TROY, Michigan, July 22 /PRNewswire/ --

- Proven Italian software accelerates concept development process,
empowering creative community to invent, explore and fully evaluate ideas
quickly and cost-effectively

Leading industrial design/styling software company solidThinking
(www.solidthinking.com) -- which has quietly grown its market share as the
dominant tool of choice for Italian design firms and industrial designers for
everything from jewelry and electronic devices to furniture and yachts -- is
launching its latest version for Windows and Mac users worldwide.

To view the Multimedia News Release, go to:
http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/altair/34019/

"We are pleased to introduce the global design community to our most
comprehensive release of solidThinking to date," said Alessandro (Alex)
Mazzardo, vice president of product strategy and marketing, who started
solidThinking in 1991 with his brother Mario Mazzardo, vice president of
product strategy and management. "solidThinking is an extremely flexible,
'what-if' design software that empowers the creative community -- industrial
designers, style centers, conceptors, design firms and anyone who creates
product concepts -- to invent, explore and evaluate new ideas easily, rapidly
and cost-effectively, without the limitations of traditional software."

"The solidThinking design community benefits from having one of the
fastest, most deeply integrated rendering engines available to produce
high-quality photorealistic virtual models," Mario Mazzardo said.
"solidThinking compresses the product-development cycle by narrowing the
spectrum of viable concepts virtually, reducing the number of physical
prototypes and avoiding the need to reinterpret designs between designers and
engineers."

Freeing designers from the constraints of other software in a number of
ways, solidThinking version 7.6 incorporates many distinctive features. It:

-- Offers a best-in-class, unlimited interactive construction history
that enables the user easily to explore any design alternative from an
existing design. At the core of its ability to infinitely reshape 3D models,
solidThinking is a real idea generator that promotes innovation.

-- Encourages users to change their minds at any point in the design
process. Instead of starting from scratch when new ideas or directions
emerge, designers can use the construction history to revise their creation
and continue to innovate.

-- Enables more real-time editing with full interactivity; variations and
changes take seconds.

-- Allows for simultaneous parameter editing and control-point editing:
even when they want to finely sculpt a surface by editing, users need only
revise a few control points.

-- Offers unprecedented accuracy and flexibility for curves drawing and a
complete set of advanced modeling tools.

-- Features one of the fastest, most deeply integrated rendering engines
available and an intuitive user interface for rendering.

-- Produces fast, high-quality photorealistic 3D renderings for exploring
colors and finishes with ease, and global illumination.

-- Integrates completely with computer-aided
design/manufacturing/engineering (CAD/CAM/CAE) systems.

-- Is currently the only computer-aided industrial design (CAID) solution
available on both Windows and Mac OS X.

Companies that rely on solidThinking include many of the world's leading
designers of furniture, electronic devices, automobiles, lighting, shoes,
jewelry, timepieces, sports equipment, yachts, consumer packaging and other
products. Thousands of designers use solidThinking to develop products and
packaging for such renowned companies and brands as Azimut Yachts, Bulgari,
Cartier, Diesel, DuPont, Fujitsu, Hugo Boss, Italdesign Giugiaro, Korg,
MacGregor Golf, Mares, Masterfoods, Merck, Nestle, Nikon, Panerai, Peg
Perego, Pininfarina, Scavolini, Thomson, Tisettanta, Toshiba, Toyota,
Volkswagen and Volvo.

The global rollout of solidThinking version 7.6 -- including an updated
rendering engine, a streamlined user interface, rich photorealistic content
functionality and a number of other user-centric enhancements -- follows the
recent acquisition of the company's assets by Michigan-based Altair
Engineering, Inc. (www.altair.com). A leading global technology provider,
Altair has solid experience in developing sales channels and support
expertise to increase solidThinking's adoption across numerous business
sectors and geographies. Robert Little, previously president of Altair
Engineering Canada, Ltd., now serves as president of solidThinking.

"solidThinking 7.6 offers members of the global industrial design
community an environment that will boost their ability to explore new ideas
and excite their colleagues with images that are undeniably realistic, at a
price point that offers excellent value and return on investment," Little
said.

Gartner Research Director Marc Halpern, commenting on the importance of
industrial design software, said "Industrial design software is becoming
increasingly important as a means to streamline the workflow from concept to
new-product introduction by enabling more users to leverage 3D models across
product design, marketing, manufacturing and sales."

Customer Accolades

"solidThinking is a perfect tool to improve new design solutions in a
very intuitive way," said Marco Borraccino, head of design at Panerai, a
globally renowned luxury and high-end watch manufacturer. "I have used
solidThinking for several years and release after release, the product has
consistently delivered increased functionality that focuses on user needs.
Moreover, the embedded rendering engine quickly delivers stunning
renderings."

"solidThinking helped us to compress the product-development cycle by
several times," said Aristide Barone, designer manager at Mares, a leading
worldwide manufacturer of technologically advanced diving products. "We are
pleased to see the continuous enhancement of this product."

"Finally, a true software for industrial design that allows us to move
quickly from the first rough sketch to the final result that we send for
prototyping or manufacturing," said Paolo Capeci, head of the Design Dept in
Italy for Korg, which manufactures electronic musical instruments. "I chose
solidThinking because it offers powerful, but intuitive, modeling; and,
through its construction history, I can keep the project workflow under
control."

"We have been using solidThinking for the last six years to translate our
thoughts into three-dimensional objects," said Jr Neville Songwe, product
designer and president of Joneso Design and Consulting, Inc., which created
Brijo, a premier design in-vehicle information and communication platform
that integrates technological devices into the dashboard of law-enforcement
vehicles. "What we find unique about solidThinking is the ease and
flexibility it provides to our product designers. It's one of the few
software applications designed and tailored for product designers. It
facilitates creativity and minimizes the technical burdens, which other
three-dimensional software applications don't do as well."

See It, Try It, Buy It

The creative community is encouraged to experience solidThinking today.
To see it, try it and buy it, simply go to www.solidthinking.com to: view
demo videos; learn about opportunities to participate in product
demos/webinars; download a trial version of solidThinking software; and
purchase the software.

About solidThinking, Inc.

solidThinking, Inc., headquartered in Troy, Michigan (USA), develops and
markets industrial design/styling software that helps designers invent,
explore and evaluate new ideas easily, rapidly and cost-effectively, without
the limitations of traditional software. Designers use solidThinking software
to create photorealistic 3D virtual prototypes of products across the design
arena, from architecture and automobiles to electronic devices, jewelry,
product packaging and yachts. solidThinking is a wholly owned subsidiary of
Altair Engineering, Inc. (www.altair.com). Altair Engineering is privately
held and employs more than 1,300 in North America, South America, Europe and
Asia/Pacific.

Web site: http://www.solidthinking.com
              http://www.altair.com