NC Graphics
Encyclopedia
NC Graphics was founded by Arthur Flutter in Waterbeach
, Cambridge
, England
, in 1977 after completing a PhD
in Computer Aided Design at the CADCentre. This work became the basis of Toolmaker, a product that has been sold by the company since this time.
In the mid-1980s the company collaborated with C&J Clark
to write shoe design software until a dispute about the intellectual property rights over the product caused a falling-out. C&J Clark
sued NC Graphics and won the case and NC Graphics was no longer able to develop or sell the shoe design software that they had been contracted to develop for C&J Clark
.
NC Graphics focused on developing a surface modelling software product that used polynomial
mathematics and was driven by human-readable input commands based on the APT
language. The initial product was called Polyapt and was sold initially to manufacturing companies that specialised in producing lost wax dies for aerofoil and turbine engine blades.
In the late 1980s NC Graphics collaborated with Hurco whereby NC Graphics developed the software and Hurco marketed it worldwide. The product was marketed by Hurco as TDM3000 on a global exclusive basis. At the same time, the same fundamental source code was sold through a company in Aylesbury called VanDix and the product was marketed by them as the "VanDix" CADCAM system. Around 1990 NC Graphics and Hurco parted company after Hurco discovered that their global exclusivity agreement had been breached. Hurco obtained joint copyright to the software source code and continued to develop it before abandoning CADCAM development in the mid-1990s.
NC Graphics picked up the UK customer base from Hurco and sold what was to become "Toolmaker" until they were finally bought out by PTC some years later.
In 1993 the company formed a partnership with DEPO GmbH and began development of machining STRATEGIST
, a graphical based system limited solely to generating 3-axis Cnc instructions. This product was resold by DEPO in Germany
and sometimes the rest of the world under the brand name Depocam. machining STRATEGIST
, was sold in the UK and some of the rest of the world, but Depocam and machining STRATEGIST
were one and the same product marketed with a different brand name.
In late 2001 NC Graphics licensed Vero International Software to use their software as a Computer-aided manufacturing
Geometric modeling kernel
within their system. In June 2002 they bought the machining STRATEGIST
product and development team for £1.25million, leaving NC Graphics with rights to its own copy of the source code
and the Depocam product.
NC Graphics' business was in decline, and this was largely due to the Toolmaker product reaching the end of its product lifecycle. Sales of Toolmaker dwindled to virtually nothing and the DepoCAM product was not sufficient itself to generate sufficient revenues to keep the company going. CNC Software licensed the DepoCAM technology for $1,000,000 and this revenue kept NC Graphic going until the acquisition by PTC.
On 16 May 2007 Parametric Technology Corporation
acquired NC Graphics from Arthur Flutter for $7.2million, stating that it had 15 employees at the time. In its press briefing PTC confirmed that NC Graphics technology was licensed to 5 of the top 10 CAM vendors, including CNC Software (sellers of MasterCAM). The Depocam product is to be released as Pro/TOOLMAKER 8.1 in August 2007.
On 1 June 2009 the German reseller of the software and Arthur Flutter bought back a source code license of Depocam with full global exploitation rights from PTC and rehired some of the original employees to continue development and support of the product.
Waterbeach
Waterbeach is a large fen-edge village located 6 miles north of Cambridge in Cambridgeshire in England, and belongs to the administrative district of South Cambridgeshire. The parish covers an area of 23.26 km².- Village :...
, Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, in 1977 after completing a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in Computer Aided Design at the CADCentre. This work became the basis of Toolmaker, a product that has been sold by the company since this time.
In the mid-1980s the company collaborated with C&J Clark
C&J Clark
C. and J. Clark International Ltd, trading as Clarks, is a British, international shoe manufacturer and retailer based in Street, Somerset, England...
to write shoe design software until a dispute about the intellectual property rights over the product caused a falling-out. C&J Clark
C&J Clark
C. and J. Clark International Ltd, trading as Clarks, is a British, international shoe manufacturer and retailer based in Street, Somerset, England...
sued NC Graphics and won the case and NC Graphics was no longer able to develop or sell the shoe design software that they had been contracted to develop for C&J Clark
C&J Clark
C. and J. Clark International Ltd, trading as Clarks, is a British, international shoe manufacturer and retailer based in Street, Somerset, England...
.
NC Graphics focused on developing a surface modelling software product that used polynomial
Polynomial
In mathematics, a polynomial is an expression of finite length constructed from variables and constants, using only the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and non-negative integer exponents...
mathematics and was driven by human-readable input commands based on the APT
APT
- As an acronym :*Arbitrage Pricing Theory*Asia-Pacific Telecommunity*Advanced Persistent Threat*Advanced Passenger Train- Places :* Apt, Vaucluse, a commune of the Vaucluse département of France...
language. The initial product was called Polyapt and was sold initially to manufacturing companies that specialised in producing lost wax dies for aerofoil and turbine engine blades.
In the late 1980s NC Graphics collaborated with Hurco whereby NC Graphics developed the software and Hurco marketed it worldwide. The product was marketed by Hurco as TDM3000 on a global exclusive basis. At the same time, the same fundamental source code was sold through a company in Aylesbury called VanDix and the product was marketed by them as the "VanDix" CADCAM system. Around 1990 NC Graphics and Hurco parted company after Hurco discovered that their global exclusivity agreement had been breached. Hurco obtained joint copyright to the software source code and continued to develop it before abandoning CADCAM development in the mid-1990s.
NC Graphics picked up the UK customer base from Hurco and sold what was to become "Toolmaker" until they were finally bought out by PTC some years later.
In 1993 the company formed a partnership with DEPO GmbH and began development of machining STRATEGIST
Machining STRATEGIST
machining STRATEGIST is a CAM application software now sold by Vero International Software for the purposes of generating G-codes for 3-axis CNC machines. It specializes in high speed machining.It was developed by NC Graphics since 1995...
, a graphical based system limited solely to generating 3-axis Cnc instructions. This product was resold by DEPO in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and sometimes the rest of the world under the brand name Depocam. machining STRATEGIST
Machining STRATEGIST
machining STRATEGIST is a CAM application software now sold by Vero International Software for the purposes of generating G-codes for 3-axis CNC machines. It specializes in high speed machining.It was developed by NC Graphics since 1995...
, was sold in the UK and some of the rest of the world, but Depocam and machining STRATEGIST
Machining STRATEGIST
machining STRATEGIST is a CAM application software now sold by Vero International Software for the purposes of generating G-codes for 3-axis CNC machines. It specializes in high speed machining.It was developed by NC Graphics since 1995...
were one and the same product marketed with a different brand name.
In late 2001 NC Graphics licensed Vero International Software to use their software as a Computer-aided manufacturing
Computer-aided manufacturing
Computer-aided manufacturing is the use of computer software to control machine tools and related machinery in the manufacturing of workpieces. This is not the only definition for CAM, but it is the most common; CAM may also refer to the use of a computer to assist in all operations of a...
Geometric modeling kernel
Geometric modeling kernel
A geometric modeling kernel is a 3D solid modeling software component used in computer-aided design packages. Examples include Romulus, Parasolid, ACIS, ShapeManager and Open CASCADE....
within their system. In June 2002 they bought the machining STRATEGIST
Machining STRATEGIST
machining STRATEGIST is a CAM application software now sold by Vero International Software for the purposes of generating G-codes for 3-axis CNC machines. It specializes in high speed machining.It was developed by NC Graphics since 1995...
product and development team for £1.25million, leaving NC Graphics with rights to its own copy of the source code
Source code
In computer science, source code is text written using the format and syntax of the programming language that it is being written in. Such a language is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source...
and the Depocam product.
NC Graphics' business was in decline, and this was largely due to the Toolmaker product reaching the end of its product lifecycle. Sales of Toolmaker dwindled to virtually nothing and the DepoCAM product was not sufficient itself to generate sufficient revenues to keep the company going. CNC Software licensed the DepoCAM technology for $1,000,000 and this revenue kept NC Graphic going until the acquisition by PTC.
On 16 May 2007 Parametric Technology Corporation
Parametric Technology Corporation
Parametric Technology Corporation is a U.S.-based company that develops, markets and supports software for product development. Its main products are for CAD/CAM, engineering calculations, and product lifecycle management. Its customers include companies in manufacturing, publishing, services,...
acquired NC Graphics from Arthur Flutter for $7.2million, stating that it had 15 employees at the time. In its press briefing PTC confirmed that NC Graphics technology was licensed to 5 of the top 10 CAM vendors, including CNC Software (sellers of MasterCAM). The Depocam product is to be released as Pro/TOOLMAKER 8.1 in August 2007.
On 1 June 2009 the German reseller of the software and Arthur Flutter bought back a source code license of Depocam with full global exploitation rights from PTC and rehired some of the original employees to continue development and support of the product.