What's In A Name

[mmccall]

Whats In A Name

 

 

I was in a meeting with several very respectable engineers and scientists to look over a design I have been working on, a relatively complicated system I developed in order to meet a very simple requirement.

 

This particular design had several motors, slide rails, bearings, and a structure to support the weight, all put together in a clever system to give all the degrees of freedom the scientist needed, all conceptualized on sound engineering principles. Everyone felt that the system would definitely work.

 

There was one very seasoned 7-time patent winner, multi-degreed Cal tech graduate, who is regarded and respected as a local super hero (I also respect him as such) in this meeting. Despite his total agreement to the probable success of my design, he sneered at one thing at the beginning of the meeting IRON-CAD?!? Whats that??? It was said at a volume that was intended to get a response. The room, however, was at a perfect mix like most engineering/physicist meetings with groups spread out in A/B conversations talking over different aspects of the design. Again he said, IRONCADhuh, along with more mumbling and a short burst of laughter with a colleague to his left.

 

I look out of the corner of my eye with a subdued look of a cold hearted rattle snake. I heard him. No worries, I like the guy, but he just made it to my S#!T list. I just need to wait for the perfect moment to strike (shove his foot down his throat, something we rattle snakes really know how to do).

 

Many of the people who mattered in the room have become accustomed to and have come to accept me using both Pro and IC. They like my designs, so they are just fine with IC and they have seen what it is capable of, and for that matter, they really dont care as long as I can duplicate the design in their system.

 

The moment of truth finally came. Changes were needed. Just like in past meetings, the physicist will request a change; but what is different is that I dont need a note pad. I make notes and a majority of the changes on the screen while engaged in the conversation. In seconds, the change has been conceptualized and notes taken on the screen for everyone to see design changes and new components created, right there on the fly in as real time as you can get, just like taking an order in a restaurant. The entire two-hour meeting was like this. HA! Dead silence from the end of the table; just a few nods here and there. But, all doubt seemed to be displaced.

 

After the meeting, I pondered on the entire situation. I think I may have finally reached one origin of the repeated sneers and chuckles I get when logging in to IC. Eureka, it has to be the name!!!

 

Thinking back, I recalled different examples of where this would possibly apply:

 

In the movie Terminator, what would be the crowd reaction if the robots name was Dexter?

Although the name Arnold doesnt seem to carry any weight behind it, as some guy that could take my lunch money at will, for some reason hearing the entire name Swarchenegger at the end just makes me think of some 9 ft. tall German giant and that I need to run for cover. HA! Seeing him in his prime, the name Zeus Master of the Universe, still seems most fitting.

 

What if the larger-than-life vampire killer Blade had a different name, like Martin or Bobby? Nope; none of these alternative names gives any justice to the character.

 

But thats what we are getting to. Whats in a name? Character could be one ingredient of a name IC has character. Character is defined as the combination of qualities or features that distinguishes one person, group, or thing from another; a description of a persons attributes, traits, or ABILITIES.

 

I feel that over the years, IC has really matured, to say the least. It has outgrown this old skin of being just another CAD program and has more than proven its worth to be considered a valid option among the great engineering softwares.

 

I would be the first to say that Pro-Es Wild-Fire should in truth be called Crash-N-Burn. But over the years, Pro-Engineer as a company has really established itself as an engineering tool provider, a good move for marketing to splash engineer in the name and base name of their flagship product and company, with Wild-Fire being a reference to all the new changes to the program, the facelift that makes this particular version of Pro-E faster or better than previous releases.

 

Thats it. IronCad is the flagship product of the company IronCad, but I wonder if the time has come to move from the generic V-dot-X numerical changes and give IronCads flagship a whole new name, something else to finally give it the reverence it deserves.

 

Such a suggestion may really hurt the feelings of the founders of the company the mere audacity it takes to suggest that they change the name to something else!!! But even better, we are only referring to one particular product name, not your first born child. With a name like Gaylord Focker, this may not be a bad option.

 

I could see it being feasible for IronCad, LLC maintaining all of its other products with their current names, IronPro, Innovation, TeamVault, etc. I am electing that only their flagship product, IronCad has evolved enough to warrant a name change.

 

Some suggestions? Well, two off the top of my head with total disregard to all previously directed interpretations would be KAC (Kick-Ass-Cad) and MTMF (Man-This-Muthas-Fast).

 

Though adequate and descriptive, these are still likely to be a users knee-jerk reaction or surprise, if you will; a comment by the user not befitting a name. They lack any tact and are far from politically correct. They dont give the program any meaningful direction to its use, that it is more than just a CAD program.

 

I would like to see some reference to engineering and perhaps move away from the word design. Although, in our minds, the two may be interchangeable in some fashions, IC would carry a much better impression with this simple language change. Besides, this would still cover all uses; I gather from the chatroom that there are many that use the program for industrial design (engineering) or even architectural design (engineering).

 

What ever happened to the name TriSpectives? Without knowing much about the history of the company prior to a dated Cadalyst article by Joe Greco, http://cadence.advanstar.com/2002/0302/fr0302.html , the TriSpectives name seems like it would still be a valid choice even though it doesnt mention the word engineering. Maybe we settle for engineering being in the product motto? I could even imagine the logo being some futuristic or abstract colorful outline of the tri-ball shape! (Im not sure if thats what it was from the start)

 

Although IronCAD, LLC, the developers of the new InnovationSuite, was formed early last year, the company actually has been around for many years. Its roots can be traced back to 1981, when a company named 3D-EYE made its debut. In 1995, it introduced revolutionary 3D software called TriSpectives. A few years later, along came a company called Visionary Design Systems, which added some mechanical capabilities to TriSpectives and released IronCAD 1.0 in 1998. Its corporate focus remained the same until 2000, when the IronCAD software became part of Alventive, a CPC (Collaborative Product Commerce) solution provider. But that didn't last too long; at the end of 2000, Alventive spun off the IronCAD software business and a new company--IronCAD, LLC--was formed.

 

In conclusion, the IronCad product has by leaps and bounds outgrown its current status. The product today is, in my opinion, a far cry from the TurboCads you will find in book stores and has its place right along side of Pro-E and all the others. I feel that the name may be the source of the many glaring eyes and sneers, laughter if you will, when doing engineering and analysis work on a 1.5 billion dollar neutron scattering device (my current project).

 

So, this may be something to consider when the Marketing department doesnt get any calls back from the Lockheed Martins, Boeings, ORNLs, etc. But take some relief in knowing that MDTG is doing its part to convince these monster companies that IronCad, both the company and the product, is more than just a name.

 

 

 

Howard McCall

President CEO

MDTG

www.multidistech.com

Edited September 16, 2005 by mmccall

[tlehnhaeuser]

Hi Max,

Hmmm, did you invade my dreams tlike that guy from DreamScape?

 

Heres my input on this subject which I think is EXCELLENT!!!!!!!

 

-------

I had a dream!!!!

 

I know rebranding is probably not an easy task for the IronDudes since you already have a lot of things branded with “IronCAD” but how’s this sound?

 

For Release 9.0, try this. Release brand new software called something entirely different; it should have a "prestigious name" that doesn't even mention the term CAD, SOLID, or DESIGN or anything along those lines. Maybe hold a contest to come up with a great name.

 

Basically this “NEW” software would be IronCAD 9.0 with a small feature that makes it a step above IronCAD. Also simply change the color scheme a maybe sharper icons would be enough of a change.

 

Then for release 9.0 you could have 3 products in the lineup.

1. Inovate 9.0

2. IronCAD 9.0

3. "i.e. Titanium 2006" (that kind of keeps with the “Iron” theme, and gets rid of version sigma, maybe)

 

All would have the same interface operations but Titanium would have a “cleaner” and more updated interface. All 3 product files would be interchangeable.

 

I think this really should be given some thought on behalf of the IronDudes. I think you would be surprised how a simple name change changes the overall image of a company and its products.

 

tom

[Alex Khenkin]

I agree, the name is the first impression a potential customer has of the product. I had experiences when people were amused by the name of my 3D software. I think TriSpectives was a better name, and you could do something like TriSpectivesCAD or Tri-CAD if needs be, or something - I don't pretend to be a marketing guy here.

---but I'll take transferable settings first

-Alex.

[Marcus Bertilsson]

I also have discovered that customers, clients and couleagues think this when I say that I use IronCAD:

 

-They think it is something puted on top of AutoCAD (a 3:d party app).

 

- That this program only deals with steel beams, with automated drawing production.

 

- That it is some old 2D app ("Have you tested some new 3D program like TurboCAD" has one said to me)

 

After I heared the last one I have stop saying that I use IronCAD, I say only IC or InovationSuite and I have get much better responses, peopels gets more interested directly when I say "InovationSuite".

 

So my sugestion to this is that:

 

-Use the "Inovate" name for all products.

 

-Put maybe a + after for IronCAD like "Inovate+"

 

- Or maybe "Inovate Light" for todays Inovate.

 

/ Marcus