Interview with Eric Pinkel (Npower Software)
What’s coming next in NPower software, you are also planning a plug-in for other 3d softwares?
Our fist Goal for the immediate future is to continue our commitment to our existing professional customers by providing a reliable high end NURBS / Solids modeling environment within 3ds Max. We are also dedicated to the tens of thousands of individuals who have downloaded and loved our product but could not justify purchasing a professional NURBS / Solid modeler. That being said I believe the next big step for us will be the introduction of the Power NURBS “Personal Learning Edition”.
What has been the biggest challenge in the NPower Software so far?
I would say our biggest challenge has been making a product that we are happy with. Eric’s not happy modeling something simple. For our first release of Power NURBS, Eric built a very detailed motorcycle with absolutely everything filleted and rounded. For the second release, he built a race car with very detailed surfacing. So Gary and Dahjiun work insanely for a few months before the release to get the software to the point where it can not only build the model, but do it in an intuitive, user friendly way. Gary’s not happy just building another set of surfacing construction tools, he wants to build a tool set where all of the surfaces are dynamically related to each other and to the original construction curves so the users edit things without having to reconstruct things from scratch.
 Which type of support you provide to the registered users as well as to the evaluation version users?
For our larger accounts we provide onsite training and project and workflow consulting. We are also proud to provide one on one phone, chat and email support for customers who purchase any npower product. For anyone interested in npower products we provide an extensive help menu link for each tool directly in the Max UI. Just look for the Question mark. We also have a extensive online collection of high quality streaming movies ranging from simple how too’s, to complex construction tutorials.
What other artists and major studios said about your product? Please give us some genuine feedbacks/testimonials which are not just goody-goody.
I know this may be hard to believe but we usually get really good feedback. The negative feedback we get is typically bug related or new customers who may not be familiar with some of the advanced modeling tools. We are always happy to take the time to listen to our customer’s problems and advice. I think our success to date is based on our commitment to solving our customer’s issues and adapting to their needs. Please take the time to brows our forums and our testimonial pages to see what our customers are saying.
Can you tell us how many people are working here and from what a background does everyone comes?
There are four of us that comprise both IntegrityWare and nPower software.
 Gary Crocker – I grew up in a small town in the state of Maine and attended the University of Maine where I got my BA in the Math Department with Computer Science as a minor. After that I also got Masters Degree from RPI in Electrical Engineering while working for two years at General Electric Research and Development in Schenectady, New York. I then transferred to a GE division in California known at the time as Calma. Calma was subsequently acquired by Prime Computer which later became Computervision. I originally graduated with the plan to work in the Graphics Field but at General Electric, I found the closely related 3-D Geometry field much more challenging and interesting. In 1996, I formed IntegrityWare, Inc without venture capital to provide Geometry Software Libraries.
 Dave Gill – I grew up in El Cerrito, CA, and attended Brigham Young University, where I obtained a BS in Design Engineering, graduating Magna Cum Laude. I joined GE Calma (which was later acquired by Prime Computer, and then Computervision), where I worked on the Dimension III CAD product line. I later became the Systems Architect for the AEC division, then Director of AEC applications development, and later the Systems Architect for the Pelorus CAD engine. I later became the site manager for the San Diego Computervision team directing the Personal CAD products. After leaving Computervision, I founded the San Diego division for AutoDesk, and served as the site manager, and one of the founders and managers of the Autodesk Inventor product. I joined IntegrityWare in January, 2003. I have worked almost 25 years in the CAD industry on various products.
 Dahjing Wang - I grew up in Taiwan and came to the United States in 1985 for educational purposes. I have been involved in research & development in Geometric Modeling since 1990 when working toward my Master’s degree in Computer Science in Arizona State Univ. Later, I joined geometric-modeling-kernel group of Computervision lead by Gary and became key developer of next generation modeling software. I joined Gary as the second employee of IntegrityWare, Inc, in 1998. Since then I have contributed my mathematical and geometry expertise toward developing advanced modeling tools for both NURBS and Polygonal Modeling.
 Eric Pinkel - I received my BFA in Sculpture and design, shortly after I did a 3 year tour of duty with Blur studios. I then moved to a 3ds Max application engineer position within Discreet. I was based out of LA working and freelancing with artists in gaming, Film, and architecture sectors within California and the Southern United States. I then took a position at Advanced Rendering Technology in the UK as application engineer focusing on the automotive market in the US. My next position was a consultant with Daimler Chrysler and Armstrong white to develop a Catia to Max visualization pipeline and today I am at nPower overseeing their product line.
As you know, Online Piracy poses a major threat for all companies, what you are doing to save your products from this?
Software piracy is a fact of life and we like every other software developer take the standard approach to protecting our product and our reputation. We currently employ a standard two key authorization for individual seats of nPower Software and are currently working to incorporate the Autodesk ACAP Turbo Squid 3ds network licensing security model.
It has been my personal experience that there is a crack for every good product on the market today and that artists typically use cracked software to play with. However, when they get a paying job that requires real results from the software, professionals typically invest in a legitimate copy.
Anything you like to add? It is your chance now to state your opinion about anything.
For me personally my greatest desire is that everyone has the opportunity to experience modeling with Power NURBS. Our galleries our filled with images that say it all. http://www.npowersoftware.com/gallery.htm
Related Links:
Npower Website: www.npowersoftware.com
Npower Tutorials: www.npowersoftware.com
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