EDS Launches New CAD/CAM/CAE unit

The former Unigraphics Solutions (UGS) and Structural Dynamics Research Corp. (SDRC) are being merged into a new business unit being launched by EDS Corp. in a move that company officials say should cause no upset to engineers and designers currently using the engineering software of the respective companies.

In May, EDS announced its intent to acquire and merge SDRC — which is Ford Motor Co.'s primary supplier of computer-aided-design/manufacturing/engineering (CAD/CAM/CAE) software — and UGS, which is the main supplier of similar-type software to General Motors Corp.

In its September '01 issue (p.67) WAW incorrectly stated that UGS was “buying” SDRC. In fact EDS — which has held an 86% interest in UGS — was buying SDRC and the 14% of UGS it didn't already own. It now is merging the two companies to form a new unit called PLM Solutions. (PLM stands for Product Lifecycle management.)

EDS completed the acquisition of SDRC on Sept. 4 and the acquisition of UGS on Sept. 28.

Automotive engineers and designers who use such software often are suspicious of change, but officials at both UGS and SDRC say there will be an “unprecedented level of interoperability” between the two systems.