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A Case Study of 360Glassware.com. Pine Research Instrumentation are a talented group of chemists and engineers who develop custom laboratory set ups for customers, which often includes glassware and custom electrodes. They’re the brains behind 360Glassware.com and they’ve been using DriveWorks Pro as an Online Sales Configurator to power it. Let’s find out more… The Problem Before using DriveWorks, Pine Research Instrumentation had found that there was no fast and easy way for customers to get custom glassware. Due to the complexity of the product, it would take roughly 2 – 4 weeks to provide a quote which was a labour intensive process for their…

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Automating the design of custom windows and doors using DriveWorks. This month we’re focusing on the Architectural Components industry and the benefits of using design automation and sales configurator software in the industry. Origin are using SOLIDWORKS and DriveWorks to design and manufacture custom windows and doors. Origin are the UK’s leading specialist manufacturer of bespoke, doors, windows and blinds. Founded back in 2001, the ‘3 man band’ family business has since grown to become a global company, with offices in the USA, Middle East and Europe. Origin are using SOLIDWORKS to help them develop their products in a timely manner and to speed…

A vast industry made up of Same but Different products that are perfect for Design Automation. Architectural Components are the unique details and components that, together, form the architectural style of houses, buildings and structures. There are many different products that could be classed as architectural components, such as: • Custom Windows• Beams / Supports• Sky Lights / Sunroofs• Balconies / Balustrades• Elevators• Stairways All of these products are usually the Same but Different each time they are manufactured, depending on customer requirements. This presents a brilliant opportunity to utilize Design Automation software like DriveWorks. Speeding up design changes with a rules…

This month we’re focusing on Education. We’re passionate about Design Automation and also believe in the importance of investing in the future of design and manufacturing, so we want to encourage students to use their educational licences of SOLIDWORKS. The use of SOLIDWORKS within education helps to bridge the gap between ideas and technology by helping to prepare students for careers in design and engineering. SOLIDWORKS offer three options for those in education; there is one aimed at Educators, one for Students and one for those engaged in Academic Research. In particular SOLIDWORKS wants to equip students with vital skills that employers require. SOLIDWORKS is currently taught…

We love meeting people who have an interest in technology, who are passionate and keen to learn. This month we’re focusing on the Education Sector and the role that DriveWorks plays when educating our team, customers and resellers. Each year we invest in our team and we recruit several interns to join or Technical, Development and Commercial teams for 12 month placements. This is a great opportunity for the students to gain real world experience to help them with their studies and an even better opportunity for us to gain more great team members. We’re proud to have achieved our Investors in People award and encourage personal development. Several…

This month we’re focusing on the Education Sector. Our Tech Team have created a tutorial in DriveWorks Solo for configuring a bicycle frame that we want to share with schools and colleges throughout the world. The tutorial provides an introduction to using the software, so we decided to test it on our marketing intern Danielle. Let’s find out how she got on… Hi everyone. As part of our spotlight on Education I was asked to test the Bike Frame tutorial that our Tech Team have created. This was my first experience of using SOLIDWORKS and DriveWorks Solo so I was…

Learning is really encouraged for our personal development here at DriveWorks and providing training for others is also an essential part of what we do. Last week a few of us benefited from Photoshop training and Maria asked us to think about how it was delivered, the material supplied and compare it to our own DriveWorks Solo and Pro Training material course content, style and delivery. An external trainer joined us at the Barley Store to deliver a two day training course to help us sharpen our Photoshop skills.  Jess, myself and two of our tech guys, Rob and Chris were on the course. As…

ZCL Composites Inc. have been using DriveWorks Pro for only four months and have already seen some great results. We recently caught up with them to find out how they’ve been using the software… Established in 1987, ZCL Composites Inc. has grown to become North America’s leading designer, manufacturer and supplier of cost-effective fibreglass storage tank systems to the petroleum industry. They offer both underground and aboveground tank options that can be used for a variety of applications, including storing fuel, wastewater and hazardous chemicals. Why DriveWorks? ZCL were attracted to DriveWorks Pro due to its ability to automate the creation of 3D…

Industry Spotlight: Transportation Each month we’ll be focusing on a different industry and creating industry specific Design Automation/Configurator Projects for you to use. This month the spotlight is on the Transportation Industry and the types of products included. Our Shipping Container Project uses DriveWorksXpress and has been updated for use with SOLIDWORKS 2015. If you have SOLIDWORKS 2015 then DriveWorksXpress is already installed and waiting for you. Just go to the SOLIDWORKS tools menu. Then simply select Xpress Products, then DriveWorksXpress. If using it for the first time you will just need to activate it by following the on screen steps. You…

Our best bake sale yet, all in aid of Cancer Research UK. Despite the rain, Friday’s DriveWorks Charity Bake Sale was even bigger and better than last year. The bake sale was brilliant with lots of our neighbouring companies from our Laskey Farm site supporting the afternoon, along with staff and residents from local care home, Cheshire Grange. Howard and Wendy Platt took visitors on a tour of their beautiful gardens that have featured in Garden News. We also held a raffle and with brilliant prizes donated by The Park Royal Hotel, local artist James Lavott and the DriveWorks team, it was a great success, helping us to raise lots of money for Cancer…

Tom DiLaura, from the DriveWorks team at CADimensions, recently caught up with their SOLIDWORKS customer, Riverhawk Company to see what they’ve been up to and find out how they have made the most of the free design automation tool, DriveWorksXpress. Riverhawk Company’s engineers use SOLIDWORKS and have successfully implemented and been working with DriveWorksXpress for the past three years. Josh Suppa, a draftsman at Riverhawk Company, explained to Tom that they first discovered DriveWorksXpress a while ago through a Lunch and Learn webinar held by CADimensions. DriveWorksXpress is primarily used by Riverhawk Company for their Hydraulic Pushers. They have set up many projects, but this…

We’re already looking forward to the next event! We’ve been going to DEVELOP3D Live since it began in 2012 and in 2015 we were a Silver Sponsor again. We had a great time, so we’re really excited to hear that planning is already underway for the next event. DEVELOP3D Live 2015 featured over 30 amazing speakers from a variety of world renowned design, engineering and technology companies. There were also 60 exhibitors, including DriveWorks, showcasing the latest in product development technology. The stage hosted many key players, including SOLIDWORKS CEO, Gian Paolo Bassi, who presented on What’s next for SOLIDWORKS.…

A special parcel for Thomas caused a stir in the Tech Team…. Our French intern Thomas received a very exciting delivery today. So exciting that all our tech boys gathered around his desk to take a look. It even led to all the Sales and Marketing team peeking over. But what was it that caused such a stir? A French keyboard! We were all very excited to check out Thomas’ new gadget and figure out the differences between a French and an English keyboard. Other than the layout of the letters, the accents were a huge giveaway! Thomas will be…

Use DriveWorks on the go with an Online Product Configurator for mobile and tablet. Imagine you are a sales rep or distributor visiting a customer. They’re telling you all of their product requirements and you’re hurriedly scribbling down their specifications on a piece of paper. You have no idea if some of these complex design changes are possible but you’ll check with the engineers when you’re back in the office. Now imagine if instead, you could open up a browser on your mobile or tablet and design and configure custom products, to the customer’s exact specifications, in minutes, right in…