MEDUSA

MEDUSA (since 2004 MEDUSA4 ) is a CAD program that is used especially in the fields of mechanical and plant engineering as well as in the automotive and supplier industry.

MEDUSA is based on a platform-independent core, is combined with a platform-independent interface ( XML configurations for the administration, web - based client -server communication in data management ) enable high flexibility of the operating system strategy. The software is available for both Microsoft Windows and Sun Solaris and Linux.

The fourth generation of the MEDUSA 2D and 3D CAD product family was released in the summer of 2004 by the company CAD Schroer. MEDUSA4 Drafting Plus is a 2D CAD program with all standard and automation tools for creating drawings.

History

MEDUSA, one of the early widespread systems, has a storied history in the CAD world, which began in Cambridge England in the seventies. In 1977 the British computer scientists Dick Newell co-founded the company Tom Sancha Cambridge Interactive Systems (CIS ), which primarily devoted to the development of a 2D CAD system. CABLOS was a CAD solution for the design of electrical cable systems, which was inserted first in 1979 by the company Dowty Engineering. The first person in Germany was BMW, who used CABLOS for the planning of car electronics. Soon CABLOS was marketed under the name MEDUSA and known worldwide. During this period, the development of a proprietary 3D modeling core for MEDUSA began.

In 1980, CIS partnered with Prime Computer, a US-based manufacturer of computer hardware. Prime got access to the source code MEDUSA, the success of CIS should fail. In 1983, CIS and the European sales sister Applied Graphics System ( AGS) were acquired by computer vision.

MEDUSA was in the 80s particularly successful in the German mechanical engineering market. The MEDUSA revenues in this market totaled late 80s and early 90s, more than half of the MEDUSA sales worldwide. One of the success factors was the 2D Parametric system that came on the market in 1983. It became the model for the later history-based 3D Parametric Systems. Richard ( Dick) Newell of the developer of the MEDUSA parametric system in CIS, the brothers Vladimir Geisberg ( at Prime Computer and Computer Vision ) and Samuel Geisberg was ( as the founder of PTC) played important roles in the implementation of the concept in 3D systems. The project of Samuel Geisberg, which began on the green meadow without historical legacy was the more successful.

MEDUSA was to acquire the then newly released 32bit so-called super mini computers, whose most prominent representative of the provider DEC ( VAX ) and Prime computers were. From 1984, there was a spin-off ( Fork ) of the MEDUSA, as with the acquisition of part of the rights and the code of computer vendors Prime Computer went into their own further developments with the software within a very short time correctly only on prime - computers ran. However, the users of a DEC VAX were not entirely abandoned; away from Prime the original software was developed in computer vision as well, both for the DEC users as well as for prime customers. Thus, there were over a few years on Prime computers two apart at first developing MEDUSA versions: Prime Medusa and CV Medusa.

Mid-1980s, the cost of a CV- color graphics terminal equipment for a MEDUSA work center with a 19 inch color graphic screen including the workstation licenses approximately 145,000 DM Realistic calculations saw proportionately also again put an equal amount into the central computer equipment. Such costs of a workplace was in many companies that use CAD, once again done shift work in the staff area to utilize the CAD equipment well: the first layer, for example, from six in the morning until noon clock clock by two, and the second layer of two clock until about ten clock in the evening.

The cleaved MEDUSA development should be brought together again when Prime eventually bought up computer vision, wanting necessary with the promise to the CV- clientele, not VAX users to switch over to the Prime hardware. However, many users did not trust the siren songs and changed their CAD system, this was great at a time when the success of the PC -based AutoCAD, quite quickly the basic functions of the 2D constructing and on the PC were available, and at a fraction of the cost per workstation, as they were accustomed to from the Super Mini and also from SUN networks. In the longer term remained only the users in the prime- CV- rod, which had their MEDUSA application integrates well beyond the 2D - use addition.

The incipient detachment of the Central superminis with remote workstations was still accompanied by MEDUSA software; were very popular in the early 1990s, the UNIX workstations from SUN for the use of the CAD package.

Prime was divided into two columns Prime hardware that was responsible for proprietary computer, and Prime Computer Vision, which was responsible for the CAD / CAM business with MEDUSA and CADDS. After setting the proprietary Primos computer production and delivery of the maintenance obligations to another manufacturer by concentration on the CADCAM software business with renaming of Prime Computer Vision in computer vision.

In 1998, CV was acquired by Parametric Technology Corporation (PTC). The years of stagnation MEDUSA NG ( Next Generation) was stepped up again. The development partnership between CV and CV former developers of the company Quintic was in Cambridge, whose employees were involved already in the CIS - days in the development of MEDUSA, acquired and strengthened. In MEDUSA NG hitherto usual service on the tablet with a new icon- and menu- based operation has been replaced. Nevertheless, it was still possible to use MEDUSA on tray.

Under the wings of PTC was started by Quintic a new project with the code name " Pegasus ". This should serve as MEDUSA 2D Detaillierprogramm for Pro / E drawings.

In 2001, PTC MEDUSA sold to the company CAD Schroer. This MEDUSA was owned by a company that had grown up with the product. The development partnership with Quintic was taken. Under CAD Schroer, the Pegasus project under the name STHENO / PRO in 2002 was brought to the market and taken the user interface in the new version MEDUSA4. The fourth generation of the MEDUSA software was released as MEDUSA4 in 2004. This included a complete revision of the functional scope, developing a new user interface ( GUI) on QT - based, the possibility of data exchange with other systems, and porting to Linux. In 2005 Quintic was acquired by CAD Schroer and operates today as CAD Schroer UK. MEDUSA4 will continue to strongly developed.

Additional applications for MEDUSA

  • MPDS: 2D/3D combination package for the machinery and process plant engineering
  • MEDEA system solution for electrical engineer
  • MEDRaster: module for simultaneous processing of CAD drawings with data from the stock of paper documents
  • MEDInfo: Information and Document Management System
  • MEDPro: bidirectional interoperability with Pro / ENGINEER ®
  • For data management MEDUSA also offers links to PTC ® Windchill ® s and s SAP ® mySAP ®.
  • CADConvert Pro: data exchange with DXF or DWG
  • CADParts: Standard Parts for MEDUSA
  • ViewStation: Viewer for MEDUSA drawings and other formats (for Windows)
  • TransforMed ARX: Import filter for MEDUSA drawings; integrated into AutoCAD - Fa COMSA
  • TransforMed-DXG/DXF: DXF / DWG converter for MEDUSA drawings; Standalone application - Fa COMSA

MEDUSA4

MEDUSA4 Personal is a free 2D/3D CAD software for purely private use. CAD users can use MEDUSA4 Personal free for personal use. This fully functional version includes many features of MEDUSA4 ADVANCED package ( eg SMART Edit, basic 3D), as well as add-on modules such as parametrics and MEDRaster Colour for color image integration.

Limitations: printing with watermarks, Standalone sheet format, registration required ( free license for 12 months limited - extension possible).

Users Association MED -USER

In the 1980s there was also a very active community of MEDUSA users in Germany. This user Club founded the MED -USER, which developed on issues of software use, development, CAD -CAM - data coupling, the database connections some concepts and this demanded to system vendors for integration and implementation. Even today there is a hard core of MEDUSA users who have the system now in use for over two decades.

Client–server model
561809
de