A computational tool that can estimate how long a component will last even before it is produced promises to revolutionize engineering, but illustrates the hurdles innovations must overcome to earn a place in the heavily regulated aerospace industry.

Brentwood, Tenn.-based Vextec developed its Virtual Life Management (VLM) simulation tool with aerospace in mind, but the early adopters have been in the industrial equipment and automotive supplier industries, where warranty costs from premature failures eat directly into the bottom line.  (READ MORE...AVIATION WEEK:  PDF 45KB)

Firm’s unique product simulation technology singled out from more than 500 companies nationwide

Brentwood, TN, February 10, 2009 – The U.S. Air Force has awarded VEXTEC Corporation a contract to help develop a durability simulator for cutting edge, gas turbine engine components. It is expected that these new components be able to withstand operating temperatures ranging from 500F to 1300F, and as a result extend the range of the engines by improving fuel efficiency. The company will use its Virtual Life Management (VLM) technology to characterize component durability over the widest possible range of operating conditions, running billions of interactive metallic grain simulations in minutes.

The United States needs to become more nimble in acquisition of military technology, using planning methods that can sharply reduce the number of years it takes to put new weapons into the field, says a long-time defense official and adviser to President Barack Obama during his election campaign.

Some of those techniques already have been used to rapidly deliver improved protection against roadside bombs in Iraq, said Paul G. Kaminski, who served as undersecretary of defense for acquisition & technology in the administration of U.S. President Bill Clinton. But he noted that it can take as many as 20 years to develop a missile or aircraft today, a life-cycle that can discourage talented designers and engineers from pursuing national security careers.   (READ MORE >>> LINK TO ADVANCING SCIENCE, SERVING SOCIETY)

Firm’s unique product simulation technology singled out from more than 500 companies nationwide

Brentwood, TN, November 17, 2008 – VEXTEC Corporation is one of top 25 emerging technology companies with the most potential for accelerated military and commercial applications of their commercial product.

The U.S. Army established its new Commercialization Pilot Program (CPP) in response to the 2006 National Defense Authorization Act. Its purpose is to increase Army emerging technology transition and commercialization success, thereby accelerating the fielding of capabilities to soldiers and benefiting the nation through stimulated technological innovation, improved manufacturing capability, and increased competition, productivity, and economic growth. MILCOM Venture Partners (MILCOM), a venture capital firm specializing in companies whose offerings intersect the military and commercial worlds, was responsible for reviewing the more than 500 companies the Army has been making technology investments in.

TERRE HAUTE - A new high-tech testing laboratory appears to be set for construction soon in Terre Haute.

VEXTEC, a company co-founded by Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology graduates that uses sophisticated computer technology to test things such as jet engines, could be breaking ground on a high-tech laboratory facility near Terre Haute International Airport-Hulman Field soon, airport and VEXTEC officials said Friday.

"We're working toward closing" a deal, said George Brattain, a Terre Haute attorney representing VEXTEC, a Nashville, Tenn.-based company co-founded by Rose-Hulman graduates Loren Nasser and Robert Tryon III. "Hopefully that [closing] will occur soon," Brattain said. (READ MORE... LINK TO THE TRIBUNE-STAR)

Nashville , TN., Feb 19, 2007 – The U.S. Army has awarded VEXTEC with a multi-year contract to develop a business decision software tool that considers vehicle piece cost, reliability and reliability cost as integrated functions. Historically components that make up a new military vehicle system have been procured based on supplied cost alone. Poor vehicle reliability costs money. The military can save millions of dollars annually buying higher cost components when “best-value” shows overall total cost reduction. Dr. Animesh Dey, VEXTEC Chief Product Development Officer, commented, “ …given the computer processing power available today, it is now possible to virtually simulate millions of vehicle systems using conventional laptop computers. We can now accurately simulate reliability as well as reliability cost or warranty even before the first vehicle rolls off the assembly line.”

About VEXTEC:

VEXTEC Corporation is a privately-owned software, consulting, and services company headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. VEXTEC has a comprehensive staff of engineering, scientific, and software development and business application specialists. VEXTEC has company representatives in San Francisco, California; New Orleans, Louisiana; Detroit, Michigan; and Dayton, Ohio.

Product reliability influences every aspect of the corporate structure –from design and customer perception to marketing, finance, procurement, and operations. Yet reliability responsibility is usually delegated to specialty units stove-piped within large corporate organizations. The expectations are high but it’s impossible for isolated specialty groups to oversee, understand, and react to all the organizational business decision making assigned to them. This is impractical given the pace of individual decision making. VEXTEC has developed a family of products that work together through an enterprise framework called Reliability Chain Management (RCM). RCM provides a new executive level of insight about product performance that is missing within the existing PLM software space. Through RCM, those organizations adopting the new reliability centric mindset will relegate the others to non-competitive threats of the past.

Nashville , TN., May 15, 2006 - VEXTEC Corporation announced today that the United States Patent & Trademark Office has awarded the company U.S. Patent No. 7,016,825 entitled, “Method and apparatus for predicting failure of a component.” This is VEXTEC’s second patent in its growing portfolio relating to reliability prediction through virtual simulation. Ever increasing economic demands require that products and structures have high reliability. It is usually the case that similar product components vary widely in their operating lifetimes. “This award by the Patent & Trademark Office is an official recognition of VEXTEC for inventing a method and apparatus for accurately predicting failure of a component using microstructure-based modeling,” stated Dr. Robert Tryon, Chief Technology Officer. “The patent covers 31 individual claims for world-class innovation for simulating the way product components change and degrade over time through use.” This technology has been incorporated within the VPS-MICROTM software module within the VEXTEC DCRM enterprise-level solution application.

About VEXTEC

VEXTEC Corporation is a privately-owned software, consulting, and services company headquartered in the Nashville Tennessee area. VEXTEC has a comprehensive staff of engineering, scientific and software development and business application specialists. VEXTEC has company representatives in San Francisco, California; New Orleans, Louisiana; Detroit, Michigan and Dayton, Ohio.

VEXTEC will soon launch a new enterprise solution software package enabling reliability engineering to be approached at a new strategic level within the corporate organization and between companies, strategic partners and vendors. Manufacturers mastering the modern and updated version of the complexities of the art and science of reliability, will be able to execute at the corporate level with a new rational crispness like never before. Those manufacturers will significantly out-perform manufacturers that do not. Our premise is simple: The cost of physical tests is rising. The cost of computer cycles is plummeting. It is common sense to replace the former with the later.

Nashville , TN., March 1, 2006 - VEXTEC Corporation announced today that the United States Patent & Trademark Office has awarded the company U.S. Patent No. 7,006,947 entitled, “Method and apparatus for predicting failure in a system.” This is VEXTEC’s first patent in its growing portfolio relating to reliability prediction through virtual simulation applications.

“This award by the Patent & Trademark Office is an official recognition of VEXTEC as a technology innovator,” stated Dr. Robert Tryon, Chief Technology Officer. “The patent covers 83 individual claims for incorporating what is already known about a launched product to predict into the future. This will impact maintenance plans while enhancing operational safety and market perception about product reliability.” The significant value of this technology can’t be overstated. VEXTEC envisions that such technology will eventually be integrated within most products delivered to the marketplace, including autos, aircraft, electronics and even facilities themselves.

About VEXTEC

VEXTEC Corporation is a privately-owned software, consulting, and services company headquartered in the Nashville Tennessee area. VEXTEC has a comprehensive staff of engineering, scientific and software development and business application specialists. VEXTEC has company representatives in San Francisco, California; New Orleans, Louisiana; Detroit, Michigan and Dayton, Ohio.

VEXTEC will soon launch a new enterprise solution software package enabling reliability engineering to be approached at a new strategic level within the corporate organization and between companies, strategic partners and vendors. Manufacturers mastering the modern and updated version of the complexities of the art and science of reliability, will be able to execute at the corporate level with a new rational crispness like never before. Those manufacturers will significantly out-perform manufacturers that do not. Our premise is simple: The cost of physical tests is rising. The cost of computer cycles is plummeting. It is common sense to replace the former with the later.

Nashville , TN., January 9, 2006 - The reliability of the final system is a function of the reliability of all of the parts, including interconnections between the parts. If component reliability is sufficiently understood, it becomes possible to mathematically model the contributions to overall system reliability from each of the lower level elements. The Army has tasked VEXTEC with development of a new software package for predicting reliability, performance, and cost of future military systems as integrated functions. This tool will enable Army leadership, engineers and designers to assess the real world effect of materials and manufacturing variability in order to make rationale decisions about specifications and manufacturing controls requirements as well as how future systems should be procured.

About VEXTEC

VEXTEC Corporation is a privately-owned software, consulting, and services company headquartered in the Nashville Tennessee area. VEXTEC has a comprehensive staff of engineering, scientific and software development and business application specialists. VEXTEC has company representatives in San Francisco, California; New Orleans, Louisiana; Detroit, Michigan and Dayton, Ohio.

VEXTEC will soon launch a new enterprise solution software package enabling reliability engineering to be approached at a new strategic level within the corporate organization and between companies, strategic partners and vendors. Manufacturers mastering the modern and updated version of the complexities of the art and science of reliability, will be able to execute at the corporate level with a new rational crispness like never before. Those manufacturers will significantly out-perform manufacturers that do not. Our premise is simple: The cost of physical tests is rising. The cost of computer cycles is plummeting. It is common sense to replace the former with the later.

Nashville , TN., June 13, 2005 - Broad-spectrum software analysis packages have shared a common deficiency: the inability to efficiently couple engineering solutions within an overall design development framework. This deficiency is significant because, in the real world, individual physical phenomena are often interdependent. The Air Force recently tasked VEXTEC with development of a new software package resulting in robust analyses of turbine engine design solutions. This simulation tool will integrate several engineering analysis software packages under a single graphical interface.

About VEXTEC

VEXTEC Corporation is a privately-owned software, consulting, and services company headquartered in the Nashville Tennessee area. VEXTEC has a comprehensive staff of engineering, scientific and software development and business application specialists. VEXTEC has company representatives in San Francisco, California; New Orleans, Louisiana; Detroit, Michigan and Dayton, Ohio.

VEXTEC will soon launch a new enterprise solution software package enabling reliability engineering to be approached at a new strategic level within the corporate organization and between companies, strategic partners and vendors. Manufacturers mastering the modern and updated version of the complexities of the art and science of reliability, will be able to execute at the corporate level with a new rational crispness like never before. Those manufacturers will significantly out-perform manufacturers that do not. Our premise is simple: The cost of physical tests is rising. The cost of computer cycles is plummeting. It is common sense to replace the former with the later.