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Toda

Japan's Toda racing team gains speed with PLM Solutions from IBM and Dassault Systemes

Toda uses CATIA V5 to shorten development cycle of high-speed race cars


 

Tokyo, Japan and Paris, France.  20 November, 2001 - Toda Racing Co. Ltd., a leading team in All Japan Formula 3 racing, along with IBM and Dassault Systemes (Nasdaq: DASTY; Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA), announced today that it has selected CATIA V5 to develop, design, and manufacture high performance and reliable auto racing parts.  CATIA V5 is contributing to shortening the development cycle within Toda Racing.

Toda Racing Co. Ltd, one of the foremost component manufacturers in high-speed racing, is involved in all aspects of race car design, from research and development to design, manufacture and sale of specialized auto racing parts and engines and also competes with its own team in the All Japan Formula 3 race circuit.  The company's primary focus is critical areas that directly affect racing performance, such as racing pistons, camshafts, clutches and shock absorbers, as well as the complete high-power racing engines. 

Toda Racing has been participating in the race while developing racing components for 30 years since its foundation in 1972.  During the maintenance of an F2 BMW racing engine in 1982, President Toda was drawn to the high precision and design quality of this engine, designed and built using CATIA, and he realized that there was strong needs for them to build powerful and reliable engines using computers, from design to processing.  Toda Racing selected the world's leading Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solution "CATIA," used by major car manufacturers, after performing its own extensive evaluation.  Toda Racing is now fully exploiting CATIA V5 for component design, structural analysis, stress analysis, and processing.

The technology of practical experience and know-how have always been put to good use in the development of racing parts.  Yukio Toda, President of Toda Racing commented, "One of our objectives in deploying CATIA was to capture the technology and knowledge we had developed, and manage it as corporate standard data.  CATIA standardized the manual work-based skills to computer-based and gave us technological innovation for saving time and improving the quality of our products."

Using CATIA V5 kinematics option, Toda Racing defines the mechanism for the peripheral parts of the camshaft, dynamically analyzes it through kinematics simulation and then calculates the optimum profile for such aspects as valve operating angles.  This product data is then sent to the machine tool and processed.  Toda Racing also performs analysis of the engines components with the CATIA V5 GPS module.  CATIA V5 GPS, which offers ease of use and advanced analysis functions, enables Toda Racing engineers to reduce the weight of individual parts and improve their durability.

Another vital element of Toda Racing's decision to purchase CATIA V5 was the Windows® interface and compatibility. "Understanding the Windows® operation, our engineers were rapidly operational on the CATIA applications, after a very brief training period of just one week.  When engineers have their hands full with engine development design, I do the modeling even by myself.  Even though I do not use it every day, I feel I can operate it easily. The CATIA V5 concept suits me to a "T"." said Toda.

"We are extremely honored that Toda Racing selected CATIA, seeing the complexity and variety of the cases where CATIA V5 is being used to solve problems.  The top level of hands-on expertise and operational constraints at Toda Racing makes it a challenging environment.  We are equally proud to have contributed to a successful and smooth transition to full 3D digitization from end-to-end, with all the resulting benefits this entails for Toda Racing." said Christian Nardin, Representative Director & General Manager of Dassault Systemes K.K.

Raoul Van Engelshoven, Director, IBM Product Lifecycle Management Asia Pacific, commented, "A split second is a major competitive difference in automobile racing. It is a high performance environment where man and machine are being tested to extreme limits and where accuracy, speed and endurance are of vital importance. Toda Racing Co. Ltd. is an undebated leader in this industry, due to it's long-standing expertise in developing high performance engines and parts. We are very proud to have been selected by Toda Racing Co. Ltd as their technology partner, underscoring the fact that when it comes to introducing new innovations, the IBM PLM portfolio of technologies provide utmost relevance, specifically when it comes to the need of making these changes quickly and accurately. Our partnership will provide a solid basis in supporting Toda Racing Co. Ltd to achieve new performance records !" 

 


About Toda Racing Co., Ltd

Toda Racing Co. Ltd, established in 1972, is one of the world's premier racing car constructors providing racing pistons, camshafts, clutches and shock absorbers, as well as the complete high power racing engines.  President Toda, is a former racer himself, not only develops racing engines but also has his racing team and his team has achieved a brilliant performance in the last All Japan F3 season. Http://www.toda-racing.co.jp/

 


About IBM

IBM is the world's largest information technology company, with 80 years of leadership in helping businesses innovate. IBM Sales & Distribution, which supports more than a dozen key industries worldwide, works with companies of all sizes around the world to deploy the full range of IBM technologies. The fastest way to get more information about IBM is through the IBM home page at http://www.ibm.com

 


About Dassault Systemes

Dassault Systemes (Nasdaq: DASTY; Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA) is the premier global software developer for the CAD/CAM/CAE/PLM market, providing companies with e-business solutions to implement their digital enterprise, thus creating and simulating the entire product life cycle from initial concept to product in service. CATIA, ENOVIA and DELMIA solutions support industry-specific business processes to help unleash creativity and innovation, reduce development cycle time, improve quality, competitiveness and shareholder value: CATIA supports the digital product definition and simulation, DELMIA provides solutions to define and simulate lean digital manufacturing processes and ENOVIA delivers enterprise solutions that manage a comprehensive, collaborative and distributed model of the digital product, processes and resources. The combined integration creates the Digital Product life cycle Pipeline, supporting reuse of corporate knowledge. SolidWorks and SmarTeam, as Dassault Systemes companies, offer respectively 3D design-centric and TeamPDM software solutions based on Windows. Spatial, also part of Dassault Systemes family, is a market-leading provider of world-class 3D software components and services (for 3D modelling, visualization, and interoperability) to meet the requirements of 3D in Internet-based e-commerce and B2B applications. Information about Dassault Systemes is available at  http://www.dsweb.com

 

Press Contacts IBM :

Jennifer Feller

+33 1 41 88 61 89

jennyfeller@fr.ibm.com

 

 

 

Press Contacts Dassault Systemes :

Anthony MarEhal

+ 33 1 55 49 84 21

anthony_marechal@ds-fr.com

 

 

 

Dassault Systemes Investor Contacts:

Michele Katz

Press: Brian Maddox

Morgen-Walke Associates, Inc.

+1 212-850-5600

 

Jean-Beno Roquette

Morgen-Walke Europe S.A.

+ 33 1 47 03 68 10