Did you know that the composites industry is worth €77 billions, employs 550 000 people in the world and registers a 6% growth rate a year? There is definitely huge business to do there! And wether you are a user, a software provider or an integrator, the JEC Europe 2013 (March 12, 13, 14 in Paris, France) is the composites event you can't miss! 

The major industries served by Dassault Systèmes will be represented: Transportation & Mobility (Bombardier, Renault,...), Aerospace and Defense (EADS, Boeing, Embraer,...), Architecture-Engineering-Construction (Bouygues, Lafarge,...) and many other.

One month ago, we launched our first online contest with an Apple iPad as a prize. Many people showed us they knew the PLM MarketPlace well and we would like to thank all the participants.

Dozens of you gave us the 5 correct answers. However, only one person would be the lucky winner of the iPad. Under the control of Maître Montel, a drawing lot among the persons who gave 100% correct answer took place on Friday, November 19th. We are proud to announce that the winner is Mr. Dylan MacLean (see picture below) from New Jersey, USA!

Dylan works as a Marketing Manager at Magestic Systems, a Dassault Systèmes Software Partner. Note that Magestic Systems’ products are available through the PLM MarketPlace.

"I would like to thank Dassault Systemes and the PLM Marketplace for the iPad. This is a great way to start off the holiday season. An iPad will definitely be a fantastic resource for the future. The PLM Marketplace is also a wonderful resource for business as it has developed into a single location that allows me to find a wealth of information about 3DS products and partners right at my fingertips -- just like an iPad. Again, I want to thank Dassault Systemes and the PLM Marketplace for organizing this contest.", Dylan told us.

Again, congratulations to Dylan (we are sure he’ll download the PLM MarketPlace app for iPhone/iPad :-))!

For those of you attending the ECF starting Tuesday next week, you’ll have a second chance to win an iPad!

See you at Mickey’s…

The PLM MarketPlace Team

First, many new Referenced Partners joined bringing along a lot of new, innovative and comprehensive solution one click away from customers:
- Elsys, with CATELECTRE, ELECTRE and SMARTELECTRE in the field of electrical harness design;
- Icona Solutions, with the aesthetica product range helping you to face perceived quality challenges;
- Magestic and its Truenest and Truelaser View solutions for the composite manufacturing process;
- Mecamaster, with Mecamaster Analysis (Tolerance analysis);
- Noomeo, offering handheld 3D-scanners.
Take a look at what they offer and don't hesitate to drop their solutions in your shopping cart if need a quote or simply just more information!

We had also dozens of Value Added Resellers joining the program. They are now almost 100 all over the world able to deliver all the solutions listed on the PLM MarketPlace catalog to their customers.

The motto of the PLM MarketPlace has always been "Connecting Partners". Thus, we wanted to go a step ahead and open new channels where Referenced Partners, VARs and Customers would have the opportunity to interact:
- We launched a Twitter in April and today, more than 600 people (mostly users, partners, and 3D enthusiasts) follow us and discuss! Join them for free on Twitter!
- "See what you mean" is Dassault Systèmes' motto. This is why we gathered all the videos of our Referenced Partners on a dedicated channel on YouTube. People can now see for real what their software do, ask questions and share the videos in an easy way.
- Last but not least, something we are very proud of: the PLM MarketPlace application for iPhone. Thanks to it, bring all the PLM MarketPlace (RSS news, blog and, above all, the catalog, including product datasheets, videos and images) whereever you go! This application is free and can be downloaded from Apple's App Store.

This was all the exciting stuff we did in 2009! But we've been working on even more cool things for 2010! Next year, PLM MarketPlace will bring you even more opportunities. Want to know what? I suggest you to come back here next week... ;-)

I would like also to thank all our PLM MarketPlace partners all over the world for helping our customers every day with their solutions and knowledge.

On behalf of all the PLM MarketPlace Team, I wish everyone a merry Christmas.

How to implement successfully a green manufacturing

Nowadays, it seems like “Going Green” and efficient manufacturing have become synonymous with one another.   It makes perfect sense for this to be true though, since one of the primary goals for any manufacturer and also any environmentalist is minimizing waste and saving energy.  Some will say that going “green” is just what companies should do because it is better for the world we live in or because we only have one planet.  Without argument, both statements are entirely true; however, successfully implementing green manufacturing practices requires a business case.  Kate Bourdet of the 3D Perspectives Blog notes, “The European Union estimates that more than 80 percent of a product’s environmental impact is determined in the product conception phase.”   So then the question is, wouldn’t it make sense – as a business case – to build an optimized operation that not only achieves all manufacturing goals but also employs green practices in doing so?

A common vision ...

Magestic Systems, Inc (MSI) and Dassault Systèmes (DS) have made this a possibility.  Both companies operate with the understanding that for “green” manufacturing to succeed, industrial development needs to continue to progress and simultaneously needs to avoid foreclosing the needs of future generations.  This relies on planning and the ability of designers, engineers, and manufacturers alike to take into account all costs of a product, both intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic to a product are costs that go into buying material, operating a machine; extrinsic to this product, however, are costs such as where a shop purchases its energy – from coal-fired or renewable sources.  Choices made in the planning of a product lifecycle can greatly minimize its impact on the environment. 

... that result in solutions ready for the market

DS has built suites of software applications from CATIA, to SIMULIA, to ENOVIA that all advocate advanced planning and enable manufacturers to produce quality products without much trial and error, if any. PLM applications, like the DS suites, encompass the macro side of manufacturing, the plan.  Partners like MSI focus on the micro side, creating technologies that fit into plans set forth through PLM to create an optimized system.  TruNEST™ CAA V5 Composites Based offers advanced true shape nesting with best in class algorithmic logic to minimize toxic waste created during the cutting of composite materials.  TruNEST™ also allows manufacturers to optimize their use of energy by reducing cycle times, programming optimal tool paths, and maximizing throughput – all of which saves manufacturers money. MSI has advanced that technology with TruLASER™ View CAA V5 Composites Based by enabling operators to lay up plies with minimal wasted effort.  CATIA V5 design data provides measurements and designates where and how plies should be laid up as well as how the plies should be kitted to even further streamline the process.

Are you ready for the transformation?

TruNEST™ CAA V5 Composites Based and TruLASER™ View CAA V5 Composites Based comprise one piece of the DS PLM solution that not only makes sense as a business case, but also on an environmental level.  Together, the technologies highlight the teachings and blog posts of Dr. David Dornfeld of University of California-Berkeley and the Laboratory for Manufacturing and Sustainability.  He says, “reduced cost of ownership (CoO) is still the mantra in most industries…Time is money...energy is money...consumables are money.  If you can make the same product using fewer resources/energy [then] that seems like a good strategy.”   (see entire post) Dornfeld directly correlates efficient manufacturing and reduced cost of ownership with “green” manufacturing practices.  These principles of minimizing waste and optimizing energy provide the foundation for DS and MSI technologies.  Through PLM, Dassault and Magestic Systems continue raise the bar for the entire manufacturing landscape.  By investing in development for tomorrow, the two companies together look to discover new best practices for today.

What about you? Is your Company going in that direction? Do you agree that these are profund reasons or do you consider them as pure hype? Please leave a comment!

Dylan MacLean for Magestic Systems and Jacques