News
ThomasNet and Alibre Expand Partnership to Offer Alibre Design Users Direct Access to Millions of Manufacturer-Specific CAD Models
NEW YORK, August 24, 2006 – ThomasNet.com, the leading destination Website for industrial sourcing, and Alibre Inc., today announced an expansion of their partnership that will enable users of Alibre's acclaimed 3D solid modeling software Alibre Design to seamlessly access ThomasNet's CADRegister library of millions of manufacturer-specific CAD models. Visitors to ThomasNet's CADRegister.com can also download the latest version of Alibre Design Xpress 9.1, free of charge with site registration; then download CAD models into the Alibre Step file format."As a leading online destination for industrial designers and engineers, ThomasNet hosts a comprehensive library containing more than 10 million CAD drawings," says Pat Daloisio, Director of Strategic Business Initiatives for ThomasNet. "Our partnership with Alibre helps suppliers of industrial products provide a valuable service to their customers which helps shorten design and production cycles, improve efficiency and drive productivity."
Studies show that when a design professional specifies a product using a supplier-provided CAD model, that product is purchased 80% of the time. ThomasNet.com provides manufacturers with an extraordinary platform to showcase their products online to audiences sourcing everything from mechanical and electrical components to building products to sophisticated manufacturing equipment.
The new Alibre Design 9.1 integrates access to ThomasNet's full CAD library at CADRegister.com, which contains millions of downloadable component drawings in a variety of industry-standard formats ready to insert into any design. The library will also be available to over 230,000 Alibre Design Xpress users. Just a year since its launch, the rapid growth of the Alibre Design Xpress user base has brought 3D CAD to many new users in a wide variety of application segments.
"Our users demand ease and accessibility," explained Pete Stevens Vice President of Marketing at Alibre. "By providing a great, free content source like CADRegister with Alibre Design software, more users and designers will realize the positive effect 3D CAD can have on their design and product development process. Easily accessible models and parametric 3D software make it easy for 2D CAD users to move up to 3D. "
"Design engineers using our software can now quickly source and specify component parts from leading manufacturers with a single mouse-click from ThomasNet's online CAD solutions."
ABOUT THOMASNETSM
ThomasNet (www.ThomasNet.com) helps industrial sellers target their marketing investment to reach the most qualified industrial buyers online and convert them into customers. ThomasNet.com is where many buyers and engineers from Fortune 500 companies, the government, the military and more go to find suppliers. Drawing from the company's experience in the industrial market, ThomasNet has helped thousands of clients create websites that incorporate online catalogs, CAD drawings and e-commerce capabilities. The result is a strong Internet presence that sets ThomasNet clients apart from the competition to increase sales from new and existing customers.
For industrial buyers, ThomasNet.com is where they go to find the exact product, service or supplier they need, when they're ready to buy. ThomasNet.com gives buyers immediate access to the detailed information they need to make a purchasing or specifying decision, including detailed product or service information, catalogs, CAD drawings, and more. ThomasNet is part of Thomas Industrial Network, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Thomas Publishing Company, LLC.
ABOUT ALIBRE
Alibre Inc. develops and markets Alibre Design™, the fastest growing 3D parametric solid modeling software for mechanical design and manufacturing. One-fifth the cost of comparable software, Alibre Design delivers quick ROI, ease-of-use, rich functionality and unique real-time support, and is enabling small and medium-sized businesses and workgroups to put 3D CAD on every engineer's desk, similar to utilities like Word or Excel. Alibre also delivers Alibre Design Xpress, the industry's only true 3D parametric modeler available free of charge, making powerful 3D CAD accessible to literally anyone who wants it. Alibre Design is available in thirteen languages and distributed worldwide.