MCS (Manufacturing and Consulting Services) was originally founded by Dr. Patrick Hanratty in 1971. A pioneer in the CAD industry, their best-known software is called AnvilCAD. I had no arguement with public relations person Linda VandeVrede when she wrote me, "MCS has been off the radar screen for the last few years."
The company is working on a comeback, developing what Ms VandeVrede describes as "yet a new direction in the 21st century for designers looking for tools to meet this new century's challenges." She reports that the first in a series of products will be announced shortly.
Update
Today AnvilCAD Lite (US$595 + $125 optional support) is being announced as the first in a series of new products that MCS plans to roll out over the next year. "Lite" is a lighter version of DesignDrafter, minus the extras "included over the years at the request of individual companies." Hmmm.... leaving out user-requested enhancements?
Company ceo Dr. Hanratty says, "For 16 years [that would be 1988] the CAD industry has made no progress in making CAD software easier to learn and easier to use. At the same time there has also been no progress in providing true gains in product design capability. CAD companies have focused on data management such as PDM and PLM, and specific applications, but little else. In addition to the ongoing improvements for our Anvil Express software, over the past five years we have directed our efforts into two other channels; reducing learning time by over 75% and creating a modeling system that fully makes use of today's compute power and language tools. We believe there is no need to make full CAD functionality either high-priced or difficult."
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