DeskProto sells 1000th license and lowers prices.

For immediate release, Feb 2005.

Utrecht, Netherlands -- Feb 1, 2005 -- Delft Spline Systems today announced the 1000th user of its DeskProto CAM software for Rapid Prototyping. This 1000th license has been sold to Weta Workshop in Wellington, New Zealand. Weta Workshop produces models for the film industry, and has served major productions including The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. This project included manufacturing over 1200 suits of armour, 2000 weapons, all special make up effects and prosthetic suits, and much more.

Weta Workshop plans to use DeskProto with their large 3-axis milling machine made by ShopBot. Applications will be topographical models and scale models, main reason to select DeskProto is its ease of use. Rodney Ford of Weta states "DeskProto in conjunction with the Shopbot would have been great for the ships we did for Master and Commander. I would also have loved to have used it for patterns for a bronze civic sculpture we did last year."

A Shopbot 3-axis machine, using DeskProto toolpaths to create a ship hull.

At the same time Delft Spline Systems has announced a substantial reduction in the prices for DeskProto products. When asked about the reason for this price drop, Lex Lennings of Delft Spline Systems stated "The production cost of software is almost independent of the number of licenses sold, so a higher sales volume makes lower prices possible. The milestone of selling the 1000th license is a very good occasion to announce new, lower prices for DeskProto."

The new prices for DeskProto are:
DeskProto Full -- EUR 995 -- (used to be 1295)
DeskProto Lite -- EUR 248 -- (used to be 295).
These new prices are effective from Feb 15, 2005.

"Congratulations to DeskProto for reaching this important milestone," stated Terry Wohlers, president of Wohlers Associates. "The company has stood the test of time and has developed a good reputation and strong foundation." According to Wohlers Report 2004, a worldwide industry study, 28 companies that manufactured additive RP systems in 2003 sold a total of 1864 systems. In comparison, nearly 300 units of subtractive RP from DeskProto were sold in 2004, according to Lennings.

Applications for DeskProto show a great diversity. While originally developed for Rapid Prototyping of consumer goods, many units are being sold to other application areas such as jewelry, footware, medical, arts and ceramics. Users range from small design bureaus and model shops to well-known Fortune 100 companies, including Intel, Lancome, NASA, Siemens and Sony-Ericsson. A number of interesting example projects can be seen at the Deskproto Gallery.

About Weta Workshop

Weta Workshop Ltd and its sister company Weta Digital Ltd are Academy Award winning visual effects facilities based in Wellington New Zealand. Weta offer world class special effects for international feature films and commercials. The company is best known for its visual effects work on New Line Cinema's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, directed by Peter Jackson.
For more information, visit www.wetaworkshop.co.nz.

About Wohlers Associates

Wohlers Associates is an 18-year old consulting firm that provides technical, marketing, and strategic advice on the new developments and trends in product design, prototyping, tooling, and manufacturing.
For more information, visit wohlersassociates.com.

About DeskProto

DeskProto by Delft Spline Systems is the 3D CAM program that has made CNC milling a competing technology for Rapid Prototyping. The software can import STL files from any 3D CAD system, and can export NC program files suited for any 3-axis CNC milling machine. Key features are low price, high speed and ease of use (the software is aimed at designers, not at CAM specialists). Clients range from one person design and model shops to very large companies like Sony-Ericsson, Unilever and NASA.
For more information, visit www.deskproto.com

DeskProto is a registered trademark of Delft Spline Systems.