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SolidWorks customers speak out about collaboration benefits |
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SolidWorks Express interviewed Paul Smith of Delphi Automotive and Dave Christensen of Empire Comfort Systems, Inc. to explore some of the benefits they've experienced using SolidWorks® Collaboration Edition. Read their comments and gain some insights concerning how real-time collaboration could improve your product design and development process. Paul Smith, Delphi Automotive
"Our prototyping effort requires good communication with both our pressure die-cast foundry and our service bureau," Smith adds. "In the past, this would have been a serial process: first, rapid prototyping; second, communications with the service bureau; third, communications with the pressure die-cast foundry. With 3D TeamWorks, we are pulling together all of the disjointed links of information in a serial process into a single process. This helps us save time and avoid misunderstandings because we have a focused project area where we can communicate and interact with both parties in real time.
"There's been a lot of talk recently about just-in-time manufacturing," Smith notes. "Just-in-time communication is just as relevant. Concurrent design and manufacturing demand concurrent communications to identify and resolve potential errors. When you begin conducting traditionally serial operations concurrently, you need a tool like 3D TeamWorks to ensure that you develop a quality product on time."
"Historically, we have experienced a month of lag time on each design iteration with our supplier in China," Christensen explains. "We design the components in SolidWorks, which we export as DWG files because our supplier doesn't have SolidWorks. Because of the difficulties involved in emailing large files and faxing hard-copy drawings and the time and geographic barriers, it could take several iterations and months before we receive the part." Because 3D TeamWorks allows users to convert design data into multiple CAD formats and provides for back-and-forth communications, Empire Comfort has been able to shorten lead times for cast-iron parts. "The big benefit of 3D TeamWorks for us is that we can reduce the number of iterations by having a good communications link with our supplier. Using 3D TeamWorks, we intend to achieve just one design iteration by doing a better job of working through the issues," Christensen says.
"Enabling suppliers to review and mark up SolidWorks designs – even when they don't have SolidWorks software – is crucial to our communications," said Dave Christensen, Vice President of Engineering at Empire Comfort Systems. Empire uses 3D TeamWorks to collaborate on designs for its heating, fireplace, and outdoor cooking products. "For example, 3D TeamWorks has dramatically improved design collaboration with our key suppliers. We can work with them on designs, even for complex products, in real time, rather than waiting up to a month for their initial review. SolidWorks Collaboration Edition sets the standard for 3D CAD design creation and review."
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