Pointwise is solving the top problem facing engineering analysts today: mesh generation for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and other numerical simulations. The company has been a premier supplier of grid generation software and services to the engineering analysis community since 1994. With its decades of expertise in development, support, and application of robust software for real-world meshing challenges, Pointwise has helped industry, government, and academic clients worldwide bridge the "design - analysis gap."

Market Opportunity

CFD is a key component in manufacturing industries' push toward virtual product development (VPD). VPD decreases design cycle cost, shortens time to market, and improves product performance through utilization of computer software for 3D product design, analysis, testing, and manufacturing.

Specifically, CFD analysis techniques can determine the response of a product to fluid, thermal, and other conditions of its operating environment before any hardware prototypes are built. CFD applications include predicting the lift generated by an aircraft's wings, computing the pressure losses as exhaust gases flow through an engine's manifold, and calculating the heating of turbine blades.

Underlying all computational analyses is a digital model consisting of many small elements assembled to approximate the product. Generating this digital model, called a grid or mesh, is the barrier to realizing the full benefits of VPD analysis since it typically requires 80% of the labor of the entire process. Since Pointwise focuses solely on the preprocessing segment of the VPD market, it is well positioned to help its clients fully leverage the benefits of VPD.

Products and Services

Pointwise's two software products, the next-generation Pointwise and the cornerstone product Gridgen, are used by engineers and scientists to generate grids for CFD and other computational analyses. The software is known for producing high quality grids, making analysis more reliable and accurate, and for their ability to work with imperfect Computer-Aided Design (CAD) geometry without requiring manual cleanup.

In addition to Pointwise and Gridgen, Pointwise's Native CAD Readers can be used to read CAD geometry from its native format directly into Gridgen without using a CAD license.

Pointwise also provides mesh generation services, custom software development, and contracted research in the grid generation field.

Company History

Development of Gridgen began in 1984, pre-dating Pointwise. During the period 1987-1994, development of Gridgen was funded by the United States Air Force, and NASA Langley and Ames Research Centers. The Gridgen software developed during this period was widely distributed and used throughout government labs, DoD contractors, and academia. In 1994, Gridgen was privatized through a technology transfer agreement with the U.S. Government, and Pointwise was born. The next-generation product, Pointwise, was released in 2007 and couples Gridgen's time-tested suite of meshing techniques with a modern user interface. The company has grown rapidly since its founding and continues to maintain this growth as more and more engineers discover the value of its products and services.

Clients and Partners

Pointwise's software is currently in use at close to 500 sites in 18 countries around the world. The client base is typified by world-class organizations like Lockheed Martin, Northrop-Grumman, Boeing, Raytheon, General Dynamics, and NASA and by leading edge applications such as the space shuttle, Joint Strike Fighter, F-22, Advanced Turbine System, and advanced submarines.

Strategic distributorships have been established in China (ATE), Finland (CFD Finland), France (SIREHNA), Germany (CFD Beratung), Israel (Israeli CFD Center), Italy (Poroto Ricerca), Japan (VINAS Co., Ltd.), Southeast Asia (Virtual-Tech Consulting), South Korea (TAEYANG IT), Taiwan (Flotrend), Turkey (Anova), and the UK (CFD Technologies). Reseller and OEM arrangements have been established with several developers of commercial CFD software.

Location

Pointwise HQ in the
Historic Biccochi Building

Pointwise maintains its worldwide headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas, located about 30 minutes southwest of DFW International Airport. Corporate operations, product development, and sales and support for North American and international clients are performed in the Fort Worth office.