MILFORD, Ohio, March 16, 2017 — (PRNewswire) — Global interoperability solution leader International TechneGroup Incorporated (ITI) and Anark Corporation, leading provider of visual collaboration solutions, have formed a strategic partnership to better meet manufacturers' technical document publishing and validation needs. This new partnership will enhance customer relationships and ensure the quality and success of enterprise deployments by manufacturers using Anark and ITI products and solutions.

Manufacturers, especially those transitioning to Model Based Enterprise (MBE) processes, need the ability to generate production-quality 3D PDF model-based documents and technical data packages that provide suppliers and downstream consumers with the detailed engineering and manufacturing information required for effective model-based communication and collaboration. Automated validation of this technical 3D PDF-based content is key for successful MBE implementation. Anark provides its best-in-class, recipe-driven publishing automation platform, Anark Core, for transforming source data and publishing 3D MBE documents and content, and ITI provides the industry's leading CAD validation solution, CADIQ.

3D PDF documents published by Anark Core are "100% native", ISO compliant, and can be opened by the ubiquitous and free Adobe Reader software. The documents may include 3D product visualization together with product-manufacturing-information (PMI) annotations, structured tabular and attribute data from multiple sources, and numerous related files and attachments to form comprehensive technical data packages (TDPs). CADIQ from ITI is a vendor neutral CAD model validation tool that allows users to interactively test model geometry and PMI for errors and variation.

When a precise semantic MBD model created in a design system is converted into a graphical visualization model (such as the ISO Standard PRC format contained within 3D PDF), it is more than a translation, it is a transformation. According to ITI's CAD Validation Specialist, Doug Cheney, "A validation tool that works in concert with the Anark transformation and publishing system can reveal if something unexpected has happened in a particular model during a transformation, adding tremendous value for the customer. ITI understands expected differences in the 3D PDF in advance of validation, and can provide the customer with a true, third-party pass/fail assessment if there are any unexpected differences. This partnership offers customers a valuable safety net."

Anark and ITI share customers across the aerospace & defense, energy, transportation, communication technology, and medical device manufacturing sectors. With broad, real-world knowledge and experience helping enterprise manufacturers successfully deploy production MBE processes and solutions, the companies are known to provide industry insights beyond technology, including guidance on best practices for quick and effective implementation of model based process change for enterprise manufacturers and their supply chain partners. Both companies are currently engaged in joint customer projects, with more expected in the coming months.

"With extensive PLM solutions expertise and over thirty years' experience in developing standards-based CAD interoperability solutions, we're uniquely positioned to help companies ensure the integrity and reusability of their product data," says Tom Gregory, CEO, ITI. " CAD validation is a critical component to any MBE initiative, and CADIQ is uniquely suited to complement Anark's product portfolio."

"Anark Core and MBEWeb enable global companies to transform, publish, and host technical content from multiple authoritative data sources, such as CAD, PLM, and ERP," states Stephen Collins, CEO, Anark. "When our technology is applied to engineering release, supply chain, quality, and manufacturing processes, ITI's CADIQ is the enterprise validation solution our customers rely on to validate the integrity of their MBE documents." Collins added, "This partnership, and our shared expertise, offer customers complementary best-in-class solutions that help them deploy model-based processes more efficiently and effectively."

As part of the agreement, the Anark and ITI product teams are working closely to ensure their respective products and technologies are working in harmony to serve the needs of their mutual customers. "ITI and Anark are industry leaders, with complementary technologies. So, there is strong synergy that will provide customers with the most accurate, trouble-free solutions to their downstream data sharing needs," says Asa Trainer, Vice President of Product Operations, ITI. "Tighter collaboration through this partnership will give customers higher confidence in the downstream technical content, and help ensure our joint projects become production successes."

Peter Billelo, President of analyst firm CIMdata, agrees. "PLM and product data interoperability present complex, intricate problems. The ITI and Anark partnership is both unique and refreshing as it represents two leading solution providers serving as trusted advisors and customer advocates. Customers benefit most from agreement in more seamlessly integrated delivery, a focus on geometry, and API-based, third-party validations."

ITI and Anark plan to jointly host a webinar that will provide further insights on practical application and benefits of using CADIQ to validate Anark-generated 3D PDFs.

Find more information at www.iti-global.com/anark

About ITI

International TechneGroup Inc. began in 1983 with a mission to help manufacturers drive innovation and time to market by applying computer-aided product development to engineering problems. Today, ITI is the global leader providing reliable interoperability, validation and migration solutions for product data and related systems. ITI's CADIQ is a vendor-neutral application, identifies model-based design (MBD) data quality issues that impact downstream re-use for manufacturing, simulation, data exchange and collaboration. CADIQ enables you to validate critical engineering processes including engineering change, revision control and manufacturability. For more information visit www.iti-global.com/cadiq.

About Anark

Anark helps industry leading manufacturers transform their mission critical PLM and ERP data into role-and-use-case-specific technical HTML content and 3D PDF documents, allowing knowledge workers along the Digital Thread to communicate and collaborate more effectively throughout the engineering, supply chain, manufacturing, and field service organizations. Anark Core and MBEweb enable effective and efficient MBE process change, yielding higher quality products, accelerated product release cycles, and reduced scrap and material waste, netting substantial cost savings for OEMs and their suppliers. For more information, visit www.anark.com.

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SOURCE International TechneGroup Incorporated