PLOT APPROXIMATION BOOSTS RESPONSIVENESS FOR VISUALIZING LARGE DATA SETS

Bellevue, WA - November 19, 2001 - Amtec Engineering, Inc., developer of data visualization software, announces Release 2 of Tecplot® 9.0, its flagship technical plotting package for engineers and scientists. Plot Approximation Mode, a key new feature in this release, allows the visualization of huge data sets with the on-screen responsiveness of small data sets. Tecplot users will now be able to save time exploring and creating plots of even larger amounts of data.

Changing plot details, such as adjusting the 3-D viewing angle, zooming in and out, setting colors, and switching properties, consumes time. Computing each change and re-rendering million-point data sets can result in choppy rotation, translation, zooming, and slow interface response - frustrating users.

Plot Approximation Mode improves interaction when visualizing large data sets. Amtec?s implementation of level-of-detail visualization technology is simple in concept: remove parts of the plot that contribute the least amount of visual information when you do not need the detail. However, implementation of level-of-detail is not simple. You must know when to remove the detail, how much to remove, where to remove it, and how to reconstruct the surface from remaining data points.

This key feature can be active all of the time, active only while changing views, or completely turned off. Tecplot is initially set to remove 99% of the data points from displayed surfaces. With only 1% of the data points remaining, rendering is substantially faster and can be performed without hesitation. Users can adjust this percentage at any time to balance plot detail with interactive responsiveness. Users can make Tecplot render the fully detailed plot automatically after a series of changes or only on manual command.

?Plot Approximation Mode allows our customers to do a great deal more engineering work in much less time,? says Mike Peery, president of Amtec. ?When they have mountains of data to visualize, they can rely on Tecplot to quickly create the plots precisely how they want them.?

Tecplot 9.0 is Amtec?s versatile plotting and data analysis software program, combining general technical plotting and exceptional 3-D scientific data visualization. Tecplot is intended for engineers and scientists working with large data sets, as well as analysis and testing. With high-quality on-screen graphics and presentation-quality output, Tecplot is a ?one stop shop? for data visualization. Tecplot 9.0 Release 2 is available for Windows 95/98/NT/2000, Linux, and most UNIX workstations. Prices start at $1,395 in the U.S. For more information visit www.amtec.com, call (800) 676-7568 or (425) 653-1200, or send e-mail to info@amtec.com.

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Amtec and Tecplot are trademarks of Amtec Engineering, Inc., registered in the United States Patent & Trademark Office. Any other trademarks or copyrights referenced herein are the property of their respective owners. =======================================================

Amtec Engineering, Inc. 13920 SE Eastgate Way, Suite 220 Bellevue, WA 98005 Tel: (425) 653-1200 Contacts: Wade Tibke (Ext. 208) E-mail: info@amtec.com Info: http://www.amtec.com/