Mentor Graphics Announces New Data-Centric Wiring System Design Tool

WILSONVILLE, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 21, 2003--Mentor Graphics Corporation today announced the availability of the new Capital Logic(TM) software tool for the design of electrical wire harness systems.

The latest addition to the Mentor Graphics(R) Capital Harness Systems(R) (CHS) data-centric design flow announced in February 2002, the Capital Logic tool automates the generation of schematics, significantly minimizing the chance for errors and reducing engineering time on a task that used to take more than one-third of an engineer's time.

"The design of wire harnesses for modern electrical systems is becoming extremely complex while the competitive pressures facing manufacturers continue to multiply. Designers today are looking for ways to automate segments of the design process that allow them to adhere to strict time-to-market deadlines. Capital Harness Systems was designed to address these issues and the Capital Logic tool delivers with the first modern, inherently data-centric solution created specifically for wire harness design," said Martin O'Brien, general manager of the Mentor Graphics Harness Systems business unit.

In contrast to file-based systems commonly used for wire harness design, the Capital Logic tool addresses complex data management requirements via the inclusion of Capital Manager(TM), a relational database and ECAD data management system that is the foundation to all new CHS tools. The Capital Logic tool is also the first CHS application to employ a new Mentor Graphics view synthesis technology which greatly enhances design reuse and overall productivity by generating graphical views directly from underlying data, thus removing the need for costly and error-prone redrawing tasks. As part of the unique data-centric concept-to-manufacture CHS flow, the Capital Logic tool allows manufacturers and suppliers to shorten design times, reduce overall costs and improve quality by simplifying capture of functional and physical schematics and by eliminating data re-entry.

Mentor Graphics has developed CHS based on the specific requirements of the electrical system and wire harness design environment to provide an integrated, data-centric solution that manages the inherent complexity and change management characteristics in these flows, thus allowing OEMs and their suppliers to minimize overall design time.

Automating Data Management & View Generation

The Capital Logic tool includes the Capital Manager tool, which provides powerful data management capabilities and constitutes the core of the CHS environment. The Capital Manager utilities allow customers to manage projects, user privileges and component and symbol libraries and also generate reports of data stored within the Capital Manager database.

The Capital Logic view synthesis feature generates graphical views of connectivity data. This powerful capability can be used for a variety of purposes, from the representation of legacy data to the generation of specific views for documentation purposes. Users can also generate filtered representations of connectivity data for analysis or for sharing with suppliers.

Designed for Ease-of-Use

The Capital Logic tool features a modern, intuitive graphical interface that makes it easy-to-use. Common commands are easily accessed via icons, and multiple windows are available so users can easily visualize project and component data. All design objects have specific characteristics that mirror real-world behaviors, thus presenting users with clear and intuitive options. The Capital Logic tool includes many other ease-of-use features such as graphics/browser cross-highlighting, mouse shortcuts ("strokes"), and dynamic pan & zoom. The Capital Logic tool also includes a symbol editor that supports multiple symbol libraries and allows users to work with several symbols simultaneously. Additional features such as graphical preview of symbols and naming automation further enhance productivity.

Pricing and Availability

The Capital Logic tool is available immediately with pricing starting at US $25,000, including Capital Manager. More information is available at www.mentor.com/harness or by calling 1-800-547-3000.

About Capital Harness Systems

CHS is a complete, end-to-end toolset for complex wire harness creation, with software tools to automate design through manufacture. The Capital Manager tool at the heart of CHS stores and manages all data flows throughout the entire design to manufacturing process. All CHS applications write to and access data directly from this common repository.

About Mentor Graphics

Mentor Graphics Corporation (Nasdaq:MENT) is a world leader in electronic hardware and software design solutions, providing products, consulting services and award-winning support for the world's most successful electronics and semiconductor companies. Established in 1981, the company reported revenues over the last 12 months of about $600 million and employs approximately 3,500 people worldwide. Corporate headquarters are located at 8005 S.W. Boeckman Road, Wilsonville, Oregon 97070-7777; Silicon Valley headquarters are located at 1001 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, California 95131-2314. World Wide Web site: www.mentor.com.

Mentor Graphics and Capital Harness Systems are registered trademarks and Capital Logic and Capital Manager are trademarks of Mentor Graphics. All other company or product names are the registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective owners.

CONTACT: Mentor Graphics                            
             James Price, +44 161 926 1600                           
             james_price@mentor.com                     
             or
             Weber Shandwick             
             Emily Taylor, 503-552-3733                
             etaylor@webershandwick.com