Dassault Systèmes Launches Industry’s Best Multi-version Compatibility with New V5 ReleaseV6-Native Products and Parts Now Editable in V5; Advancement of V5 Continues

Dassault Systèmes have announced the general availability of the latest release of its Version 5 PLM platform, including CATIA, DELMIA, ENOVIA and SIMULIA.

This new release furthers the adoption of the powerful 3D Experience Platform designed by Dassault Systèmes and includes a major new evolution in V6-to-V5 compatibility. OEMs or suppliers in all industries now have the flexibility to modify and exchange designs, whether they are V5- or V6-native, as they progress through the design process. This represents another quantum leap in an ongoing series of V5-V6 collaboration capabilities.

CATIA V5 users will be able to edit key features of V6 models from within V5. No other company in the CAD / PLM industry offers this level of downward compatibility between versions. The capabilities announced today further enable customers and their supply chains to benefit from the value of V6 alongside their existing V5 deployments.

“When we created V6, we knew customers would work in mixed V5/V6 environments. Since then we have continuously worked to support our customers’ industry needs,” explained Dominique Florack, senior executive vice president, Products, Research & Development, Dassault Systèmes. “What you’re seeing is an engineered development of V5 and V6 solutions to ensure a compatibility that can’t be found elsewhere.”

Dassault Systèmes has renamed this release of V5 to V5-6R2012 to emphasize the continuing compatibility and synchronization between V5 and V6, as well as the enrichment of V5 solutions with select V6 technology. V5 customers can therefore experience the open V6 portfolio and gain select benefits of Dassault Systèmes’ extensive V6 R&D investments. Customers can transition to V6 at their own pace, while continuing to collaborate seamlessly with departments, customers and suppliers who use V5. V6 models opened in V5 retain features created in, for example, V6′s Part Design, Sketcher and Generative Surface Design workbenches and knowledgeware.

“A key aspect for Renault and its diverse, global extended enterprise has been V5 to V6 transition. The new level of downward compatibility Dassault Systèmes is announcing between its platforms will accelerate the use of V6 within our ecosystem,” said executive Olivier Colmard, vice president, Information Systems for Engineering & Quality, Renault. “We’ve taken a strategic decision to deploy V6 to help transform our product development processes. Today’s foresightful research and development achievement is exactly what we have come to expect of our PLM solutions partner.”

“As one of the world’s premier manufacturers of luxury saloons and sports cars, Jaguar Land Rover has a diverse, international supply chain and we plainly see the value of even more compatibility between V6, which we are implementing now, and V5, which is well-deployed in our supply chain. The ability to edit Version 6 models in V5 means that collaboration with our team members, whether at JLR or within our extended supply chain, will be simpler and more effective,” said John Knight-Gregson, i-PLM Programme Director, Jaguar Land Rover. “Dassault Systèmes’ realistic assessment of V5 market penetration and the company’s ongoing effort to push the boundaries of version to version coexistence clearly shows it is looking out for its customers’ needs.”

Since the launch of V6, Dassault Systèmes has delivered on its promise to ensure unmatched compatibility between V5 and V6:

• Even before this release, the compatibility between CATIA V5 and CATIA V6 was equivalent to the compatibility between two releases of CATIA V5. This ensured a customer’s transition to V6 was as easy as a V5 release-to-release transition. Today’s announcement surpasses this level of compatibility;

• To further facilitate data compatibility between V5 and V6, Dassault Systèmes R&D inserted select V6 technologies into V5 solutions, such as Class A surfacing innovations and concept design from CATIA Imagine & Shape;

• Powerful openness and coexistence capabilities which enable reuse of existing V5 models and other data in V6 hybrid product structures. Design engineers can create a single hybrid product structure composed of CATIA V6, CATIA V5, CATIA V4, SolidWorks, Siemens’ NX and PTC’s ProEngineer models. The resulting single product structure enables real-time design review and analysis of the virtual product, regardless of the native authoring tool. (Source Dassault Systèmes April, 2012).

If you are wondering what the best option is for your business, we can offer you specific advice that’ll help you find the best solution. Click here to contact us.

By Applied CAE

CATIA V6 has been released, and the improvements are significant. It offers users greater collaboration throughout the supply chain, as well as increased security of designs. For those companies without incumbent PLM infrastructure, CATIA V6 is by far the best system on the market. However, those of us that can still remember the move from V4 to V5 of CATIA, will no doubt be feeling a little uneasy as the industry starts it’s move over to this latest release.

We get to the heart of the matter.

V6 clearly offers key benefits for its users. For example, a streamlined document sharing process. If you rely upon designs and documents from other parties within the supply chain, V6 ensures you will only access the latest designs to work from, minimising any time lost from working on outdated documents. This collaboration facility also means that the transfer of documents is more fluid and highly secure.

Another key benefit is the integration of CATIA V6 with other Dassault Systemes software. This latest version works on the same platform as the other software in the Dassault portfolio, allowing it to work seamlessly with 3DVIA, ENOVIA, DELMIA and SIMULIA.

Dassault has also improved the user interface with V6, they are aiming for a much more ‘lifelike experience’. One of the other key enhancements is the 3D sketch capability, allowing designers to sketch in 3D and also to turn 2D ideas into 3D reality.

So from a purely sales perspective, V6 is not only the best that Dassault has ever produced, but arguably, the best available on the market today. Many of you though, are not in a greenfield situation, and will already be working with V5. This latest release will therefore mean a transition in software, and more than likely, a dual working environment for a significant time period, whilst the OEMs choose when, or indeed whether to move over to V6.

Dassault Aviation are fully up and running with V6, whilst Renault is running a pilot project, and Jaguar Land Rover have started to implement the early stages of the transition. However, many OEMs have still not committed to V6, such as Airbus, BAE and Honda, so if you are supplying several OEMs, then I am sure you will be wondering how the changeover period will affect your business.

Why not give us a call, we would be happy to discuss the implications with you, and hopefully put your mind at ease.