Baylor University Purchases 100 Seats of SolidWorks Software to Give Design Students Practical 3D CAD Experience.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

CONCORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 1, 2002

Senior design class uses SolidWorks to solve real design

challenges for Bell Helicopter 

Students in Baylor University's senior design class will get hands-on experience this fall when they use SolidWorks(R) three-dimensional computer-aided design (3D CAD) software to design a heat monitoring device for Bell Helicopter Textron, SolidWorks announced today. Baylor's School of Engineering and Computer Science has standardized on SolidWorks software, purchasing 100 licenses to provide its students with an easy-to-use design tool.

Baylor's Department of Engineering is using SolidWorks to teach its students how to apply solid modeling to real-world projects. Students are up and running with SolidWorks in a couple of weeks, compared to more than a month it took to learn the university's previous 3D CAD software. This short learning curve is a key benefit to students who must complete their projects in a 15-week semester.

During the fall semester, Baylor's senior design class will work on a project for Bell Helicopter Textron, which makes military and commercial helicopters. The company has commissioned the students to design a device that monitors the temperature of its rotor couplings, which take power from the engine and transfers it to the rotor shaft, causing the blades to spin. The design team's monitor will sense if the couplings are overheating during testing, preventing the couplings, which cost $18,000 per pair, from being ruined. SolidWorks is the only solid modeling software the students will use for the project. Students will also use eDrawings to communicate and review designs with Bell Helicopter and revise the designs via e-mail.

"Our senior design class helps students get ready for the real world by giving them the practical knowledge necessary to become productive in today's project-oriented workplace," said Robert Doty, a mechanical engineering professor at Baylor. "By blending real projects with widely used commercial design tools like SolidWorks, we feel we are giving our students a tremendous competitive advantage. In fact, our students have gone on to work at some of the world's leading companies, including Dell, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, General Electric, Westinghouse and Motorola."

In addition to Baylor's senior design students, the university's junior design class will use SolidWorks for their in-house projects. This is the first time Baylor will incorporate solid modeling into the junior class curriculum due to SolidWorks' short learning curve and intuitive nature, Doty said.

"Programs such as Baylor's are exactly what students need to test their design knowledge and see it come together in a finished product," said Rosanne Kramer, director of worldwide education markets for SolidWorks Corporation. "It is crucial to give students this practical experience so they are better equipped to make the transition to professional engineering careers."

Baylor University is working with MLC CAD Systems, an authorized SolidWorks reseller and certified trainer.

About MLC CAD Systems, Inc.

MLC CAD Systems, Inc. provides affordable, easy-to-use engineering and manufacturing solutions to companies and educational institutions throughout the Southwestern United States and Mexico. In 1999 and 2000, MLC was the #1 Value Added Reseller of SolidWorks in the South Central U.S. MLC's success is a direct result of combining experienced professionals with a mission of providing "Unbeatable Service" to a vast array of design and manufacturing clients. With offices in Austin, Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, and Phoenix, MLC provides its complete engineering to manufacturing solution to clients throughout the South Central U.S. and Mexico. For more information on MLC, visit the company's Web site at (www.mlc-cad.com) or call [phone].

About SolidWorks Corporation

SolidWorks Corporation, a Dassault Systemes S.A. (Nasdaq: DASTY, Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA) company, develops and markets mechanical design software solutions. Founded in 1993, SolidWorks' mission is to unleash the power of 3D for everyone in product development. In seven years of shipping product, SolidWorks has shipped more than 200,000 total seats of software worldwide. SolidWorks has offices around the globe and sells, distributes, and supports its products through a worldwide network of resellers. For the latest news, information, or a live online demonstration, visit the company's Web site (www.solidworks.com) or call 1-800-693-9000 (outside of North America, call [phone]).

SolidWorks is a registered trademark of SolidWorks Corporation. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective owners. Copyright (c) 2002 SolidWorks Corporation.