Mecasonic Chooses Dassault Systèmes’ PLM Solution Over Competition for Plastics Welding Machinery

CATIA V5’s flexibility, ability to treat complex surfaces and management of industry knowledge data provides winning formula

Paris, France, May 16, 2006 – Dassault Systèmes (DS) (Nasdaq: DASTY; Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA), a world leader in 3D and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, today announced that Mecasonic, a leading supplier of plastics welding machinery is reusing knowledge to optimize the creation of its welding products thanks to CATIA V5.

Mecasonic’s goal was threefold: to increase its machines’ capacity, to improve its R&D processes and to advance product quality. To do this, Mecasonic replaced its existing workstations with three CATIA V5 posts. “We studied carefully all the solutions on the market, and chose CATIA V5 for its flexibility, ability to treat complex surfaces and its management of industry knowledge data,” notes Jean-Louis Janin, Technical Director of Mecasonic. “CATIA V5’s Knowledge Management module allows us to retain and reuse specific data developed on our former system, and enabling us to automate the sonotrode implantation choices in the ultrasonic welding zone, and integrate design aides into the user interface, giving our clients an interactive environment.”

Founded in 1969 in Annemasse in the French Alps, Mecasonic is a world leader in the field of machines for ultrasonic, hot plate, vibration and spin welding. It is part of the worldwide CREST Group, with its own workshops assuring quality and maintenance. Its customers are largely in the automotive, food preparation, cosmetics, electronics and packaging industries, and produce a wide range of the everyday objects we rely on, from ready-made meal packaging to car bumpers.

By customizing CATIA V5 with its existing know-how on sonotrode orientation and angle, Mecasonic has been able to streamline assembly procedures by optimizing the contact points for soldering and the space for the tools to operate, reducing the chance of collisions and thus gaining precious time. “We can use this extra time gained to focus on the essentials of our work: precision and quality,” adds Mr. Janin. For example, on auto assembly lines, CATIA V5 stores the automaker’s criteria for the soldering points, making it available for future use in the creation of the welding sonotrodes and their field of movement.

With quality the key factor, Mecasonic’s engineers can concentrate on the reliability of the weld their machines will make, rather than the constraints of the tool itself. “The library function allows us to immediately visualize the position and the behavior of the tool we are creating in any given situation,” says Mr. Janin. “We can be sure our machine will function perfectly first time, which is a great advantage.”

CATIA also controls the exact amount of plastic delivered to the welding site with no waste. Engineers can easily try out virtual scenarios with the welding machine in different positions to arrive at the most efficient use of time and materials.

“Mecasonic’s engineers are working in an extremely field where precision is everything,” noted Pierre Balza, director, Channel Development, Dassault Systèmes. “We are pleased to be able to offer a solution with the degree of precision they need, and the opportunity to reuse the programmed data in other projects.”

Each of the areas Mecasonic works in, including hot plate, vibration and spin welding, requires different skills, and the solution has proven its adaptability for all processes. Mecasonic chose an R&D solution with CATIA V5 which allows it not only to develop new products, but bring existing technology up to date and ensure the performance and competitiveness of its offer to best meet clients’ needs.

MECASONIC is supported by T-SYSTEMS, a DS Business Partner in France