Integrated CAD/CAM At Its Best 

Missler Software has launched a new TopSolid Certification Program to measure the competencies of its TopSolid VARs (Value Added Reseller) and offer endusers the assurance of high-quality reseller service. Missler Software has always believed it to be imperative to have a certification program in place that measures the competencies of its Value Added Resellers (VARs) around the world. Setting and meeting this certification program ensures that industry professionals are at the forefront of Missler Software's business.

Thanks to the TopSolid Certification program the enduser can choose to work with professional VARs that have been certified in a specific industry domain - CAD, Machining, Wood and Mold. This ensures that your TopSolid VAR has the necessary skills, training and capabilities to deliver the highest quality work possible. At the same time the TopSolid Certification program enables VARs to acquire essential skills and training in order to support TopSolid customers in the CAD, Mold & Die, Machining and Wood industries. Missler Software evaluates the competencies of its VAR resellers on a yearly basis and provides training for those VARs wishing to remain certified or become certified in a new field.

The full list of TopSolid Certified VARs will shortly be published on www.topsolid.com

The 2007 TopSolid Design Contest is now over and the winners will be announced in the New Year. Thanks to all those who participated and here are 2 of the projects submitted for the 2007 contest:

1. This projet concerns the design of a mold to generate the Vittel bottles seen in the photo. Based on hand-drawn designs provided by Vittel (Company Comep also works for many different packaging companies) Comep designs the bottle and the mold to generate the bottle. The bottle, which is part of the Vitalitos range, is in the form of a flask and is adapted to the small hands of its customers.
   
   Comep is a French company that designs both functional and esthetically pleasing packaging which conforms with market norms. The company is considered a leader in the packaging market in France and uses TopSolid'Design for all its design activites.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. This project is the interior design of a delicatessen shop designed using TopSolid'Wood. The company that designed this shop interior is Mercurial, a specialist in the design of furniture and the interior design of bakery, pastry and chocolate shops. TopSolid'Wood offered great flexibility to Mercurial in the evolution of the project (notably with regards to moveable walls in the project). The furniture designed for this shop was completely new to Mercurial which meant that the company had to start from zero. TopSolid'Wood offered a rigourous work approach to deal with such a complex project.

Missler Software and 4 of its German resellers have recently participated at EuroMold, World Fair for Moldmaking and Tooling, Design and Application Development in Frankfurt. EuroMold has become one of the primary European trade fairs for Missler Software over the past few years. According to Arnaud de Boisboissel, International Sales Director "EuroMold is a very dynamic trade fair for us. It is an annual meeting place for our customers, prospects and resellers throughout the world. The trade fair has increasingly widened its scope so the machining aspect of the fair is getting larger and larger. TopSolid'Mold and TopSolid'Cam, our integrated solution for mold design and mold machining, offer a unique solution to many EuroMold visitors.

Missler Software has recently signed its first TopSolid reseller in Vietnam. Vietnam CAD/CAM Technology, based in Hanoi, joined the TopSolid VAR network in November. The company is a relatively young set-up, employs 10 people and will resell the integrated CAD/CAM TopSolid range of software.

The Vietnamese market is extremely dynamic at the moment and there are increasing numbers of companies looking for powerful integrated CAD/CAM.

The TopSolid book collection has just gotten bigger with the publication of the new work entitled "Solid Modelling with TopSolid'Design and TopSolid'Wood". This new publication is made up of detailed working examples with different levels of difficulty. It is a guide for TopSolid'Wood beginners which explains the many wood specific functions present in the software (tenon, mortise, molding, ...).

The book also looks at the creation of components, bills of material, drafts, parametric setting of products, etc. The authors of the collection, Jean-Yves Chavant and Stéphane Surmely, are professors of Computer Integrated Manufacturing for the wood industry. "Solid Modelling with TopSolid'Design and TopSolid'Wood" is now available to purchase on www.eni-publishing.com.

Menuiserie Générale Bitsch is a small company that concentrates on interior and exterior carpentry and layouts. Based in Alsace in France, the company has a workforce of 15 people. Bitsch works for individuals, builders, government, etc. – essentially a local customer base. The company mainly focuses on made-to-measure projects and takes care of the manufacturing through to the installation of these projects. Between 2005 and 2006, Bitsch modernised itself with the purchase of TopSolid'Wood and a numerically controlled machine. Since then, the company has made significant time savings.

Click here for the rest of the report.

You are a TopSolid operator and you would like some tips on what your software is capable of doing. Each newsletter will include a highlight of the month accompanied by an avi of a TopSolid module.
This month let's take a look at TopSolid'Design and changing file names.

Video commentary

At some stage or other all designers are faced with the necessity to change their file names. The "link" function enables a smooth name change process.

All you have to do is open the File/Link from the text menu and select the desired file. If the selected file is a draft (.dft) you can change the name of the draft and all related CAD design files (.top)

Here is the procedure to change a file name:

• Double click on the draft plan
• Select the Rename command and give your file a new name
• Rename all linked files as desired
• Select the Move function.

Note: The draft file is not re-calculated as only the links are updated. This assures that time is not wasted when opening up the draft file.

Minimum requirements to read videos

2 formats are possible: AVI and WMV

• To read the AVI file the Techsmith codec has to be installed first, click here to download it.
• To read the WMV file the lastest version of Windows Media Player available here is required

Missler Software and its resellers would like to wish you a very Happy Christmas and prosperous New Year. 2007 has been another good year for the company and its VAR network so thank you for choosing to work with us.

2008 should prove to be an exciting year. In January you will get further information on the release of TopSolid 2008 and we will give you more detailled information on this year's performance.

All Missler Software and reseller trade fairs will be published here each month and can also be found on http://www.topsolid.com/news/shows/showslist.asp