Anthony Frausto-Robledo: Dr. Sarkar, can you tell me how you went about making the decision on Parasolid, when did this take place?

(Dr. Biplab Sarkar): Back when I joined the company coming from PTC (Parametric Technology Corporation) my focus was on making Vectorworks strong in modeling. At that time we adopted geometric modeling kernel from SMLib. In 2004 Gray Crocker, a co-founder of SMLib, broke off from that group and formed IntegrityWare to further develop the solid modeling libraries. We continued to utilize these libraries until our decision a few years ago to look for a better modeling kernel.

AFR: So you were using both SMLib and Solids++?

BS: The technology stayed the same, just the companies changed.

AFR: Tell me how you and Sean Flaherty CEO approached your superiors in Munich about the idea of adopting Parasolid. I'm assuming you needed some approval given the cost considerations, right?

BS: Yes…(laughs). Sean Flaherty and later myself went to Munich and broached the subject with the CTO and others at Nemetschek AG. We didn't go ask straight out, we brought it up. It turned out they were very interested with this idea.

AFR: So they said go for it….

BS: Absolutely. They are also interested with addressing the same issues we were having in Vectorworks with ALLPLAN.

AFR: So nearly two and a half years ago you did this. Who else was on your short-list…did you look at Spatial's ACIS?

BS: We looked at ACIS but in the end we believed Parasolid was the better choice. My experiences with the first few releases of SolidEdge (based on ACIS) and Pro/Desktop (based on Parasolid) made me a believer in Parasolid.

AFR: What are the three main strengths that Parasolid gives Vectorworks 2009?

BS: Performance. Stability. Consistency.

AFR: Okay, I understand the first two, what do you mean by consistency?

BS: I mean consistency of results. For example, with some kernels if you are many levels deep into the manipulation of a solid, and then you perform a range of offsets you may get differing results.

AFR: This is what is referred to as "robustness"?

BS: Yes. Parasolid is the most robust, industrial strength modeling kernel in the world. And Vectorworks 2009 is now powered by this.

AFR: You could now go out and compete with SolidWorks and even Siemens' own SolidEdge and offer the world the first mid-level, industrial MCAD product. Will you do that?

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