Press Release

Alibre Design 5.0 Gives Users the Highest Value in Professional 3D CAD at One-tenth the Cost Of Mid-Range Solid Modelers

Alibre focused on keeping the application easy to learn and use as features were added in this version. Alibre continues to provide free support, live Internet-based training and upgrades for the first year. Customers may renew the maintenance contract for $495 annually, but if they choose not to renew maintenance, the application continues to run as a standalone CAD system. All customers receive a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Alibre Design 5.0 includes the following enhancements:

• 2D drafting and detailing usability and performance have improved extensively. Among numerous enhancements, layers are now supported in drawing workspaces, and additional support for printers is provided.
• Associative 2D drawings now support stepped section views, broken views and enhanced detail views. Views also now can be moved among drawing sheets. Centerlines have been improved to support industry conventions and standards, plus the ability to easily clean up views with enhanced visibility control on edges, dimensions and annotations.
• A new bill of materials (BOM) feature allows users to create, edit, save, print and export associative BOMs generated from Alibre Design assemblies. Users may also create their own BOM templates, customizing the content and layout to correspond with company practices or individual preferences. BOMs are stored in the Repository, presented in drawings and can be edited with the application's integrated BOM editor. Additionally, BOMs may be exported in .csv format to Excel.
• In part modeling, automatic dimensioning of sketches is now performed, along with improved constraint capture and management. Other enhancements include additional creation methods for arcs and rectangles, the ability to propagate fillets and chamfers along multiple edges or chains, and more control of end conditions for sweep and loft features.
• In assembly modeling, users have much greater control of exploded views, along with the ability to insert multiple components in one operation.
• In the Repository, users can now move their product data, related files and associated folders within and across repositories by drag-and-drop or through a dialog window.
• Numerous improvements to annotations and dimensions include:

  Expanded support for center and tangent dimension types.

  Multiple fonts and styles for annotations.

  More control when positioning leader lines and associated text.

  Item callout balloons in assembly views are linked with components in the associated bill of materials, updating automatically as the BOM is affected.

• Smoother handling of the live Alibre Assistant support feature, to efficiently queue and route users to Alibre experts for real-time training and guidance.

Joe Greco reviewed Alibre Design in the September issue of Desktop Engineering magazine. His cover story, "Low-Cost MCAD," included these comments: "Overall, Alibre Design offers a strong collection of simple-to-use tools, a variety of help options, and good interoperability via STEP, IGES, and DWG. Throw in the collaboration and PDM tools and you have one of the best values in MCAD."

Alibre saw great response to the release of Alibre Design 4.0 in April 2002. Marc Meadows, owner of Meadows Analysis & Design, said, "I have clients using different tools, so adopting Alibre Design helps me to easily work with all of them, at little cost to me and none to them. I switched from Mechanical Desktop to Alibre Design - it meets my solid modeling needs and the price is unbeatable. Alibre Design is the no-brainer choice."

"Alibre Design is easy to learn. You have a comprehensive array of features. Keep up the good work. I'm quite happy with what I see so far," said Collin Dinsmoor, design engineer.

"Alibre Design is the best value in solid modeling available today," said Gary Hannah, senior design engineer with B/E Aerospace.

Alibre has redefined the market for professional 3D MCAD. Its Alibre Design application offers unprecedented ease-of-use, affordability, accessibility and rich functionality including professional 3D solid modeling, real-time team design and data sharing and management. In addition, Alibre provides first-class support and training through direct online access to the Alibre Assistant. Built to leverage the Internet, Alibre Design lets designers, engineers and their associates create 3D models and 2D associative drawings, share and edit product designs from different CAD applications, and spontaneously work together online in real time using precise design data. The application's support for open data standards such as STEP provides a CAD-neutral environment. Using Alibre Design, companies can slash costs, boost productivity, improve quality and shorten manufacturing cycles. Customers include Marchon Eyewear, B/E Aerospace and Dresser Rand. Founded in 1997, Alibre Inc. is privately funded and based in Richardson, Texas. For more information, visit www.alibre.com or call (972) 671-8492.

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Note to media: Alibre and Alibre Design are trademarks of Alibre Inc. High-res screenshots of Alibre Design are available.

Alibre and Alibre Design are trademarks of Alibre Inc.