Small to mid-sized companies can now purchase a more affordable version of Weidlinger's popular PZFlex virtual prototyping software that meets their needs for reduced time to market of new designs.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA – Weidlinger Associates has released its PZFlex 2.1™ 3D virtual-prototyping software in two versions—PZFlex Professional™ and PZFlex Standard™. PZFlex is the preferred software of industrial designers and academic researchers worldwide who are responsible for developing and improving ultrasonic and piezoelectric devices for biomedical, naval, and other industrial applications. The original Professional version has been serving large institutions and enterprises since the late 1980s; PZFlex Standard is targeted to mid-sized businesses and independent consultancies who require a more affordable version of the fastest and most accurate 3D virtual-prototyping software on the market.

PZFlex takes advantage of the availability of inexpensive, powerful computers to bring sophisticated modeling capability to designers’ desktops for predicting the performance of a product or device. The most obvious advantage is reduction of time to market and cost, as the product can be built, tested, and optimized almost entirely in virtual form. Another advantage is that the software supports the modeling of entire devices and their housings, along with their individual components. PZFlex Standard is essentially the same as PZFlex Professional, but limits the size of the models to those typically needed by small to mid-sized companies. The price also includes a version of SolidWorks solid modeling tool to allow for quick and intuitive development of model layout.

“We recognize that technical creativity can come from anywhere—from large engineering departments to small, independent design shops,” said Dr. Paul Reynolds, the Weidlinger associate responsible for PZFlex development. “We’ve taken the next obvious step of making the software more widely available and affordable. This is a very flexible program that has proved its worth in a number of industries. It is now positioned to serve the innovators in every industry and in every type of company, from startups to giant companies. We are increasingly serving designers who are in cutting-edge fields like green technology. The software is already being used to design more efficient fuel injectors (made out of stack actuators,) security and identity verification devices, and new medical and therapeutic tools; the list of applications continues to grow.

PZFlex software is first in world markets for medical therapeutics and sonar. It is the program of choice for all major US and Japanese medical transducer manufacturers, as well as for scientists at prominent academic institutions engaged in studies of diagnostic and therapeutic medical ultrasound. Developed in the 1980s to improve the modeling of ultrasonic probes, PZFlex quickly became the most versatile member of a family of codes (FLEX) used to solve huge wave-propagation problems for the US government. During the past two decades of intensive development, PZFlex has spawned numerous applications and attracted increasing numbers of clients. Features are added on a regular basis and customers continually receive new updates to ensure their modeling package remains state-of-the-art.

PURCHASE DETAILS The PZFlex license is based on a floating license arrangement, whereby the software can be operated only when the USB dongle provided is resident in the system. PZFlex Professional comes with two days of free training at the Mountain View, CA, office and technical support and maintenance for one year. Further maintenance and technical support can be purchased at an annual price of 15% of the current package price. Maintenance is based on a per-site, rather than per-license, basis. For more information on PZFlex software, please visit www.pzflex.com or contact the PZFlex Support Group (U.S.) at (650) 230-0210.

PRODUCT FEATURES The PZFlex modeling package includes: • Full 2D and 3D solvers • Time domain solutions, ideal for broadband results with a single simulation • Isotropic and anisotropic solids and fluids (linear and non-linear) • Piezoelectric, electrostrictive (3D), and magnetostrictive (2D) materials • Thermal and thermal-mechanical solvers • Circuits • Extensive post-processing capabilities • Address of very large models (models containing more than 10,000,000 elements are well within the ability of the code to simulate on a desktop PC) • Sophisticated absorbing boundary condition that allows truncation of large continuum domains • Integrated graphics for display of model at any point during analysis • REVIEW postprocessor for display and manipulation of time history data, including FFT and impedance computations • Add-on electrostatic solvers • Add-on long-range acoustic solver