Arena Solutions (Foster City, CA) a provider of on-demand product lifecycle management solutions for manufacturing companies, has introduced Arena PLM Fall 06. The latest release of Arena’s PLM application features new, integrated value-added services aimed at enriching product data with dynamic reference content, improved bill of materials (BOM) accuracy, and simplified collaboration across the outsourced supply chain. By integrating with Avnet Prómiere’s dynamic content and working with Skype software, Arena enables new enterprise mash-up services.

National Instruments (Austin, TX) recently reported that a number of third-parties have developed customized modules for automotive, aerospace, and military in-vehicle applications that leverage the company's CompactRIO control and acquisition platform. The custom modules for CompactRIO from such companies as AviaOK International, Drivven, and Science & Engineering Applications Datentechnik GmbH (S.E.A.) are said to provide wireless communications, position monitoring for mobile applications, and direct connectivity to in-vehicle sensors for ECU (electronic control unit) design and rapid prototyping.

NI describes CompactRIO as a high-performance control and acquisition system that combines an open embedded architecture with small size, ruggedness, and hot-swappable I/O modules. CompactRIO is powered by LabVIEW FPGA technology, which enables engineers to configure a variety of design, acquisition, and control applications as well as develop their own modules for specialized I/O and communication needs.

Modules provide radio-controlled clock and IRIG-B output functionality, allowing a CompactRIO system to obtain a precise timestamp based on a satellite clock.
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The OMB-DAQ-54/55/56 data acquisition modules from OMEGA (Stamford, CT) are the first of a new family of low-cost, USB-based products.

Designed for high accuracy and resolution, these 22-bit data acquisition systems directly measure multiple channels of voltage, thermocouple, pulse, frequency, and digital I/O. Removable screw terminal input blocks simplify input connections.

The compact CE-compliant OMB-DAQ-54/55/56 is supplied with Personal DaqView Software, drivers for Visual Basic, C++ and Delphi for Windows, terminal block, and an operator's manual on CD. Price: $599 (to start).

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Adept 7 from Synergis Software (Quakertown, PA) has specific support for SolidWorks configurations and AutoCAD layouts, including SolidWorks 2007, AutoCAD 2007-based products, and Autodesk Inventor 11. It is said to deliver increased performance by as much as 90 percent over Adept 6 for certain functions.

Adept 7 will also support FTP compression options available in third-party servers, including FileZilla, CuteFTP, and Serv-U.

Adept 7 now imports and updates user names and group information from the Windows Active Directory, allowing for permissions to be assigned to data. Price: $1,300. For more information, click here.

Catalog Data Solutions Inc. (CDS; San Jose, CA) offers manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors its CDS line of products for interactive online catalogs, e-commerce, 3D CAD model delivery, and product configuration. Additionally, CDS offers a range of professional services covering hosted services, product delivery, and technical consulting as well as large-scale project implementation management.

The CDS product line comprises four compatible modules: Catalog, Configurator, CAD Model Generator, and 3D Spare Part Catalog. The modular nature of the products enable you to build and custom-tailor your online offering as your needs evolve.

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