New Shape Design Capabilities in Kubotek KeyCreator Unlock the Freedom for Design Innovation

Kubotek USA, makers of geometry-based design and engineering software, today introduced a new set of shape design tools for its KeyCreator product. These advancements in shape design and surface creation offer design engineers newfound flexibility to use best-of-breed tools within a single design environment. The company has bundled the advanced tools into the latest release of its KeyCreator offering.

“Industrial designers need the flexibility to create shapes without restrictions,” said John Reis, product manager for Surfacing and ID Solutions at Kubotek USA. “Using the geometry-based tools in KeyCreator, designers can quickly and easily create and modify complex models in one hybrid environment. KeyCreator lets the designer concentrate on the design rather than the software.”

KeyCreator provides a complete solution for shape design. The product seamlessly integrates 2D drafting, 3D wireframe, surfacing, solids and NC into one easy-to-learn environment. These latest shape design tools, combined with innovations introduced earlier this year for Feature Discovery and the ability to “cut and paste” features (called Prune and Graft) help companies streamline the product design process.

Hybrid Environment Delivers Productivity Gains

KeyCreator provides a consistent interface throughout the product, helping users become productive faster. “As a designer myself, I understand how time consuming it is to jump from one tool to another during the design process,” continued Reis. “Kubotek has taken seriously the needs expressed by the design community for a flexible set of tools that allow for dynamic variations, modifications and corrections.”

Notable New Tools in KeyCreator:
* Curve Deform tool allows dynamic modification of any wireframe curve.
Using either curve control points or user definable constraint points,
designers can intuitively make quick changes to complex curves.
* Deform Surface/Face tool enables dynamic modification of 3D shapes
consisting of one surface/face or multiple surfaces/faces. Using the
shape control points or user definable constraint points, designers can
make corrections to a model at any point in the product design process.
* Reshape tool facilitates the global modification of 3D shapes. Using a
before-and-target set of curves or edges, designers can quickly make
various versions of one model or modify existing models per specific
design specifications at any point in the product design process.
* Smooth tool permits designers to fix continuity problems in 3D models.
This tool works easily with native models and imported data.
* Re-cover tool gives designers the ability to fix problem surfaces/faces
very quickly. The tool works on any trimmed (N-sided) or untrimmed
surface/face using a set of user defined parameters to rebuild the
surface/face automatically.
* Images and demos can be found at http://www.kubotekusa.com/shapedesign.

Availability and Pricing

North American pricing for KeyCreator begins at $3500, including one year of free product updates and support. The new shape design tools are bundled into the latest update to the KeyCreator product for a limited time. Current maintenance-paying customers can download the new version immediately.