Kubotek USA Ships KeyCreator Software to Customers; Announces Additional Functionality.

MARLBOROUGH, Mass. -- Inclusion of SolidWorks and Autodesk Inventor Translators Adds Further Value for Job Shops; Continues to Break Down Barriers to Interoperability Kubotek(R) USA today announced it is shipping KeyCreator(TM) 4.0, the new version of its widely used design and manufacturing software, with additional enhancements over and above previously announced features and functionality.

Among the most significant newly announced features is the addition of translators for SolidWorks(R) and Autodesk Inventor(R) to the standard package that currently includes AutoCAD (DXF, DWG), Parasolid, SAT, IGES and STEP. This robust translator support is important for job shops that receive files in a variety of formats and need to translate them in order to work on them.

Announced in November, KeyCreator version 4 continues the evolution of the popular CADKEY(R) software, which is used extensively in industrial design settings to provide unprecedented productivity in key design and manufacturing processes. KeyCreator version 4 removes productivity constraints, and provides design and manufacturing engineers the freedom and flexibility to fully exploit their skills, experience and creativity in a timely fashion. Other previously announced productivity enhancements include sheet metal bend/unbend capabilities, automatic drawing layouts, detail callouts, and automated Bill of Materials (BOM).

"Industry consolidations and outsourcing are creating further confusion in today's competitive design environment already," stated Robert Bean, Kubotek USA's chief operating officer. "Job shops have always struggled with receiving design files in a wide variety of formats but now we're seeing an escalation in interoperability issues due to the creation of in-house multi-CAD environments as a result of corporate mergers and acquisitions."

While, KeyCreator already has the most powerful and comprehensive translator support of any design and engineering tool available, KeyCreator version 4 provides a significant increase in support for direct model translators as well as the ability to verify, edit, and reuse imported models. In addition to a number of enhancements designed to support interoperability between various CAD platforms, the new version of KeyCreator also provides major upgrades focused on productivity, as well as numerical control improvements.

Don Bedwell, a consultant for Mr. Gasket, a manufacture of performance parts and accessories, is a long time CADKEY user who has been working with an early release of KeyCreator v4. An experienced designer whose Thorncreek Engineering (Columbia City, IN) is responsible for the designs of everything from door handles to food mixers, Bedwell appreciates that KeyCreator version 4 makes upgrades to the product's speed and accuracy while maintaining the ease-of-use and ability to "converse well with other formats" that make his job easier. "I can teach someone to use KeyCreator in a few days and very quickly they come back to show me what they've accomplished. This is probably because I can do the vast majority what I need to do - 80% or more - with only 17 commands."

Bedwell also praises the product's ability to quickly produce multiple versions of the same concept. "I use it when I am working with marketing. During a consultation, I can quickly show them 4 or 5 different designs of the same product, a sequential shifter project, sheet metal intakes, or a sparkplug boot. Together we can decide what the most pleasing shape is."

"In the current volatile market of manufacturing outsourcing, Kubotek demonstrates an excellent understanding of end user needs by focusing KeyCreator version 4 on improved model translation and yet more capabilities to work directly on model geometry," asserts Ken Versprille, Ph.D., PLM Research Director, CPD Associates, LLC. "Job shops cannot afford to own and use numerous, disparate CAD design applications to adjust and prepare product geometry for their manufacturing processes. KeyCreator version 4 offers rapid and easy access to translated product geometry for improved productivity."

Kubotek KeyCreator builds on the heritage of CADKEY, the first true three dimensional (3D) mechanical computer-aided design (MCAD) software for the desktop. KeyCreator combines both the latest in geometry-based design and modeling technology, and a legacy of success in helping customers in the design of tooling, complex machinery, fixtures, molds and dies in a multitude of product development industries including automotive, aerospace, heavy equipment, sports equipment, medical devices and many more.

The rapidly expanding KeyCreator product line includes multidimensional design and drafting, NC programming and the company's unique geometry-based foundation with localized feature editing and sophisticated deformation

techniques. KeyCreator blends surface, solid and wireframe modeling, allowing for easy model modification and editing functionality to support rapid manufacturing.

North American pricing for KeyCreator version 4 systems begins at $3495 including one year of maintenance.

About Kubotek

Kubotek USA, Inc., headquartered in Marlborough, MA, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kubotek Corporation. Kubotek USA develops and manufactures KeyCreator software (formerly CADKEY) and is responsible for sales, marketing, distribution and support for the Americas, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. More than 20,000 global customers use Kubotek design and manufacturing software.

Kubotek Corporation was founded in 1985 in Osaka, Japan, and has been publicly traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange since 2001. Kubotek Corporation is a worldwide leader in creation engineering - the development of technologies for modeling, measuring and machining in industrial businesses large and small.

Visit Kubotek at: www.kubotekusa.com

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Kubotek, KeyCreator, and CADKEY are registered trademarks or trademarks of Kubotek Corporation. All other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.