GUANGZHOU, China — (BUSINESS WIRE) — September 11, 2013 — On ZWSOFT’s 15th anniversary, John Lin, a journalist from a well-known Chinese CAD/CAM industry magazine - Mold & Die Project, had an interview with Owen Zi, CEO of ZW3D in ZWSOFT. In this interview, Owen mainly talked about the key highlights, industry application and future development of ZW3D CAD/CAM software.
John: Three years ago, ZWSOFT acquired the American CAD/CAM provider VX Corporation, and targeted the 3D market. It was definitely a bold move. When you look back, do you think it was a right decision?
Owen: Honestly, marching into the 3D CAD/CAM market is not simply a bold move, but also a smart one. You see, in the manufacturing industry, there is an ever-growing need for 3D products. That’s to say, the needs of customers drove us down this path. They need to do product design, structure design, mold design and CNC machining, for which a 3D CAD/CAM platform seems a perfect choice. I think, for ZWSOFT, it is a great opportunity for the enrich product line. Firstly, we have ZWCAD in the 2D sketching area. Then ZW3D can fulfill the 3D CAD/CAM design needs as well. In the past three years, this decision has been proved with more and more 2D users turning to ZW3D. And also, I believe, in the future, through our worldwide partners, the acquisition of VX can help more customers to visualize their great ideas.
John: Yeah, I’ve learned that ZWSOFT released ZW3D shortly after the acquisition and I’m quite curious about this new product. So what exactly did you bring into ZW3D?
Owen: We’ve invested lots of resources into the product development to make it better. Now we have two R&D teams working exclusively for ZW3D. One is in the US and the other in China. The experienced American engineers co-work with the young Chinese elites. This structure allows ZW3D to move forward faster and better than ever before. Plus, ZW3D has its own unique kernel – OverdriveTM, which can offer greater opportunities to our ZW3D users. Therefore, you will see a much more diversified and powerful ZW3D coming in the future. Take the performance of graphics for example. It’s 10 times better than before. Right now, we have a 64-bit version, a new UI, better file translation, and greatly-improved modeling and machining.
John: Undoubtedly ZW3D has some unique advantages. Which industry do you think ZW3D will prove to be a killer?
Owen: Well, I must say, the plastics industry is one of our main markets. We’ve successfully helped lots of designers and manufacturers in this industry. For example, Lakowa is a plastic parts manufacturer in Germany. Before using ZW3D, they were troubled by the poor surface modeling of their previous system. But with the hybrid modeling of ZW3D, they can flexibly do surface modeling and solid modeling with ease. It breaks the boundary bewteen 3D solid, non-solid, surface and wireframe modeling. Besides, Multi-CAD data communication is also a great helper in product design. The File Translator of ZW3D enables them to work seamlessly with other 3D CAD platforms, like CATIA, Solidworks and UG NX, etc. It reduces the risk of data loss. Their engineers love the amount of time and effort saved in product design.
John: Did they turn to ZW3D immediately?
Owen: No. From the customer’s point of view, they will not buy for just one reason. Another appealing one would be the all-in-one CAD/CAM that we offer. ZW3D can provide 3D product design as well as CAM and mold design in the same package. This is also what Lakowa wanted. They also needed to finish mold design and CNC machining, so if ZW3D can assist them in designing awesome 3D products and settle the problem of mold and CAM design at the same time, why not choose it?
John: True. I’ve heard that splitting is one of the glittering points of ZW3D.
Owen: Yes, definitely. The quick splitting of core and cavity makes Lakowa more confident about ZW3D. Apart from that, the integrated CAM system sets them free from a second data exchange and saves them a lot since there’s no need to buy CAM software.
John: Are there any other industries where ZW3D is overwhelmingly competitive?
Owen: Yes. At present, industries like consumer product design, mold design and 2- 3X machining are major markets for ZW3D. We will keep improving our product to help more CAD/CAM users. We are working on APIs to provide better application solutions to some industries, such as mold, jewelry, dental and shoemaking.
John: When can we try out those apps?
Owen: They are coming soon. Stay tuned.
