Virtual prototyping company adds on simulation

ESI Group, leading provider of virtual prototyping and manufacturing solutions, today announces the acquisition of the Canadian company L3P, an expert in manufacturing simulation.

ESI Group, leading provider of virtual prototyping and manufacturing solutions, today announces the acquisition of the Canadian company L3P, an expert in manufacturing simulation by injection method of composite material reinforcements.

The acquisition of LP3 was fuelled by the complementary nature of the two editors in their expertise of manufacture and design of materials and composite structures.

LCMFLOT, the software product of L3P, simulates the manufacturing process using the injection of resin in fibrous reinforcements, known as RTM (Resin Transfer Molding).

This sector today is undergoing full expansion.

LCMFLOT will be incorporated in the "composites design and manufacturing" value chain, thus completing ESI Group's software portfolio which already includes PAM-FORM for forming of composites and plastics, SYSPLY for designing composite products, PAM-SHOCK and PAM-CRASH for shock and crash testing.

LCMFLOT optimizes the injection process, as it allows to determine the number of injection gates and their positions.

It also enables the prediction of forces transmitted, thus improving the tooling process and reducing production lead-times.

LCMFLOT can be used in the aeronautics industry to simulate the manufacture of wing parts, fuselage panels and rotors; and in the automobile industry for bodywork pieces and composite floorings.

This acquisition enables ESI Group to reinforce its unique position as a preferred supplier of simulation software in the high growth sectors such as aeronautics and aerospace (Dassault Aviation, Snecma, Bell Helicopter Textron), as well as new sectors undergoing full expansion such as automotive, building and public works, consumer goods, particularly sports equipment.

"ESI Group's acquisition of L3P perpetuates the research projects undertaken by EADS Research Center", states Serge Maison-Le Po‰c, Head of the Composite Structures Engineering Department at EADS.

"The integration of LCMFLOT into our product suite enables us to offer an extended composites value chain to our customers, from design right through to production, taking into account the specifications of the numerous production processes, such as the draping effect on mold filling", emphasizes Fouad El Khaldi, Director of ESI Group's Virtual Manufacturing Product Line.

Founded in 1994 by the professor Fran‡ois Trochu and Raymond Gauvin, L3P is a private company based in Montr‚al.

Specialized in the manufacturing simulation of composite materials, L3P has been working in close collaboration for several years with the Ecole Polytechnique de Montr‚al and industrial partners, including DaimlerChrysler, EADS and Ford.

Editor of virtual testing solutions, ESI Group is a pioneer and world leading provider of numerical simulation prototypes and manufacturing processes that take into account the physics of materials.

ESI Group has developed an entire suite of coherent, industry oriented applications to realistically simulate a product's behavior during testing, to fine tune the manufacturing processes in synergy with the desired product performance, and to evaluate the environment's impact on product usage.

ESI Group's product portfolio, which has been industrially validated and grouped in multi-trade value chains, represents a unique collaborative, virtual engineering solution, known as the Virtual Try-Out Space (VTOS), enabling a continuous improvement on the virtual prototype.

By drastically reducing costs and development lead times, VTOS solutions offer major competitive advantages by progressively eliminating the need for physical prototypes.

A publicly held company, ESI Group (Code Sicovam 6584) employs about 300 high-level specialists worldwide, and its global network of agents provide sales and technical support to customers in more than 30 countries.

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