WALTHAM, Mass., June 2, 1999 - Parametric Technology Corporation (NASDAQ: PMTC) today announced Pro/MECHANICA 2000i, the newest member of the PTC i-Series mechanical design automation (MDA) suite of products. This software application allows users to evaluate and optimize the mechanical performance of product designs in real-world situations, reducing the need for expensive physical prototypes and enhancing overall product quality.

Pro/MECHANICA 2000i incorporates a new Windows-based user interface and feature-based parametric modeling capabilities to reach fast, accurate solutions to structural, thermal and motion simulations. Pro/MECHANICA 2000i also includes significant ease-of-use enhancements and support for Internet accessibility, as well as new functionality for advanced simulations. In addition, the software extends PTC's new behavioral modeling technology into the area of structural, thermal and dynamic motion studies.

"The challenge for our customers is to produce higher quality products at a lower price while reducing time to market. Pro/MECHANICA is the ideal tool to help customers meet these business objectives," said Jim Baum, PTC's executive vice president, engineering, research and development. "Pro/MECHANICA is used by more than 5,000 companies to identify potential problems early in the design process before expensive prototyping reveals failed concepts or products."

"Pro/MECHANICA is vital to the design of our products from start to finish," said Mark Rafn, research and development manager at Stanley Hydraulic Tools, a leading manufacturer of hydraulic tools. "We use it daily during the course of design. Pro/MECHANICA allows us to conduct virtual testing rather than waste time using traditional iterative methods of design, test and re-design."

About Pro/MECHANICA 2000i
The principle behind Pro/MECHANICA is to equip designers with functional information about the products they are modeling while automating as many of the technical aspects of simulation as possible. Because Pro/MECHANICA 2000i provides all engineers with easy-to-use design optimization tools traditionally associated with specialist analysis software, it introduces new capabilities for performing simulation early in the product development cycle. Using Pro/MECHANICA, engineers can quickly develop insight into the function of the products they are designing and can directly revise the master designs, minimizing the need for more expensive analysis and hard prototype re-engineering.

The software automatically builds a simulation that precisely models the design geometry, using powerful adaption algorithms to yield accurate solutions without requiring manual modifications or intervention. As the simulation progresses, the designer can identify and address areas of over-design without compromising performance goals. Design revisions that arise from the reliable simulation provided by Pro/MECHANICA can greatly lower manufacturing costs, reduce hardware prototypes and assure product quality.

For example, Indy race car manufacturer Team Rahal uses Pro/MECHANICA on many car components as early in the design process as possible. A rear suspension problem was solved by using Pro/MECHANICA's design optimization to narrow the various possible design solutions. "It was impossible to prototype all of the solutions due to time/cost issues," said design engineer Brian Holzinger. "The Pro/MECHANICA optimized design allowed the team to reduce the stress on the most highly loaded component by 48 percent. Without Pro/MECHANICA this type of problem would have been fundamentally unsolvable."

Integrated Design Analysis
Pro/MECHANICA 2000i is the only analysis software that provides the design engineer with a single feature-based environment for geometry definition and simulation of design performance. Designers define simulation features such as loads, constraints and structural connections directly within a single geometry model. With associative simulation features, engineers can repeatedly revise designs for optimization studies without time-consuming analysis redefinition, enabling fast, accurate simulation results.

Pro/MECHANICA 2000i operates directly on Pro/ENGINEER designs, making any changes made to geometry fully associative with its simulation features. This makes it easy for any designer to utilize simulation as a regular means of testing and improving designs. Via the intuitive Windows-based interface, users can run a simulation and view results for quick feedback on designs. The menu bars, online help and interactive tutorials use common engineering terminology and do not require special knowledge of analysis techniques. The parametric nature of the software promotes full associativity to manufacturing drawings, toolpaths and other downstream deliverables.

The software is a full member of the PTC i-Series, which provides native integration with Pro/ENGINEER and interoperability with other PTC i-Series members, such as CADDS 5 or Pro/DESKTOP, using PTC's unique Associative Topology Bus (ATB). Custom interfaces to third-party CAD programs allow designers to gain performance information on products modeled in other systems such as Unigraphics and CATIA.

Ease-of-use enhancements
Pro/MECHANICA 2000i makes analysis easy for the non-specialist. New, optimized solvers have been introduced to enhance performance. The program's user interface has been reorganized to deliver a single user environment for design and simulation applications. For rapid insight during conceptual design, the software now allows analysis of any 2D section in the geometry model. Smart, associative connection features have also been introduced, delivering significant productivity gains for sheet metal and weldment applications.

New functionality
Pro/MECHANICA 2000i offers extended capabilities for solving a large range of simulation problems. For example, deflections in designs using thin-walled plastic parts such as electronic or computer casings can be accurately predicted using geometric non-linearity. In addition, for products that are cyclically symmetric such as turbine disks or alloy wheels, users need model only a portion of the geometry in order to run an accurate simulation, using a fraction of normal computer resources. New diagnostic tools allow design engineers to detect problems in meshing or solving and to correct them quickly. New functionality also includes the ability to produce lightweight JPEG images and VRML models of simulation results to share and collaborate via e-mail or the Internet.

Extensions to behavioral modeling
Pro/MECHANICA 2000i allows customers to use connection and joint types defined in Pro/ENGINEER's behavioral modeling application, leveraging the work already done earlier in the development process. The software also provides additional functional simulation and solving capabilities for structural, thermal and motion testing, extending behavioral modeling capabilities to allow designers and engineers to solve a greater number of engineering problems.

Pricing and Availability
Pro/MECHANICA 2000i offers three simulation packages, which can be configured as either stand-alone applications or integrated options to Pro/ENGINEER-Foundation. The Structural Simulation package enables engineers to evaluate and optimize the static and dynamic structural performance of a design. The Motion Simulation package enables engineers to evaluate and optimize the kinematic and dynamic performance of moving assemblies. The Thermal Simulation package enables engineers to evaluate and optimize the temperature and heat performance of a design.

Pro/MECHANICA 2000i is a native Windows application, with a Windows-style user interface. A native UNIX implementation is also available. The software will ship during PTC's fourth fiscal quarter (ends September 30, 1999). Pro/MECHANICA 2000i will be available in English, German and Japanese languages. The list price for Pro/MECHANICA is US $12,995. The software will be available for US $9,995 through September 30, 1999.

About PTC
Parametric Technology Corporation, founded in 1985 and headquartered in Waltham, Mass., develops, markets and supports integrated product development and lifecycle management solutions that help companies spur innovation and achieve sustained competitive advantage. PTC's software solutions are complemented by the strength and experience of its professional services organization, which provides training, consulting and support to customers worldwide. In its fiscal year ended September 30, 1998, the company achieved more than $1 billion in revenue. PTC can be reached at 781-398-5000, or via the Web at http://www.ptc.com.

Editors' Note: Pro/MECHANICA 2000i screenshots are available for publication. These high-resolution images may be downloaded at http://www.ptc.com/products/proe/sim/screenshots/index.htm

Parametric Technology Corporation, Pro/MECHANICA and Pro/ENGINEER are registered trademarks and all names in the PTC product family as well as the PTC logo are trademarks of Parametric Technology Corporation in the United States and in other countries. All other companies and products referenced herein have trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. All prices stated herein are subject to change.