From: Pierre duPont Subject: ANNOUNCE: John Deere Selects VR Software for Equipment Prototyping Date: Fri, 12 Jul 1996 15:27:02 +-100 Message-ID: <01BB7006.948FFE40@dialin-ppp.division.co.uk> John Deere Selects VR from Division System to deliver better initial equipment prototypes, reducing costs, modifications and design time DUBUQUE, Iowa, June 28, 1996 -- The company that began as a one-man blacksmith shop in 1837 has taken a leadership role in integrating virtual reality (VR) into its R&D processes. John Deere Dubuque Works has implemented a VR system from Division to use in its construction division's R&D applications. The turnkey system includes a Silicon Graphics Onyx Infinite Reality workstation, Division's dVISE virtual world authoring system and its dVS run-time software, and immerive peripheral devices. John Deere Dubuque Works had been using VR on a limited basis in its R&D projects since 1992. Based on the company's initial success with VR, Mac Klingler, manager of R&D and product evaluation, concluded that John Deere needed an in-house system. He assigned the task of finding a cost-effective engineering solution to Brian Rauch, project engineer with John Deere's advanced R&D department, and Jose Nazario, senior engineer. As part of the selection process, the two engineers looked for companies that were similar to John Deere and were using VR in their product development processes. "We discovered that Ford is successfully using Division's system for similar applications," says Rauch. "We could have selected an engineering application that required us to buy each piece of a system separately, but the time and expense necessary to integrate the system hardware and software would have been prohibitive. We decided Division offered the best solution for us because the company is in the business of selling tools to solve engineering problems. Division was able to implement a system at our site very quickly. In fact, it took us less than two weeks to get the system up and running." Division's system enables John Deere to use virtual product prototypes to assess key design factors in construction equipment, such as visibility and the ability to reach controls. According to Rauch, VR will allow designers to create better initial prototypes, resulting in fewer modifications in the design cycle. "VR allows our engineers to evaluate the ergonomic options of a piece of equipment before it becomes steel," says Rauch. "Visibility and 'reachability' are crucial in large equipment like bulldozers. In R&D stages, VR gives engineers the ability to look at the way a hood is mounted over the engine and determine whether or not the driver still has good visibility. Since it is very expensive to produce physical prototypes of large equipment, Division's system will greatly reduce costs and shorten design time. Changes can be made to an electronic prototype before it becomes a physical piece of equipment." In addition to using VR as an engineering tool, Rauch sees future applications in product support and supply management. Using VR in supply management would allow an engineer to look at a potential suppliers' parts in John Deere's equipment to better understand how the two would interact. John Deere, perhaps best known as the world's leading producer of agriculture equipment, also produces industrial equipment, lawn- and grounds-care equipment, and power systems. John Deere also provides financial services through its John Deere Credit, John Deere Insurance Group, and John Deere Health Care subsidiaries. The company's sales and administration office is in Moline, Ill. Division (http://www.division.com) specializes in providing virtual reality technology, products and services for advanced engineering, design and training applications. The company has offices in Europe and distributors throughout the world. Division's U.S. headquarters are in Redwood City, Calif., and the company has offices in San Diego, Detroit, Atlanta and Buffalo. Division customers include Ford Motor Co., Bechtel, McDonnell- Douglas, NASA, DoD, Glaxo Wellcome, Matsushita, GEC, British Telecom, GTE, and Sandia National Labs. ### Press Contact: Michelle Enke, Bob Cramblitt, Cramblitt & Company email: cramco@interpath.com Tel: +1 919-481-4599; Fax: +1 919-481-4639 Division USA: Saundra Oberle, Marketing Comm., Division Incorporated email: saun@division.com http://www.division.com Tel: +1 415-364-6067; Fax: +1 415-364-4663 Division Intn'l: Pierre duPont, Marketing Director, Division Limited email: pierre@division.co.uk http://www.division.co.uk Tel: +44 1454 615554; Fax: +44 1454 615532 [MODERATOR'S NOTE: Commercial postings are offered on this newsgroup as a public service. Their appearance here does not indicate endorsement by the moderators or by the USENET or its administrators.]