COSMOS Spans Electronics Design Analysis from Remote Controls to Satellite Components.

CONCORD, Mass. -- More than 800 companies in 35 countries use COSMOS to speed production, eliminate costly design errors and bolster profit margins

Laptop computers, DVD players, and satellite components are just a few of the electronics products designed in less time and with fewer errors thanks to COSMOS(TM) analysis software from SolidWorks Corporation. The global electronics industry has embraced COSMOS widely, with more than 800 companies in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand using COSMOS products to catch errors early in the design process.

Analyzing throughout the product development process, rather than just at the end, moves electronics products to market faster and with fewer problems such as overheating or parts that don't mesh properly. COSMOS users can expect to cut 20 percent from the cost of product field failures per year; improve overall time to market 30 percent; and increase profit margins 8 percent. A 2003 study by MIT's Sloan School of Management found that 67 percent of COSMOS users credit it with improving product quality; 59 percent with avoiding field failures, and 15 percent with avoiding product recalls. Most COSMOS customers build 50 percent fewer physical prototypes and roll out product in half the time they did before COSMOS.

COSMOS users range from small and medium-sized firms to more than 30 Fortune 500 corporations, and include companies such as Toshiba, Cannon, InFocus, and EchoStar, and government agencies such as the Jet Propulsion Lab. They use COSMOS to analyze designs for products ranging from camera mounts to remote controls, cellular phones, and DVD players. COSMOS helps engineers determine whether assemblies will generate too much heat; whether enclosures can handle required voltages; and whether parts will mesh smoothly during operation.

Steve Hess, CAD engineering manager at $1.4 billion test equipment manufacturer Teradyne, has used COSMOS products, including COSMOSWorks(TM) and COSMOSFloWorks(TM), since 1997. COSMOS applications help Teradyne's engineering staff predict deformation of robotic arms equipped with electronic testing devices and heat flows in circuit board cooling equipment. Hess credits COSMOS with helping eliminate physical prototyping and making the design process faster and more efficient.

"COSMOS affects all areas of our design process, from research and development to daily engineering work," Hess said. "In terms of our business goals, COSMOS has helped increase our quality, reduce our costs, and shorten our delivery cycles. COSMOS also lets us make our products lighter and more focused on customer needs while still meeting design requirements, because we can optimize designs throughout the cycle."

The COSMOS product line includes COSMOSWorks, an analysis application that tests parts and assemblies in a virtual environment; COSMOSMotion(TM), a virtual prototyping application that simulates a design's mechanical operation; and COSMOSFloWorks, a fluid dynamics application that simulates the flow of fluids, gasses, and heat through and around designs for products ranging from exhaust valves to aircraft wings. COSMOSXpress(TM), a quick design validation tool, is integrated with SolidWorks(R) 3D mechanical design software.

Until recently, design analysis was the province of specially trained analysts. COSMOS' ease of use, however, enables everyone in the design process to do analysis. Widespread use of analysis eliminates late-stage design flaws, which are harder and more expensive to fix than early stage problems. That growing realization has driven COSMOS' adoption in the electronics industry.

"The number and variety of companies using COSMOS illustrates how valuable design analysis software has become in the electronics industry," said Suchit Jain, SolidWorks' vice president of analysis products. "Engineers and designers face a lot of market pressure to develop a steady stream of new products. COSMOS lets them keep pace without compromising quality and without investing in expensive, highly specialized analysis technology."

Teradyne works with SolidWorks reseller US CAD for COSMOS implementation and training.

About SolidWorks Corporation

SolidWorks Corporation, a Dassault Systemes S.A. (Nasdaq: DASTY, Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA) company, develops and markets software for mechanical design, analysis, and product data management. It is the #1 supplier of 3D mechanical design software for the mainstream market. SolidWorks leads the market in number of users in production, customer satisfaction, and revenue. 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 and COSMOSXpress is a trademark of SolidWorks Corporation. COSMOS, COSMOSMotion, COSMOSWorks, and COSMOSFloWorks are trademarks of Structural Research and Analysis Corporation. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective owners. Copyright (c) 2004 SolidWorks Corporation.