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From: jch@Stardent.COM (Jan Hardenbergh)
Newsgroups: comp.graphics,alt.cad,alt.cad.autocad,comp.lsi.cad
Subject: Re: Information on CAD vendors and IGES
Message-ID: <1991Nov12.185347.1278@Stardent.COM>
Date: 12 Nov 91 18:53:47 GMT
References: <1093@sarah.coh-uk.UUCP> <1991Nov12.081347.26819@leland.Stanford.EDU>
Organization: Stardent Computer, Concord MA
Lines: 63


From: howard@coh-uk.UUCP (Howard Wilkinson)

> I am trying to get a lead on the following information if any readers of
> these newsgroups could point me in the right direction Iwould be
> grateful.

> 1) Who are the major vendors of mechanical CAD systems.

Daratech revenue forcast for 1991 (from IEEE Times around SIGGRAPH). This
has both MCAD & ECAD.
                                        [1989 percent of market, Daratech]
IBM 			2.3 B			26.5  %
Intergraph 		1.3 B			13.98 %
Computervision  	1.1 B			14.74 %
Mentor           	 .5 B			 6.34 %
HP               	 .4 B			 4.97 %
McDonnell Douglas	 .3 B			 3.81 %
Cadence			 .3 B			 ---
Autodesk		 .3 B			 2.98 %
Schlumberger        	 .2 B			 ---
Valid			 .2 B			 2.57 %
CADAM                   --                       1.41 %

Not listed SDRC, CADAM ( may be folded into IBM ).
Computervision is currently owned by Prime owned by Venture capitalists 
  JH Whitney.
EDS bought McDonnell Douglas recently
Cadence & Valid merged. recently.

> 4) I know about IGES from years gone by. What is the current sate of
>    IGES? (anyone know what it stands for?)

Initial Graphics Exchange S[tandard?]  ( another temporary standard )
(I jess, or I guess)

I know it is supported by all of the big ones.

> 5) Does IGES have a standardisation body? If so who?

The document is published by NIST, National Institue of Standards &
Technology.  I used to have the reference...sigh.  I do not think IGES
is being developed further.

> 6) What other standards compete with IGES or are being used for similar
>    purposes. Should I include PHIGS and PeX in the same breath.

PDES, Product Data Exchange Spec (Pee dez).  It makes IGES look tiny.
It is an ISO standard with many big sections, one is geometry and
another is presentation, I think.  The presentation section overlaps
with PHIGS.

CBEMA might be able to sell you a PDES spec. 202-737-8888.

Whether you mention PHIGS & PEX in the same breath depends upon what you
want to do.  Since you seem to be interested in MCAD, I doubt PHIGS/PEX
will hold all of the types of data you want, although the application
data type can hold anything. It's true, there are some things PEX can't
do. :-)

-- 
-Jan "YON" Hardenbergh       jch@stardent.com         (508)-371-9810x261
Stardent Computer, 6 N.E. Tech Center, 521 Virginia Rd,Concord, MA 01742