Kubotek was founded in 1985 in Japan by Tetsuo Kubo. The U.S. branch, Kubotek USA, was formed in 2003 and is the parent company of Kubotek 3D, the maker of the Kubotek CAD software KeyCreator, which we are familiar with, among other things. As of September 8, 2022, Kubotek 3D is now operating as Kubotek Kosmos.
According to the Kubotek Kosmos News website, this change in name reflects the focus on successful next-generation software technology developed in the 3D Framework that underpins all the tools produced by Kubotek Kosmos.
In addition, the Kosmos name relates to the astronomy-based function names and terminology used throughout the programming interface, which allows users to precisely define and analyze geometric objects in an unlimited 3D space. Kosmos is also meant to appeal to a target market that is mostly in aerospace.
The list of products developed by Kubotek Kosmos starts with its 3D Framework, which has been a key development in new versions of several of the company’s second generation of interoperability products, particularly the K-branded line. These new enhancements have contributed to an average 400 percent improvement in processing time for customer datasets.
3D Framework is a geometry kernel used in the Kubotek KeyCreator CAD program but is primarily geared toward tools for the interoperability and exchange of geometry created by other kernels. Most geometry kernels are proprietary and their development is not particularly motivated by interoperability. This makes the 3D Framework kernel—and the product line built on it—different from the rest.
3D Framework, developed in 2018, in addition to being used in all of the Kubotek Kosmos products, is also licensed to other developers of interoperability software. Some of the key developments in 3D Framework that have driven these changes include improvements in multiple fields.
Improved support for the transfer of data types- Includes GD&T data with 3D models and 2D drawings
- Works with solids, surfaces, wireframe and 2D sketch/drawing data
- Includes feature recognition for holes and fillets
- Includes variable precision support sizes from millions of miles to microns
Exchange data with all MCAD data types
- Preserves native complex definition structures
- Supports neutral and proprietary data types
- Bridges between systems with different modeling precision
Technical development performance
- Provides significant advances in multi-threading
- Delivers multi-platform (OS) support
- Uses smaller code libraries to improve memory management
- Is optimized for database operations
Kubotek Kosmos tools related to interoperability include K-Compare Revision, K-Compare Validate, K-Display Convert, K-Display View, as well as the KeyCreator family of CAD creation tools. More detailed reviews of new features in recent releases of 3D Framework-based versions of K-Display and K-Compare can be found on engineering.com here.
The KeyCreator family of products is available on Windows operating systems and is locally installed. The products can be permanently licensed or leased as stand-alone or floating licenses. All of the interoperability improvements in 3D Framework are available when using KeyCreator to import and export CAD data. Kubotek also provides a free viewer called KeyCreator Viewer, which is currently available as a 2023 version.