The 3D modeler will be bundled with several existing Ansys products.

Ansys (NASDAQ: ANSS) and SpaceClaim have extended their license and distribution agreement originally signed in 2009. The revised deal will see SpaceClaim bundled with several products, instead of just being offered for sale in the Ansys reseller channel.

The original deal saw Ansys selling SpaceClaim as a separate co-branded product to the Ansys user base. Ansys products which will ship with a copy of SpaceClaim include DesignSpace, Mechanical PrepPost, and CFD PrepPost. The bundling is effective immediately.

Our take

The major players in MCAD are adding simulation tools to their design software. But Ansys is a simulation specialist, used alongside all the major MCAD products. The idea of bolting on a few design tools to their specialized product did not feel like the right move. When SpaceClaim came along with its new CAD-neutral, 3D direct modeler designed for non-CAD experts, Ansys was the first major vendor to make a deal.

This revised agreement will put SpaceClaim in front of more engineers involved with early concept phase design work, where engineering simulation can deliver low-cost, high-impact system optimization, upstream of building the first physical prototype. Some of them currently use other CAD products but many of them now send their CAD needs (model cleanup or design changes) to someone else. Having SpaceClaim available will improve productivity by saving the time of passing CAD models back and forth, allowing for more iteration.