, research establishments, ship builders and the manufacturing industry. Recent Sydney sales successes with this established Prime system include Dowry Mining Equipment, Glaxo Group Research, Comprimo BV of Amsterdam which designs and manages the production of large plant for the oil industry, and the Dublin-based bureau, Sysco. TRACK 70's graphics module includes such features as variable timescaling, customised plots for specific activities and a facility which allows plots of unlimited size to be built-up using automatically-produced sets of component sheets. Full colour business graphics are also available. Contact Ray Pryor. Tel: 01-235 2939.
Launching of Draughting System imtec Cadd is an economic, simple-to-use and easy-to-learn, interactive system which may be used by drawing offices with no sacrifice of performance. This has been achieved by applying the most up-to-date technology in powerful highspeed minicomputers and by writing an extremely efficient structured software system. The hntec package is not discipline orientated, it is a general purpose draughting system tailored to the user's
requirements ana almost any ilrm operaung manuat draughting methods can benefit from using it. Designers need no computer background in order to maximise draughting productivity with the system. After an Imtec training course and with the easily learned, plain-English draughting command language, the company claims that operators can create or modify full or partial drawings up to three times faster than by manual methods. For further details contact: John Cole, Minden Luby Associates Ltd. Tel.: 01-222 2202 or Nigel Smith, Imtec Ltd. Tel.: 204 8355.
HARDWARE Memory Increase
for Floating Point Systems
Floating Point Systems, the world's leading manufacturer of high speed attached processors, has announced an increase in the maximum memory size of the FPS-164 from 14.5 megabytes to 58 megabytes. Users can now select from 11 optional main memory sizes ranging from 2 megabytes to 58 megabytes. Floating Point explained that, 'Larger memory will provide users with more detailed resolution of computer models in such applications as structural analysis, oil reservoir simulation, and computational physics and chemistry. The expanded memory will also reduce the need for disc storage for intermediate results. This will mean fewer disc-to-memory transfers and consequently even faster program execution by the FPS-164'. The FPS-164 is a powerful, high speed scientific processor that attaches to computers from Digital Equipment, IBM, Sperry Univac and Apollo Computer. It offloads and processes computationally intensive engineering and scientific jobs, leaving the host computer free for other work. Contact: Russ Gadd. Tel.: 0344 56921.
MICROCOMP New System of Computer Aided Maintenance Management An entirely new system of computer aided maintenance management that brings a highly sophisticated management tool within reach of the maintenance engineer at a cost of from £3000-£8000 has been introduced by maintenance systems specialists Comac Systems Limited. With application across a broad spectrum of industry including brewing, food, chemical processing, general manufacturing and institutional and building maintenance, Comac's new program - C o m a c 3 - is a development of its previous microcomputer based system, but has been written to take advantage of the much greater capacity and speed of the latest 16 BIT third generation microcomputers. Completely portable across the new generation of microcomputers, including IBM, DEC and SIRIUS, the new program consists of ten management modules designed to enable maintenance departments to operate corrective, planned or predictive maintenance systems according to the degree of sophistication required. Enquiries: Comac. Tel.: 02812 4918.
computer grapmcs/t~aLp system oemg launcneu m the wr~ by the ROBO GRAPHICS Division of Robocom Ltd. This .ROBO 1000 Bitstik graphics system sells for less than £4500 complete and is a versatile general purpose drawing tool that simplifies and speeds-up the creation of a wide range of full colour and monochrome drawn material. The system includes a number of on-line features specially tailored to the production of schematic diagrams, component drawings, architectural plans and layouts, business and scientific graphics, training and educational applications, and the production of data sheets incorporating text into page layouts. It has been designed by the North London company and is a logical development of the company's original 'Bitstik' software/hardware package which created an entirely new threshold for low-price multi-purpose computer aided drawing systems, when it was launched. The many advances incorporated in the highly specified ROBO 1000 system include a redesigned 3-axis controller for finger-tip inputting of graphic material, a rapid operating speed (arcs and circles are drawn 50 times faster) and a scale entry routine that produces magnification of detail equivalent to drawing to a resolution of 0.1 mm on a piece of paper more than 10 km square. Enquiries: Michael Young. Tel.: 01-836 1072.
Fujitsu Micro 8 From the Japanese mainframe giant Fujitsu, below, the new Micro 8 Personal Computer, which boasts no fewer than three microprocessors. The main processors are twin 6809's which handle 640 x 200 - 8 color dot Hi-Resolution graphics, 8× 8 matrix block graphics, which can be displayed through either a green screen or RGB colour port. The third processor is a Z-80Z allowing for use with CP/M based software. Features include: A real time clock, parallel printer port (screen dumping in ROM, with grey scaling) and serial communications port, and 32K of Microsoft F-Basic contained in 128K of total memory. It has soft-switching screen format (between 40 x 80 columns) which can be programmed into any of the ten programmable function keys. Options include: Provision for Bubble Memory with 100KB per second transfer speed, average access time 6 msec; 5 and 8 in. Double Sided Double Density disk drives and expansion unit giving hard disk, IEEE and plotter interfaces, together with a sound module and various FL-8A modules. Enquiries: Gordon McDowell. Tel.: 09322 42777/8.
Powerful Computer Drawing at a Micro Price The world's most powerful software ever used with a microcomputer is claimed to be at the heart of a new
Adv. Eng. Software, 1983, Vol. 5, No. 4
231
Maribus Launches a Manufacturing Software System which can Grow A fully integrated manufacturing software system which has been specially designed for medium sized engineering companies with growth potential, it is a comprehensive management system .ideal for manufacturers and distributors using DEC PDP I l and DEC compatible minicompu-
230
Adv. Eng. Software, 1983, Vol. 5, No. 4
ters. The systeln is fully menu driven and easy to use. even for the first thne computer user. It is modular in design which allows for the introduction of new applications when expansion of the system is required. Enquiries: Mr Steve Nesbitt, Maribus Limited, Crestina House, Archibold Terrace, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 1DB.
Breakthrough in Software Development Perspective, a major new software engineering product, is this year being launched in UK, Europe and USA by Systems Designers. Perspective is lk~r large software development teams, particularly in complex applications involving distributed processing and microprocessors. Complex systems can now be developed in a controlled environment. Systems Designers say it solves the problems of communication and integration between the various members of a software teanL and of control throughout the time scale of project development. Benefits are provided by a rich and powerful set of software tools including a programming language based on ISO PASCAL. The tools are based on a central database that holds the program source text and, more importantly, the structural relationships between database items. Perspective also contains manager and designer features, including configuration control, high level system design language and a supporting methodology. Now available on DEC's VAX range of powerful minicomputers, supporting the lntel 8086, the Motorola M68000 and the Zilog Z8000 microprocessors. L)Tquiries: George Waddington. Tel.: 0276 62244.
Project Management Software for DEC Computers TRACK 70, launched by Sydney Development, provides users of DEC VAX 32-bit minicomputers with an interactive project management system capable of handling 20000 or more activities for a basic price of around £11000. The systenr was created by T & B Computing of Ann Arbour, Michigan, which also wrote the TRACK 50 system for Prime Computers, of which over 50 have been sold worldwide to construction companies, research establishments, ship builders and the manufacturing industry. Recent Sydney sales successes with this established Prime system include Dowry Mining Equipment, Glaxo Group Research, Comprimo BV of Amsterdam which designs and manages the production of large plant for the oil industry, and the Dublin-based bureau, Sysco. TRACK 70's graphics module includes such features as variable timescaling, customised plots for specific activities and a facility which allows plots of unlimited size to be built-up using automatically-produced sets of component sheets. Full colour business graphics are also available. Contact Ray Pryor. Tel: 01-235 2939.
Launching of Draughting System imtec Cadd is an economic, simple-to-use and easy-to-learn, interactive system which may be used by drawing offices with no sacrifice of performance. This has been achieved by applying the most up-to-date technology in powerful highspeed minicomputers and by writing an extremely efficient structured software system. The hntec package is not discipline orientated, it is a general purpose draughting system tailored to the user's
requirements ana almost any ilrm operaung manuat draughting methods can benefit from using it. Designers need no computer background in order to maximise draughting productivity with the system. After an Imtec training course and with the easily learned, plain-English draughting command language, the company claims that operators can create or modify full or partial drawings up to three times faster than by manual methods. For further details contact: John Cole, Minden Luby Associates Ltd. Tel.: 01-222 2202 or Nigel Smith, Imtec Ltd. Tel.: 204 8355.
HARDWARE Memory Increase
for Floating Point Systems
Floating Point Systems, the world's leading manufacturer of high speed attached processors, has announced an increase in the maximum memory size of the FPS-164 from 14.5 megabytes to 58 megabytes. Users can now select from 11 optional main memory sizes ranging from 2 megabytes to 58 megabytes. Floating Point explained that, 'Larger memory will provide users with more detailed resolution of computer models in such applications as structural analysis, oil reservoir simulation, and computational physics and chemistry. The expanded memory will also reduce the need for disc storage for intermediate results. This will mean fewer disc-to-memory transfers and consequently even faster program execution by the FPS-164'. The FPS-164 is a powerful, high speed scientific processor that attaches to computers from Digital Equipment, IBM, Sperry Univac and Apollo Computer. It offloads and processes computationally intensive engineering and scientific jobs, leaving the host computer free for other work. Contact: Russ Gadd. Tel.: 0344 56921.
MICROCOMP New System of Computer Aided Maintenance Management An entirely new system of computer aided maintenance management that brings a highly sophisticated management tool within reach of the maintenance engineer at a cost of from £3000-£8000 has been introduced by maintenance systems specialists Comac Systems Limited. With application across a broad spectrum of industry including brewing, food, chemical processing, general manufacturing and institutional and building maintenance, Comac's new program - C o m a c 3 - is a development of its previous microcomputer based system, but has been written to take advantage of the much greater capacity and speed of the latest 16 BIT third generation microcomputers. Completely portable across the new generation of microcomputers, including IBM, DEC and SIRIUS, the new program consists of ten management modules designed to enable maintenance departments to operate corrective, planned or predictive maintenance systems according to the degree of sophistication required. Enquiries: Comac. Tel.: 02812 4918.
computer grapmcs/t~aLp system oemg launcneu m the wr~ by the ROBO GRAPHICS Division of Robocom Ltd. This .ROBO 1000 Bitstik graphics system sells for less than £4500 complete and is a versatile general purpose drawing tool that simplifies and speeds-up the creation of a wide range of full colour and monochrome drawn material. The system includes a number of on-line features specially tailored to the production of schematic diagrams, component drawings, architectural plans and layouts, business and scientific graphics, training and educational applications, and the production of data sheets incorporating text into page layouts. It has been designed by the North London company and is a logical development of the company's original 'Bitstik' software/hardware package which created an entirely new threshold for low-price multi-purpose computer aided drawing systems, when it was launched. The many advances incorporated in the highly specified ROBO 1000 system include a redesigned 3-axis controller for finger-tip inputting of graphic material, a rapid operating speed (arcs and circles are drawn 50 times faster) and a scale entry routine that produces magnification of detail equivalent to drawing to a resolution of 0.1 mm on a piece of paper more than 10 km square. Enquiries: Michael Young. Tel.: 01-836 1072.
Fujitsu Micro 8 From the Japanese mainframe giant Fujitsu, below, the new Micro 8 Personal Computer, which boasts no fewer than three microprocessors. The main processors are twin 6809's which handle 640 x 200 - 8 color dot Hi-Resolution graphics, 8× 8 matrix block graphics, which can be displayed through either a green screen or RGB colour port. The third processor is a Z-80Z allowing for use with CP/M based software. Features include: A real time clock, parallel printer port (screen dumping in ROM, with grey scaling) and serial communications port, and 32K of Microsoft F-Basic contained in 128K of total memory. It has soft-switching screen format (between 40 x 80 columns) which can be programmed into any of the ten programmable function keys. Options include: Provision for Bubble Memory with 100KB per second transfer speed, average access time 6 msec; 5 and 8 in. Double Sided Double Density disk drives and expansion unit giving hard disk, IEEE and plotter interfaces, together with a sound module and various FL-8A modules. Enquiries: Gordon McDowell. Tel.: 09322 42777/8.
Powerful Computer Drawing at a Micro Price The world's most powerful software ever used with a microcomputer is claimed to be at the heart of a new
Adv. Eng. Software, 1983, Vol. 5, No. 4
231