Buying a new computer is not just a question of selecting suitable hardware. It is essential that you choose the right software to meet the requirements of your business.
In order to help you do this, ICL has arranged a series of Seminars at which you can see for yourself various packages in action. Not only that, you will also have an opportunity to meet the experts from the Software Supplier, and to ask questions. The objective of each half-day Seminar is to give you, the customer, a chance to check that the software on show will meet your requirements.
Reserving a place at a Seminar is simple: just pick up the telephone and ask the Operator for "Freephone ICL". This will get you straight through to ICL's Information Desk where your reservation will be confirmed immediately. Alternatively, you may wish to dial 01 7887272 and ask for "Infopoint".
Most of these Seminars were repeated several times during the year at different venues (Bristol, Manchester, Birmingham, London (Euston) and London (City). 31 Seminars were given between may and December.
A 3-D CAD system for use by Architects, Services Engineers and Piping Engineers. Acropolis is user programmable so that it can be tailored to suit all types of designers who require 2-D and 3-D modelling and drafting facilities.
Based upon the EAGLE software, Acropolis is a 2 and 3 dimensional modelling system including modules to perform 2-D drafting, 3-D visualisation using wire frame and solid geometry techniques with hidden-line removal, pipework routing (with automatic dimensioning, isometrics and scheduling), document design for report processing and bill production, data generation for links to external design programmes, text editing and tablet digitising.
ACROPOLIS is driven by user-defined commands via keyboard or menus. Full plotting facilities are included for drawing production and manipulation.
Current applications include low/high pressure pipework, architectural design drafting, mine planning and surveying, photo-montage, the design of retail premises, office and general room layout, mechanical engineering, process layout, graphical simulation, property management and animation.
Acroplis has users in the petrochemical industry, architectural practices, local authorities, retailers and mining organisations. A total of around 60 workstations have been sold to date. There are agencies for Acropolis in Singapore, Australia, Belgium, Italy.
Supplied by BDP Computing Services Limited
DOGS (Design Office Graphics Systems) is a general purpose 2-D drafting and design system suitable for a wide range of applications. The system has been particularly successful in mechanical and civil engineering, public utility mapping and schematic work.
DOGS offers a comprehensive menu of facilities for creating and modifying drawings, including:
In addition to these drawing facilities, DOGS contains two further capabilities: first, properties which allows for parts lists and bills of material, and second, parametric symbols which allow for the automatic generation of families of parts.
Interfaces are supplied from DOGS to a variety of 3-D modelling, NC programs and the PAFEC Finite Element Analysis system. Specialist applications modules under development include reinforced concrete design and architectural facilities.
DOGS has over 270 users in the fields of mechanical engineering, through civil engineering and architecture, to cartography and schematics.
DOGS may be purchased for its stand alone drafting capability or with other PAFEC or Delta products to form part of a broader CAE system.
Supplied by Deltacam Systems Limited and Alper Systems Limited.
DIAD is a general purpose drafting system particularly suitable for mechanical and electrical engineering work of all sizes. It can be installed on an autonomous PERO for the smaller drawing office and is capable of being expanded into a multiple PERO System interconnected by a network.
The procedure for creating a drawing on DIAD closely follows the way a draftsman operates with a drawing board. Construction lines are created from curves, straight lines and circles. Connectors, fillets and chamfers are typical additional features which are available. Drawing construction can be simplified by the use of standard and user defined libraries of symbols, parts and sub-assemblies. Editing of drawings enables geometric details to be extracted and drawing entities or groups to be modified, moved, rotated, scaled, reflected, repeated or erased.
Drawings can be dimensioned or cross hatched in all modes, with automatic updating of both, when the drawing is subsequently modified. Further facilities exist for the inclusion of text, parts list generation, area and centre of gravity calculations. The geometry defined by DIAD may be extracted for use in GNC; the Numerical Control system marketed by ICL.
The DIAD system is very flexible and allows easy production of drawings - at national and company levels. The first issue of DIAD incorporates features which implement the UK standard BS308.
Supplied by ICL
DUCT (DESIGN USING COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY) is a surface modeller for the design and manufacture of engineering objects, especially those with complex curved surfaces including mouldings, castings. forgings etc also larger objects such as boat hulls and motor panels.
The DUCT system of representation is based on planar design sections positioned in space by a fully three dimensional curve known as a spline. Objects are created by joining and blending individual surfaces using automatic blending aids. Computer graphics allows the geometric model to be defined and modified interactively. Visualisation facilities include first and third angle isometric and conic projections, stereo pairs as well as smoothly shaded colour pictures.
Analytic facilities include the calculation of areas, volumes, wall thickness, spark gap and contraction allowances as well as the analysis of parting planes and draft angles. The DUCT surface model can be used to generate finite element analysis meshes via an interactive mesh generation feature.
DUCT is truly integrated CAD/CAM with integral NC machine tool path generation including automatic roughing and finishing sequences.
DUCT is unique in aiding both design and pattern-making. DUCT's value has been recognised in many industries including automobile and plastics industries in the UK and abroad.
Supplied by Deltacam Systems Limited
Alper Records has been designed for use by the Private Sector, Local Government and Public Utilities (eg Water, Gas, Electricity, Telecommunications) who are involved in drawing, capturing and manipulating maps and relating them to non graphical data. Typical uses are the recording of street inventories and changes to highways or utility service networks.
Alper records is based upon three proven components:
By using a digitising camera Alper Scan can rapidly capture and store maps or drawings in Pixel Format. These can then be displayed on the screen within a few seconds.
No special skills are required to operate Alper Records. A full range of operations is provided that can be carried out on a map image and the corresponding mains, including panning and zooming across OS map boundaries. Using the complete system, existing maps can be updated or edited by incorporating site surveys or other drawings even if they are drawn to a different scale.
As mains are added to the map image on the screen, attribute data is automatically inserted on the database including details of the mains locations which may be used for network analysis.
Alper Records is a major Mapping and Records Management System. The system provides fast, accurate information for the efficient upkeep, development and control of Utility Service Networks.
Supplied by Alper Systems Limited
MAPPERq is a spatial decision support system enabling information to be associated with graphical data, and interrogated quickly and simply via the PERO Look-See-Point user interface.
MAPPERq is targeted at both public and private sector organisations who need to overlay and relate network information onto background maps; those organisations include Water Authorities, Gas and Electricity Boards, PTT's, Local Authorities, Cable TV companies and others. The maps themselves can range from detailed Ordnance Survey to local site plans. Map input can be from ground or aerial survey, OS-produced magnetic tape, vector-scanner, photofax or digital camera devices.
Enquiry information is held either wholly within the MAPPERq database spread over a number of networked PERQ's or shared between the MAPPERq database and a mainframe system. In either case, the enquiry format is the same, and user friendliness is maximised by full exploitation of the PERQ user Interfaces.
Supplied by Axis Software Systems Limited
Pinpoint's systems are designed to help users in both the Public and Private Sectors take more effective decisions. This is done by presenting geographically related data in a readily understood graphical format.
In addition to the user's own data, Pinpoint apply computer techniques to other sources such as the National Census, Dun and Bradstreet, the National Dwelling and Housing Survey, MASS and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. Information from these sources can then be related to Post codes, OS Grid References or other criteria, thus giving the user great freedom and flexibility.
Pinpoint's techniques have applications in such diverse fields as:
Pinpoint Analysis provide effective decision support to over a hundred existing clients in a wide range of industries including Finance, Retail, Marketing, Central and Local Government.
Supplied by Pinpoint Analysis Limited
Quadrant is a fully automated system that greatly improves designers productivity in the creation and support of databases. The system is divided into a number of modules which relate directly to the four-quadrant IDMS/DDS database model. The main modules are:
Bachman Diagrams which consists of four inter-related software elements and forms a closed loop for maintaining and designing the Data Dictionary, and provides:
Functional Analysis provides facilities to ensure that the results of data analysis meet the original requirement. These facilities include:
Data Analysis interfaces directly with the manual data gathering phase. It includes:
These tools reduce development time and the cost of building complex database/real-time systems. Using Quadrant, systems of a consistent style are easily produced that are readily understood and which in turn lead to increased productivity.
Further developments of Quadrant are underway and will be announced during the Seminar Programme.
Supplied by Program Products (Marketing) Limited
QED is a text processor that enables text and graphics to be composed and viewed on the PERQ screen, and then output onto a high-resolution desktop laser printer. It is ideal for technical guides, manuals, newsletters-indeed any documentation that requires text and illustrations to be combined.
QED handles layout, 'typesetting', artwork proofs.
Text can be taken by communications link from a word-processor or keyed directly. All the standard word-processing functions are provided, such as insert, delete, word-wrap, search and replace, margin setting, etc., and various justification options are available.
Typefaces may be varied within a document by paragraph, line, word or single letter. A variety of typefaces and styles, changes in font size and multi-lingual requirements can be handled.
Full layout facilities are available: Line drawings, sketches and pictures can be created on the screen (using the PERQ DP Schematic Drawing Package and/or PICASSO Picture Editor) and then using 'cut-and-paste' techniques can be integrated with the text; original artwork can be scanned and digitised by fax or by camera.
All changes and movements are viewed on the screen as they are made. Once the document is satisfactorily composed, printed copies can be produced on the laser printer.
In association with QED there is a range of special facilities, utilities, which enable fonts to be enlarged or rotated, pictures to be scaled, new fonts to be created and drawings to be printed at the full resolution of the laser printer.
QED provides cost savings in the production of documentation as well as reducing considerably the time between origination and finished product.
Supplied by Program Products (Marketing) Limited
The METAFORM system provides a full 'what you see is what you get' page make-up system for users of Laser Printers and other graphics output devices. The system is suitable for any organisation with a substantial requirement for producing documents such as Technical Manuals, Instruction Books, Business Forms, Price Lists, Timetables, etc.
METAFORM consists of three main components; a Font Builder, a Graphics Builder and a Form Builder.
With the Font Builder users can create and modify customised fonts. Individual characters can be drawn freehand or by using the line, box and area fill commands. Individual characters, groups of characters or an entire font can be edited at one operation to produce bold or italic variants, or to change a font from fixed to variable spacing.
The Graphics Builder enables users to create and modify graphic images, signatures and logos. Images can be input from a digital device, such as a FAX or a Laser Scanner. Alternatively graphics can be drawn direct on the screen freehand or by using line, circle and other commands.
The Form Builder enables METAFORM users to create and place lines, boxes, text and graphics images on an A4 form that appears on the screen exactly as it will print out. Facilities are provided so that forms can incorporate logos, signatures and other graphics, solid and dotted lines of different weights, and shaded areas.
METAFORM is backed by a wide range of utilities to maintain files and provide for all input and output. All subsystems operate in a similar way to enable users to learn to use the system easily. METAFORM is used widely in the USA, throughout Europe and as far afield as Australia.
Supplied by Langton Electronic Publishing Systems Ltd
