The new DesignConcept Auto and DesignConcept TechTex solutions: anovel approach to 3D/2D design and product development

DesignConcept Auto and DesignConcept TechTex are Lectra's flagshipsolutions for textile-based product design and development.Equipped with this solution, users can create virtual models, runfeasibility analyses, develop templates, and estimate costs,resulting in reduced time-to-market of finished products.

One of the many significant benefits of these new versions istheir automatic marker-making module which calculates estimates offabric consumption and related costs according to the customer'sbusiness model. These calculations are carried out during thedesign phase and hence very early in the design and developmentprocess.

With DesignConcept Auto and DesignConcept TechTex, Lectra aloneoffers the automotive and industrial fabrics industry thisparticularly innovative approach.

The new automatic marker-making module provides project leaderswith valuable and detailed information about the different fabricsavings possible for each design option, thus allowing them tomake the wisest decisions. When this module is used in conjunctionwith feasibility analyses, companies equipped with DesignConceptcan shorten production cycle times through perfect projectmanagement with respect to the business model chosen initially andto the company's main criteria—cost, quality, time-to-market.

With the new DesignConcept Auto and DesignConcept TechTex offers,costs are no longer imposed but foreseen and managed.

"We developed these new versions in order to offer a novelapproach to product development, giving designers moreresponsibility by providing them with improved visibility over theeconomic implications of their decisions," said Daniel Harari,CEO, Lectra. "This means they can make a more direct contributionto their company's performance."

DesignConcept Auto: a response to specifically address the needsof manufacturers in the automotive market

Taking the recent changes in the automotive sector intoconsideration, Lectra engineers have developed concepts thataccelerate decision-making to help cope with the increasingcustomer demand for greater numbers and heightened complexity ofinterior and seat models. Equipped with DesignConcept Auto (V4R1),designers can offer up to five times more virtual models thanbefore, using the simulation tools, while accessing necessaryinformation for quality evaluation and corresponding costmanagement.

"With DesignConcept Auto V4R1 we have finally been able to enter anew phase of synchronized prototyping and costing. Now we canmodify designs while verifying the related cost implications. Thisalso means we can consider more designs," said KatuyukiMatsushita, General Manager, Engineering Division, Toyota Boshoku(Japan).

DesignConcept TechTex: a major advantage for companies usingindustrial fabricsa major advantage for manufacturers who processindustrial fabrics

Constraints linked to environmental protection and reduced energyconsumption have led to an increase in the number of industrialfabrics products. In the aeronautics industry, saving a few gramsper piece may be a deciding factor for end-customers. With theexplosion of prices for raw materials and crude oil, DesignConceptTechTex (V4R1) has become essential for large-scale compositeproduct design, especially for reducing the weight of finishedproducts while maintaining satisfactory mechanical properties.DesignConcept TechTex drastically reduces development cycle timeswith its flattening algorithm, the only one of its kind on themarket. DesignConcept TechTex thus makes it possible to createmore products for lower costs. In a sector currently experiencingsignificant growth, Lectra alone provides a global solution,through its CAM offer, from 3D design to production of softstructures.

"DesignConcept TechTex handles complex shapes much better than weexpected," said James Colegrove, Composite Materials Engineer forTrek Bicycle Corporation, an American company which designs andmanufactures a wide range of touring and mountain bikes.

"We were impressed with how it put the shapes together and withthe high quality of the parts. DesignConcept TechTex makes it mucheasier to collaborate with the industrial designers and developstylish bikes while ensuring they can be produced to deliver theoutstanding performance that Trek customers expect."

New developments pushing the limits of virtual design

DesignConcept Auto (V4R1) and DesignConcept TechTex (V4R1) offermanufacturers other major advantages.

Both solutions allow better control of development costs byshortening the prototyping phase, improving the rendered image andvirtual simulation, and analyzing feasibility according to thecharacteristics of the fabric. Feasibility analyses, aimed at thebest compromise of quality, price, and time-to-market, are guidedby objective criteria including evaluation of the fabric's tensionand distortion, its resistance to constraints, materialconsumption, etc.

Finally, manufacturers can now enter their own materials(textiles, leathers, etc.) and the characteristics of thosematerials into the DesignConcept Auto and DesignConcept TechTexlibrary.

DesignConcept and Vector by Lectra: when optimization andproduction combine

To reduce their material consumption, manufacturers must firstevaluate the performance of their production tools.

Lectra's VectorAuto and VectorTechTex cutter ranges, designed forthe automotive and industrial fabrics industries, yield two tothree times greater productivity than standard models on themarket and result in fabric savings of up to 5% or more.

In order to estimate production material requirements,DesignConcept takes the manufacturing process into account,optimizing shapes, their rotation constraints, and inter-piecesmargins. Contractors can thus quickly estimate their return oninvestment and evaluate the advantages of producing with Lectrasolutions as opposed to the competition.

Associating DesignConcept Auto or DesignConcept TechTex with theVectorAuto and VectorTechTex ranges of automated cuttersconstitutes a real competitive advantage.

DesignConcept: Compatible with Windows Vista

As with all new Lectra solutions, DesignConcept is compatible withMicrosoft's Windows Vista operating system.

In line with the Lectra's strategy of accompanying customers,DesignConcept is associated with a range of high value-addedprofessional services provided by Lectra's own business andsolutions experts.

About Lectra

Lectra is the world leader in integrated technology solutions thatautomate, streamline, and accelerate product design, development,and manufacturing processes for the soft goods industries. Lectradevelops the most advanced specialized software and cuttingsystems and provides associated services to a broad array ofmarkets including fashion (apparel, accessories, footwear),automotive (car seats and interiors, airbags), aeronautics,marine, and furniture. Lectra serves 20,000 customers in more than100 countries with 1,550 employees and $297 million in 2007revenues. The company is listed on Euronext Paris.For moreinformation, please visit www.lectra.com

This information is provided by HUGIN

Contact – Lectra Headquarters / Press Dept.:Nathalie GerbalEmail: Email ContactTel: +33 (0)1 53 64 42 37Fax: +33 (0)1 53 64 43 40