You will need to use your new MyDriveWorks account to register, if you dont have an account yet, its quick and easy tocreate one.
The Phoenix Mecano Group is a global company, headquartered in Switzerland, with a presence in 48 countries worldwide. The company design and manufacture a range of products including Industrial Enclosures, Assembly and Positioning Systems and Motorised Drives. The group has 8 global manufacturing locations, with India being a strategic sourcing hub for the last 27 years.
We recently caught up with Prashant Malavankar, Engineering Head at Phoenix Mecano India Pvt Ltd, to find out how DriveWorks has improved their design process.
Using DriveWorks, Phoenix Mecano India has developed a CPQ solution for their product line of Ex enclosures that are used in explosive atmospheres. The design of these products differs depending on their specification, with every product undergoing customer-specific customization when it comes to machining and population of components.
Before adding DriveWorks, the engineering team at Phoenix Mecano would configure each individual project, including all the components, only using SOLIDWORKS. Based on the bill of materials output derived from each new specification, costing would then be calculated using an excel spreadsheet.
This was a lengthy process that Phoenix Mecano wanted to automate.
With the CPQ solution developed in DriveWorks, response time has been improved and customers can expect a much shorter lead time on their requests for a quote.
As DriveWorks automates SOLIDWORKSoutputs, Phoenix Mecano has also used DriveWorks to automate drawing creation. Customers now receive an automated drawing along with their quotation, which enables them to better visualise the purchased product.
Phoenix Mecanos customers are not only receiving their quotations much faster because of DriveWorks, they are also receiving their ordered products much faster because manufacturing lead time has been significantly reduced.
This has created a much better end to end customer experience.
When asked what limitations DriveWorks Pro has helped Phoenix Mecano to overcome, Prashant highlights that:
When discussing their implementation, Prashant also adds that DriveWorks is user friendly and works seamlessly with SOLIDWORKS.
We look forward to following Phoenix Mecanos journey with DriveWorks!
For more information about Phoenix Mecano and their products, visit www.phoenix-mecano.co.uk.
DriveWorks product configurator software is used by companies of all sizes. It’s suitable for any industry where quotes or 3D files and drawings are part of the sales to manufacturing process.
See how versatile and customizable it is by having a go with our online configurator examples on www.driveworkslive.com
Monmouth Scientific are UK market leaders in Clean Air Solutions. They specialise in Filtration and Ducted Fume Cabinets installations.
In-house Design Engineer, Peter Shirvington, has been using DriveWorks as a Design Automation and Product Configurator since 2013. In early 2020 he introduced the software at Monmouth Scientific.
Since then, Peter has created a 3D configurator that has been rolled out to the in-house sales team.
Monmouth Scientific offer a standard range of products, and also design and manufacture bespoke systems. The product range includes different cleanroom solutions and Peter has been focusing his time on this range with DriveWorks.
Monmouth Scientifics end goal with DriveWorks was to have a clean room configurator that would enable the customer, assisted by the sales team, to design their own bespoke cleanroom.
Peter spent 4 months creating the first version of the 3D configurator with DriveWorks.
One of the key features of the configurator is the 3D preview functionality as it allows the user to see an interactive 3D model of the item they are configuring.
Users can also dynamically interact with 3D in the configurator to create interactive 3D layouts.
For example, a user can click around the form to build their bespoke clean room, with the model automatically updating in 3D on the form.
They can rotate the model, add walls to the cleanroom and see what their end product will look like.
Peter has also built in functionality to automatically work out the ceiling dimensions, based on the walls added.
The configurator also contains the ability to replace entities, for example for putting in a door, or a hatch.
Monmouth Scientific Clean Room
Introducing the 3D configurator has saved both the sales team and the design team a lot of time in the design-to-order process.
Previously the sales team would manually do some rough sketches of the customers layout, or they would ask the design team to create a 3D layout in SOLIDWORKS, which was understandably time-consuming.
Now they can have a 3D image for every quote and they can interactively work through the layout with the client. The design information that then comes through to the design department is a lot more accurate.
In the latest iteration of the configurator, Monmouth Scientific has also been using DriveWorks to automatically generate the SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD data required to manufacture the clean rooms.
DriveWorksproduct configurator softwareis used by companies of all sizes. Its suitable for any industry where quotes or 3D files and drawings are part of the sales to manufacturing process.
See how versatile and customizable it is by having a go with our online configurator examples onwww.driveworkslive.com
At DriveWorks World 2021, we were joined by over 450 DriveWorks customers, resellers, and partnersfrom39 different countriesto talk and learn about all things DriveWorks.
We know first-hand the importance oflearning and being inspired by others. The conversations andknowledge sharingare always akey part of DriveWorks World.
Over the course of the 2-day event, we heard from avariety of companies who are using DriveWorks. Many people shared their experiences and the many different ways they use DriveWorks.
As part of this, we had a chance to speak Sean Borchert, Mechanical Engineer at Masterflex速. After meeting Sean and learning more about him, we invited Sean to share his story as to how DriveWorks has played a role in his professional career.
Several years ago I was working at a company in the semiconductor industry. Our local SOLIDWORKS reseller hosted an event and I learned about DriveWorks. It caught my eye and after learning what it can do, I thought I can do this and make life a lot easier! After the event, I pitched it to my employer. While we didnt purchase DriveWorks Solo or Pro at the time, I was able to learn DriveWorksXpress. By learning DriveWorksXpress, I was able to use it to help automate some of our repetitive designs.
Additionally, I used DriveWorksXpress when I was doing some work for a consulting firm. We had hundreds of customers and it was great to use it internally to handle the repetitive designs and models that can be used across industries.
As a matter of fact, I used both of the previous experiences in the interview I had for other roles I had before Masterflex速. My previous employer had never heard of automated software for engineering. It was great to bring it to light and show them what it could do. We basically took a model that used to take 4 hours to make changes down to about 45 seconds. It was awesome and revolutionary to their business and stakeholders.
Absolutely the way I see it, DriveWorks is Engineering 4.0. So many companies are automating their manufacturing and shop floor technologies, but not their design process. DriveWorks is that next step in the process by taking on the automation of design.
Now I will add that I am not a futurist (he laughs) I am just a lazy engineer! In my job, I dont want to do the same things over and over again. Copy and paste can get quite boring! The way I see it, we can adapt and evolve, or we can wither and be passed by competition.
Automation is a part of our lives whether we like it or not the future is happening right now!
Certifications are definitely important and have played a big part in my own career. It wasnt until I was an adult that I went to university, so I found it useful to have the certifications as a way to position myself in a competitive job market until I had my degree.
It was around 2009 that I achieved my Certified SOLIDWORKS Associate (CSWA). After that, I studied and achieved my Certified SOLIDWORKS Professional (CSWP). After meeting and speaking with both Glen and Maria, I learned about the DriveWorksXpress Associate Training and Certification (CDWXA) and went on to complete that as well.
Once I had these certifications coupled with my experience, it really pushed me forward and allowed me to stand out in the job market.
We have recently worked through the DriveWorks Pro training with our reseller and Im spending some time to learn what the product can do and plan our next steps. At some point in the future, I will pursue the Certified DriveWorks Professional (CDWP).
After taking the DriveWorks training with our reseller, we are now working with them to create a scope of work for the projects. We need to create a plan of what we hope to achieve and then start planning how we will get there. Our reseller will mentor us along the way, which is great we are fortunate to have their team in our corner supporting DriveWorks.
Our stakeholders understand this is not a short-term program this will be our future if we take the time to plan things correctly now.
The biggest thing is to understand what this software can do and how it can change your design work! We are not reinventing the wheel – DriveWorks has been around for 20 years and its proven. Anyone that is just getting started rest assured that you have made the right choice, and this was the right move. Its going to help not just you, but the entire company to grow and be successful.
Honestly, its been wonderful. At first, I felt guilty that in the middle of this global pandemic I was able to leave my other company on my own and take a chance with Masterflex速.
It was a friend of mine that had suggested that I apply for the job he had randomly heard about the position. My interviews were all done through Microsoft Teams. As a matter of fact, not only have I not met anyone in person yet, I dont even have an office. We have our weekly team calls and it all works. Honestly, I dont know how easy it will be to go into an office after this; it will be different, but so far, the job and onboarding has been wonderful!
Join us at the next DriveWorks Drivers meeting on Thursday 17th June.
You will need to use your new MyDriveWorks account to register, if you dont have an account yet, its quick and easy tocreate one.
Dolphin Solutions, headquartered in Robertsbridge UK, design and supply a range of products and accessories for commercial washrooms.
We recently caught up with Robert Allen, Product Design Engineer and main DriveWorks Administrator at Dolphin Solutions to see how theyve implemented the software over the past few years.
Dolphin Solutions purchased DriveWorks in 2017 with the aim of creating an online sales configurator tool that would help them to achieve two key targets;
Before DriveWorks, Robert manually designed each individual bespoke mirror unit from scratch using SOLIDWORKS. He also manually created all the production files for the product.
The sales team handled the initial request. Then Robert designed the unit which then needed to be signed off before being sent to production.
This was a lengthy and time-consuming process, involving a lot of back and forth between Robert and the sales team to ensure the design for the bespoke product was not only to the customers specification but also that it was correct for manufacturing standards.
This process could take days and even weeks before the customer received the product theyd ordered.
Dolphin Alavo Washroom System
Once DriveWorks was introduced, the sales process was completely transformed.
The sales team can now take the configurator tool to the customers on laptops and tablets.
They can guide the customer through the product options on the configurator, and submit an order straight to the design team.
Errors have also been significantly reduced, as the automated process ensures that every product option selected is manufacturable and is ready to be sent to the manufacturing floor.
Robert Allen, Product Design Engineer, Dolphin Solutions
Robert also wanted to create an online configurator that was easy to use, contained all the relevant information, but was also aesthetically pleasing, slick, and professional.
Robert used DriveWorks to create a flowing set of pages, that easily guide the customer through the configuration process.
Knowing the value of this to the company, Robert was given the time to create a great experience.
Robert has created forms that guide users based on their selections, for example, the height of the washbasin, the number of wash stations, and appliances.
Each time a selection is made, the online configurator filters the customer a step closer to a final design.
Based on the previous selection, options will become greyed out if they are unavailable.
Robert has also used the Tooltip Text property to display extra information when a customer hovers over a control.
This declutters the form and also ensures that the customer inputs the correct information.
When a customer has completed a specification, their details are captured on the last page of the form and they are given a unique specification ID.
This allows Dolphin to track orders and assign the ID to the customers project.
An email alert is also triggered when a specification is complete, automatically sending an email to the sales and marketing team, with information such as the customer name, email, phone number and company.
The customer also receives one automatically as confirmation of their request.
To eliminate even more design time, Dolphin Solutions have also automated the creation of drawings.
The process used to be manual, but now with DriveWorks and SOLIDWORKS working together, a drawing is automatically generated for each specification, ready for manufacturing.
Dolphins configurator has been live for over 2 years now and they are consistently recording more interaction with it month on month, with a slight dip owing to the global pandemic.
When asked how theyve achieved so much success with DriveWorks, Robert says that a huge factor is being given dedicated time to work on DriveWorks.
When first tasked with creating the configurator, Robert went to his directors and said if you want me to deliver DriveWorks, I am going to need some serious time on this.
Robert then spent 50-75% of his working time on DriveWorks for the year leading up to the release of their impressive online configurator.
Having achieved their two targets; reducing design time and improving customer experience, were excited to see what else this innovative company achieve next!
Explore our online product configurator examples to see the many different ways DriveWorks can be used for design automation and digital selling.
Carrosserie Cazaux are a leading manufacturer of custom-made refrigeration units for carrier vehicles of up to 26 tonnes, as well as containers, cold rooms, trailers and custom units.
Based in France, Carrosserie Cazaux was founded in 1983.
Carrosserrie started using DriveWorks Solo in 2019 and used it to develop a configurator inside SOLIDWORKSthat drives dimensions and appearances.
They have also automated the placement of different features on a model.
When describing how DriveWorks has benefitted the company, Guillaume Guerin, design engineer at Carrosserie Cazaux says that “DriveWorks is interactive and fun to use, more flexible, and benefits from the excel syntax in the rules builder.”
Guillaume says that this is particularly beneficial when first learning how to use DriveWorks.
At Carrosserie, DriveWorks is used internally by the engineering team.
Since implementing the software, they have found it much easier to train up new members of the team, owing to the simplicity in writing the rules and in using the software itself.
Guillaume says that Carrosserie have benefitted particularly from using tables in DriveWorks Solo.
The ability to work with tabular data allows the user to import data into static tables, from any existing databases and spreadsheets.
This data can then be queried and used to drive new variations.
Carrosserie Cazaux also uses DriveWorks Solo to automate the creation of manufacturing data and drawings.
The image on the right shows an example of a custom 2D drawing that has been automatically generated by DriveWorks Solo inside SOLIDWORKS.
Each drawing is updated and customized with the company logo, the designer, the date and the client. It is then ready to be sent to the manufacturing floor.
Carroserrie Cazaux have also benefitted from the ability to design their own forms inside DriveWorks Solo.
These then appear in the SOLIDWORKS task pane.
Using decisions, you can also set up a custom navigation.
This allows you to show specific forms and follow a set path based on values entered.
When asked what the most important thing about implementing DriveWorks Solo has been for the company, Guillaume says the speed in getting our products into production.
We look forward to following the progress at Carrosserie Cazaux!
Follow the 3 easy steps below to download the DriveWorks Solo 30 Day Free Trial and see what time savings you can achieve.
Automate SOLIDWORKS Parts, Assemblies and Drawings.
Save time, reduce errors and innovate more.
HW Ventilation, based in Rescaldina Italy is a leading company in the ventilation and air movement systems industry.
They design, produce and sell axial impellers and ventilators for industrial use. This includes engine cooling systems, compressors, industrial plants and HVAC systems.
Automatically Generated 2D Drawing created using DriveWorks Solo
Before implementing DriveWorks, their lengthy design process required an engineer to draw every new product or variation of an existing product from scratch inside SOLIDWORKS.
Automating this process now enables them to quickly draw 3D models of any type of fan, based on a set of standard variables, such as blade and hub types, fan diameter, material and colour rotation.
The DriveWorks Solo project also automatically generates brand new SOLIDWORKS files and manufacturing data, such as bills of materials and 2D drawings, based on each individual form input.
When describing the time savings achieved with DriveWorks Solo, Ing. Morlacchi, the main DriveWorks user at HW Ventilation says:
Implementing DriveWorks Solo has enabled HW Ventilation to respond to customer demand faster and with more efficiency, as they now spend a lot less time drawing the same but different designs.
Their customers now receive a drawing of the product they require almost instantly, and personalised quotes are sent out much quicker.
Having achieved their target of reducing engineering time spent on repetitive and low value-add activities, HW Ventilation are looking to the future of what they can accomplish with DriveWorks.
Ing. Morlacchi says that their next step will be to scale up their current DriveWorks Solo projects to DriveWorks Pro and implement an online configurator that will enable their customers
AMCA 210 Test Chamber
Follow the 3 easy steps below to download the DriveWorks Solo 30 Day Free Trial and see what time savings you can achieve.
Automate SOLIDWORKS Parts, Assemblies and Drawings.
Save time, reduce errors and innovate more.
Frangus Ltd is a design consultancy that specializes in the design of materials handling equipment for the rail and construction industry.
We recently caught up with founder and Managing Director of Frangus, David Thomson, to see how theyve been getting on with DriveWorks Solo.
He told us Frangus have been using the software for four months, and have already developed a number of configurators for standard parts, such as pin and hydraulic cylinder assemblies, as well as for whole products, including excavator adapter heads and rail tracking devices.
Before DriveWorks Solo, David explained that Frangus would design to order the hard way.
They used SOLIDWORKS for creating CAD models but to create new products or configurations, they needed to take a pack and go of a similar product, then re-number the parts and assemblies. They then had to re-work every part, sub-assembly, weldment and the general arrangement drawing.
Now, with DriveWorks Solo, this whole process is automated inside SOLIDWORKS.
Since implementing DriveWorks, David says that one of the key benefits hes experienced is a colossal time saving once the configurator is set up, which translates to more work done in less time. This directly impacts the bottom line.
David adds:
Products ready for dispatch
David states that the ability to use tabular data to drive the design is one of the most important DriveWorks Solo features that Frangus are currently using.
This feature allows them to, for example, create a model of a standard hydraulic cylinder, complete with all the drawings and data required for procurement with part numbers tailored to the clients systems, in under three minutes, where previously this could take over three hours.
When asked about the design limitations DriveWorks Solo has helped Frangus to overcome, David says:
Follow the 3 easy steps below to download the DriveWorks Solo 30 Day Free Trial and see what time savings you can achieve.
Automate SOLIDWORKS Parts, Assemblies and Drawings.
Save time, reduce errors and innovate more.
Germany-based Hauff-Technik GmbH & Co. KG is known far beyond the country’s borders for high-quality solutions when it comes to underground installations of water, electricity, gas or media lines into a building.
Hauff-Technik has the right product for every case – from the foundation to the roof – and seals. In addition to the headquarters in Hermaringen in the Heidenheim district of Baden-W端rttemberg, Hauff-Technik GmbH & Co. KG has another production site in Switzerland, Hauff-Technik Swiss AG.
The company employs a total of 375 people and supplies the European, Asian and Arab markets with Hauff products – made in Germany.
Innovation and customer proximity are particularly important because with 50,000 unique items per year, Hauff-Technik delivers exactly what the customer wants.
– J旦rg Schmid , Head of Development and Design at Hauff-Technik GmbH & Co. KG
The Hauff-Technik portfolio includes not only cable and pipe seals, but also complete solutions, such as multi-branch house connections or individual press seals for the reliable sealing of cables and pipes that are or have been placed in core bores or wall sleeves. An individual customer requirement is often associated with a higher design and production effort.
But how do you manage 50,000 individual customer projects per year with an average production time of 24 hours?
The designers at Hauff-Technik have always worked very successfully with the 3D CAD software SOLIDWORKS. With the help of an in-house design guideline, sophisticated design templates and continuously optimized processes, the processing of orders has been significantly accelerated over the years.
However, customer requirements are becoming more and more complex. At the same time, appointment requests are becoming shorter and shorter.
As a rule, a design employee needs around 16-24 hours for the manual design of a component specially designed for the customer. This is time that designers could be spending on important development tasks.
J旦rg Schmid, Design and Development Manager at Hauff-Technik, recognized this early on: “In order to be able to deliver a high level of individual production in an extremely short time at a fair price, an automation solution must be found!”
Depict countless variants within minutes at the push of a button on the basis of a 3D CAD model.
With simultaneous creation, transfer and management in the ERP system including all production-relevant information and order data as well as common part testing.
The management, J旦rg Schmid and his team wanted a solution that went beyond pure construction processing. There are many 3D CAD configurators, but only a few that offer integration with the in-house ERP system and are scalable up to sales.
The choice, therefore, fell quickly on the DriveWorks automation software and the established SOLIDWORKS partner COFFEE.
DriveWorks offers all the advantages of a product configurator, fully integrated in SOLIDWORKS, and the constructions can be connected directly to sales and inventory management.
The creation of models and drawings of products that are the same but different is done automatically in SOLIDWORKS by DriveWorks, including all data and information relevant to production.
In addition, documents accompanying the product (PDFs, Excel, etc.) are created and stored in the PDM system.
– Christos Delikostas , Sub-Project Manager Variant Design , Hauff-Technik GmbH & Co. KG
“DriveWorks has a simple, logical structure and is user-friendly,” says Mr. Christos Delikostas, sub-project manager for variant design, describing his benefit from the additional software: “As a SOLIDWORKS designer, it is simply easy because the software is fully integrated.”
In merchandise management, articles and materials are automatically created and checked using ERPWorks in the ERP system. Characteristics for the calculation for pricing are delivered directly to SAP and a common part check is carried out in order to avoid creating duplicates.
All of this is initiated by just one process and thus saves considerable time and the designers can use the freed resources for new developments.
The sales employee configures the appropriate quotation data directly from SAP and receives the associated production documents and quotation drawings for the customer as a result.
– J旦rg Schmid proudly reports on the successful implementation in close cooperation with the COFFEE GmbH project team.
The management of Hauff-Technik GmbH & Co. KG is already thinking a step further, as J旦rg Schmid explains:
With the SOLIDWORKS software solutions and with COFFEE as a strong partner, Hauff-Technik GmbH will achieve this goal and we look forward to seeing their progress!
Explore our online product configurator examples to see the many different ways DriveWorks can be used for design automation and digital selling.
DriveWorks is used by manufacturing companies from a range of industries.
DriveWorks is modular, scalable and incredibly versatile so our customers use DriveWorks in many different ways, customising their Design Automation and CPQ solutions to suit their needs.
We’re always interested to hear the different ways our customers use the software we’re proud of, we regularly post customer case studies on our blog. Here are a selection of quotes from some of those case studies…
“What I knew of DriveWorks was that it was a CAD automation system. But, once we started exploring the product, it became very obvious that it could do much more reaching into our existing business systems to reuse data that could change how we connect with end-users and distributors to drive more sales.”
-Pete Robinson, Manager of Engineering Systems with WernerCo
We really believe that it has made it very easy to specify a system, so our biggest benefit from implementingdesign automationinto our company is the user experience, giving the customer the ability to configure our product and be able to see all the different configurations available from that product in real-time.
– Jonathan Beattie, Managing Director, Dolphin Solutions
Introducing DriveWorks has revolutionised the way IMA design their products. They have nowconfigured DriveWorks for layout and component designing.
DriveWorks has played a crucial role in our day to day work, helping us to achieve two important goals; time-saving and accuracy.
– Mr Mayur Patil, Manager, IMA PG
HSI has been using DriveWorks since 2017, to automate the design process of their cranes. They started initially using DriveWorks Solo.
End users are so happy that they dont have to sit around waiting for a quote, that they keep returning faster and they can do it on the site too
– Michael Townsend, Lead Mechanical Designer, Handling Systems International Inc
Thanks to DriveWorks, we provide quotes and drawings for each custom order, at no extra cost. Customers can get a quote anytime they want it, 24/7/365. With every order, customers receive everything they need. We are building customer loyalty, increasing sales and avoiding mistakes.
– Richard Twiddy, Design Office Manager, F.H.Brundle
For us, the most important thing about DriveWorks is the ability to create custom bespoke software utilising visual wizards rather than heavy coding. This allows our company to build and customize quickly and easily. We now have more time to focus on our workflow and business analytics
– Adam Baker, Operations and IT Manager, BKW Instruments
DriveWorks has allowed us to automate the routine processes that we undertake day in and day out, with traditional bridge design. This automatic creation of models and drawings rapidly improves the turnaround time to reach sign-off on designs and makes all downstream benefits possible
– Dr Scott McGovern, Digital Engineering Lead, Laing O’Rourke
For us, the most important thing about DriveWorks is that it helps us to drive consistency and maintain control of our engineering data.
Using DriveWorks, we’ve reduced the amount of time taken to complete forms from half a day to only 30 minutes.
– Martin Clenick, Engineering Manager, Shotton Group
We use DriveWorks for quoting and approval drawings for almost 160 teams and 530 users. We also use DriveWorks for production part component generation for various product lines and a whole bunch of other great stuff!
– Christopher Zona, Manager – Systems Automation, Blue Giant
We value many things about DriveWorks.
Most importantly is the ability to take a design standard and use the configurator software to produce an error free streamlined custom
bearing design.
Ray McDaniel, CAD Engineer, Oiles America Corporation
For us, the most important thing about DriveWorks is definitely the time saving benefits. We can accommodate much tighter delivery schedules and still havethe room to innovate and adapt to meet our customers requirements.
– Chris Kinder,
Design Department,
Pattern Forme Ltd
With DriveWorks Pro, we have been able to design our products with greater accuracy, consistency and productivity. Were pleased with our experience so far and were excited about where we can take this experience in the future.
– Design Team,
ZCL Composites
Inc.
Before using DriveWorks
we would create 20 quotes in a month, now we can do 20 in a day.
The process in the past was labour intensive as prices need to be calculated each time and
drawings all had to be prepared manually.
– David Martin, Managing Director, Elite Balustrades
In its current state, DriveWorks outputs 245 files, 60 of which are assemblies, 85 are drawings and the rest are parts files. With DriveWorks handling repetitive tasks, our engineers are freed up to focus on customized aspects of our designs, such as the internal cabinets of the vehicle.
Shawn Casebolt, Engineering Lead, PL Custom Body.
There was the need for a time saving process to reduce engineering time, so called Zero Effort Engineering (ZEE). When implementing DriveWorks Pro, our target for order-engineering was to go back from 2 hours to 15 minutes. This target has been achieved with DriveWorks.
– Rob Beffers, Manager Integrated Process Control, Rademaker BV
We implemented DriveWorks Pro and saw a 55-minute process go down to 30 minutes. The benefits of Design Automation are very, very real.
Dave Mandl, New Product Development Engineer,
S辿ura
At NGI, my main challenge is to create documents
for a lot of parts, and this has proven pretty
difficult to do
without DriveWorks.
– Tomas Hecht Olsen,
R&D Manager,
NGI A/S
One consistent software package that simplifies quoting and ordering and is easy to use, for our in-house customer service and our external distributors.
– Terry McGowan, President and CEO at Thordon Bearings
We truly hope and believe DriveWorks will generate
an extremely short
pay-back in getting
Clear Vision Cooling off the ground
– Jurnjan van den Bremer, Commercial Direction, Clear Vision Cooling
If you’ve got SOLIDWORKS, you’ve already got DriveWorks! Our free design automation tool,DriveWorksXpress is included under the tools menu in every license of SOLIDWORKS. All you need to do is activate it.
Download a 30 day free trial of DriveWorks Solo to try out the full functionality for yourself. Get access to all of our handy online resources to help you get the most from your trial.
Have a go with our many online configurator examples to see how versatile and customizable DriveWorks Pro is. Enter your email address to get the full experience, receive quotes and view your designs in 3D.
Oasis Trailer Mfg Ltd has been manufacturing custom trailers in Rolling Hills, Canada since 2006.
We recently caught up with Draftsman Jake Loewen to see how theyve been using DriveWorksXpress to speed up their design process.
Oasis Trailers build mostly custom trailers and focus on custom welding.
Jake has been using DriveWorksXpress for over a year and has implemented the software to create correct manufacturing drawings for the axles.
Using DriveWorksXpress, Oasis Trailers have created a simple form where they enter three inputs. These inputs automate the requirements for the Hub Face, the Spring Center and the Wheel Options of the axles.
Oasis Trailers have also taken advantage of the different form building options in DriveWorksXpress, using both the drop-down and spin button feature.
Each time a new specification is entered on the form, DriveWorksXpress works in the background to calculate the rules and drive the SOLIDWORKS model.
Through implementing DriveWorksXpress, Oasis Trailers have experienced several benefits, including:
When setting up the projects, Jake took advantage of the free DriveWorksXpress resources, such as the DriveWorksXpress Training and Certification and the DriveWorksXpress Getting Started Webinar to advance his knowledge of the software.
DriveWorksXpress is included free inside every license of SOLIDWORKS. Activate your license in the SOLIDWORKS tools menu, using your MySolidWorks account.
Handling Systems International Inc. is a leading manufacturer of Jib Cranes, Gantry Cranes, Workstation Cranes and Bridge Cranes, headquartered in McCook, IL USA.
HSI has been using DriveWorks since 2017, to automate the design process of their cranes. They started initially using DriveWorks Solo.
At HSI, cranes can range from 6 feet to over 300 feet, handling multiple capacities from 500 pounds to 40000 thousand pounds.
Part numbers can also range from 80 for a small system into the thousands for a larger system, making them extremely configurable.
Lead Mechanical Designer, Michael Townsend, downloaded the free DriveWorks Solo 30-day trial and created a small project to demonstrate the software capabilities to his colleagues.
After purchasing DriveWorks Solo, the company created their first project, but soon realized that they wanted to create a customer-facing online tool, and therefore upgraded to DriveWorks Pro.
Owing to the scalability of DriveWorks software, the data captured in the DriveWorks Solo projects was not lost and was easily migrated to form the basis of their DriveWorks Pro web-enabled project.
Since purchasing DriveWorks Pro, HSI has been working on Quotinator, their online tool for dealers, customers and distributors.
Quotinator uses DriveWorks and SOLIDWORKS to provide scaled drawings and quotes for their recently released NikoRail enclosed track cranes, as well as standard jib and gantry cranes.
Dealers can access Quotinator from anywhere, through the distributor login on HSIs website.
Lead Mechanical Designer Michael Townsend says:
Quotinator was BETA tested internally for two months and then rolled out to distributors.
To use Quotinator, a distributor or customer must request a login from HSI. This is an extra security step to ensure HSI knows who is accessing the online configurator.
It also doubles as a sales tool, because they can track who is interacting with the site.
HSI is also constantly improving and adapting the configurator and product options in response to customer demand.
The aspirations for the Quotinator and DriveWorks dont stop there as they are looking to integrate DriveWorks with their CRM system too.
HSI believe in continuous improvement and are utilizing the form building tools found in DriveWorks to enhance the look and feel of the UI to make Quotinator even more user friendly, particularly on mobiles.
We look forward to following their progress! For more information about HSI and their products, visit www.hsicrane.com
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IMA PG is a leading pioneer in packaging solutions in India. Operating in the pharmaceutical industry, theyve been designing and manufacturing machinery for various pharmaceutical products and tablets since 1961. IMA PG work closely with DriveWorks Value Added Reseller Pelf Infotech Private Limited, based in Pune.
Before DriveWorks, IMAs design to manufacture process required an engineer to design every part component by changing each dimension manually. They also had to give annotations and dimensions for every view in a drawing sheet. With so much manual input, the risk of costly human error in the design process was high.
DriveWorks is currently used by the engineering team internally and has been implemented in the design process of almost every product range at the company.
Introducing DriveWorks has revolutionised the way IMA design their products. They have now configured DriveWorks for layout and component designing.
This means an engineer can now input the requirements for each individual specification into their form.
Once the form is completed, the new model along with its manufacturing data is automatically generated and ready to be sent to the manufacturing floor.
Using DriveWorks Automation, IMA can respond to sales enquiries much faster, reducing their lead time significantly, opening up even more sales opportunities.
Cavity Die is a part of the design process that has benefitted particularly from DriveWorks. The Cavities are changed depending on each individual specification, for example they might be round, or an oblong shape.
This process is now specified and controlled through DriveWorks Automation, and the plate size is driven through variable parameters.
The outputs generated by DriveWorks are also now created from the Master Model.
Since installing DriveWorks, IMA PG have seen a significant time reduction in their design process.
Before DriveWorks, design time peaked at four days and this has now been reduced to just one day. Costly manufacturing errors have also reduced significantly, and IMA PG are now at 80% drawing accuracy across their product line.
Mr Mayur Patil, Manager at IMA PG says:
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COVID-19 has brought about many challenges for businesses across the world, and many are struggling to cope with the extra challenges of the rapidly changing world.
Companies who are smart, agile, and open to change have not only survived this pandemic, they have thrived.
You may have seen our CEO, Glen Smith, talking about this in recent issues of DEVELOP3D magazine. As a team, we’ve used this time to create, innovate and improve. We’ve released a major version of our software, hosted a digital training event, worked with local education partners to inspire students, welcomed new team members, and just generally made better use of our travel time.
What’s made all of this possible, and our transition to home working smooth, is our investments in technology and our commitment to digital transformation.
Over the past few weeks, we’ve also been hearing from our customers who have been embracing change and thriving as a result.
Whether they’re changing their manufacturing to provide much-needed supplies, working on new product ideas, or using this time to improve and work on projects they dont usually have time for, many of our customers are focusing on moving forward and working smarter.
PMF solutions are a manufacturer of customized industrial solutions such as workstations, trollies, material-handling, furniture, and more, based in Switzerland.
Ever since they first purchased DriveWorks, we’ve enjoyed seeing PMF’s success. They have taken a scalable approach to building their DriveWorks projects, starting small and building up over time. This approach has seen them move quickly with their DriveWorks projects and reap the benefits immediately.
Right at the beginning of lockdown, PMF proved their agility and quick thinking by designing Plexi separations. As they call it, their ‘spirit of survival’, meant they acted quickly to avoid any decrease in sales.
They even set up a DriveWorks configurator for the screens in a matter of days, so customers could easily configure and order screens that met their exact needs.
Most recently – PMF Systems proudly announced their partnership with Bauhaus, one of the largest players in the Swiss DIY market. Now customers can go to a Bauhaus center and configure a table.
They’ve made the whole process simple and efficient. The point of sale is right next to the woodcut. Using PMF’s DriveWorks configurator, customers can configure their custom design and buy the supplies in one shopping trip.
Throughout this pandemic, the PMF Systems team have really pulled together and are surviving as a result.
To see more of what they have been up to, including their lunchtime games and grills, check out their LinkedIn Company Page.
We look forward to seeing what they work on next!
Handling Systems International, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of Jib and Gantry Cranes, Workstation and Bridge Cranes in the US.
They have been working on Quotinator, an online quote tool for dealers. Quotinator uses DriveWorks and SOLIDWORKS速 to provide scaled drawings and quotes for their recently released NikoRail enclosed track cranes, as well as standard jib and gantry cranes.
Dealers can access Quotinator from anywhere, through the distributor login on H.S.Is website.
Speaking about the project, Mike Rehor, Vice President of Sales and Marketing said:
H.S.I have invested in digital transformation and remained committed to their project throughout this pandemic, and it has certainly paid off.
They are another great example of an agile, tech-driven company responding to changing markets and thriving, and empowering their dealers to thrive too.
We also think it has a great name – Quotinator!
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WeatherGuard are using DriveWorks software, not just as an engineering automation tool, but to drive sales and also generate more revenue than ever before.
WEATHER GUARD, a WernerCo brand, is an industry leader in truck and van storage equipment, including truck boxes, drawer units, shelving, cabinets, and racks for trucks, vans and utility vehicles. Their products allow for more oragnized trucks and vans for greater productivity, whilst providing superior protection against break-ins and weather.
Previously, WEATHER GUARD’S customers would visit their site searching forvan products.Using a 2D configurator they would determinethe right fit and customized combination of products.
However, this solution wasnt keeping pace with users requirements. Adding new vehicles and van products to the system became difficult to update.
There was a huge void in the market and we wanted to fill the gap.
– Stacy Gardella, Vice President of Brand Marketing, WernerCo
The number one priority for WEATHER GUARD was that the configurator had to be 3D in order to provide an extremely realistic view of an installed van product package.
Secondly, long-term sustainability was a must.
It was also essential that the solution was developed in a way that integrated with other business systems.
Specifically, WEATHER GUARD wanted to be able to leverage data within their Product Information Management (PIM) system, allowing seamless additions of new SKUs or vehicles.
We were after longevity and ease of use while bringing an intuitive and engaging experience to end users.
– Pete Robinson, Manager of Engineering Systems with WernerCo
WEATHER GUARD was then introduced to DriveWorks Pro at SOLIDWORKS World. They reached out to DriveWorks reseller,Fisher Unitech.
Fisher Unitech showed them the DriveWorks custom trailer configurator example, giving Werner insight into what was possible with its end-users vans.
What I knew of DriveWorks was that it was a CAD automation system. But, once we started exploring the product, it became very obvious that it could do much more reaching into our existing business systems to reuse data that could change how we connect with end-users and distributors to drive more sales.
– Pete Robinson, Manager of Engineering Systems with WernerCo
WEATHER GUARD developed a Proof of Concept to demonstrate the ability of DriveWorks software to their key stakeholders. They also began brainstorming ideas that could be deployed in several phrases.
Fisher Unitech and WEATHER GUARD also visited one of the companys largest distributors, touring the facility to see van installations. During this visit, it became clear that while it was critical to provide a 3D customization experience, the system needed to serve as a lead generation tool dramatically reducing lead and engineering time to boost sales.
“The most important part of the week was the focus on scoping the project, and gaining consensus about what we were going to deliver. Fisher Unitech helped facilitate that discussion and did an excellent job of setting expectations and helping to develop a very detailed scope document with priorities for phase one.Fisher Unitech stood apart for the companys willingness to teach us how to fish, giving us the tools, support, and knowledge to manage the system on our own.
– Pete Robinson, Manager of Engineering Systems with WernerCo
With WEATHER GUARDs previous 2D configurator, a user-submitted configuration would take up to three days to be assigned to a distributor. However, distributor feedback revealed that not acting on leads within the first four to eight hours can mean lost business.
WEATHER GUARD wanted to be able to send referrals to distributors immediately, creating a viable lead pool to close more deals.
As a result of using DriveWorks, requests are now immediately sent to a distributor for follow up, and the company has gained visibility into the complete lead lifecycle. The opportunity is captured in Salesforce, allowing WEATHER GUARD to track status all the way through to close, accurately capturing sales dollars.
The speed of DriveWorks is critical because it enables distributors to get a lead within minutes and allows us to see when the prospect was contracted, quoted and closed,
– Pete Robinson, Manager of Engineering Systems with WernerCo
WEATHER GUARD has not only built an engineering tool but also used the functionality inside DriveWorks to create a highly successful lead generation and sales tool that allows stakeholders to know exactly how much revenue is coming through the configurator to measure ROI.
The company is relying on DriveWorks to increase completed configurations, boost distributor referrals and drive salesanticipating a five percent increase in annual sales as a result.
Our configurator lets us directly interact with end-users, create referrals for distributors and help them visually sell WEATHER GUARDs van products more effectively.
– Stacy Gardella, Vice President of Brand Marketing with WernerCo
Read More: Fisher Unitech
IMI is an industry leader in providing both permanent magnets and electromagnets for work holding, lifting, fixturing, conveying and magnetic separation. The company specializes in providing personalized service, innovative solutions, and custom fabrication designing, engineering and manufacturing industrial-grade magnetic products to meet customers specific requirements.
One of our Value Added Resellers, Fisher Unitechworked with Industrial Magnetics to learn more about how DriveWorks serves as the company’s automation operating system for tasks ranging from the creation of 3D models and detailed drawings to the generation of quotes and even Bills of Materials for manufacturing.
A significant piece of IMIs business is creating custom products per customer requests. With hundreds, and in some cases, thousands of legacy models, keeping pace with design changes to support these customizations while maintaining the desired pace for standard product releases proved challenging.
Already usingSOLIDWORKS 3D CADsoftware, IMI wanted to take an integrated approach to improve operations, with tools to accelerate product development, reduce the cost of custom designs and orders, enhance product quality and provide fast responses to customer requests.
With the help of Fisher Unitech, IMI decided DriveWorks wasthe best software for their needs.
We pride ourselves on building just about anything to meet a customers needs and were looking for efficiency improvements to work smarter and faster.
-David Dewey, Engineer with Industrial Magnetics.
Fisher Unitech was instrumental in helping us get this project off the ground. Their technical team had the ability to shift from the minutia of clarifying product specifications, to helping us navigate the culture change of this deployment, showing an impressive range of skills and support.
–David Dewey, Engineer with Industrial Magnetics.
IMI is a middle market, privately-held corporation, which has cultivated a culture that values and supports the talents of its employees. The company recognizes that tapping into the creativity of its staff plays a key role in maintaining the companys success supporting a trajectory of 10 percent year-over-year revenue growth.
Customers can now see exactly what was configured and what they will receive, long before engineering has to sink the time in to generate a complete model with full production details.
– David Dewey, Engineer with Industrial Magnetics.
With DriveWorks at the core, the company has integrated its CRM and ERP system, creating a centralized platform to support day-to-day operations.
Everyone in the process stream customers, sales, engineering and manufacturing can now see the same information, said Dewey. DriveWorks serves as the interface to all our business systems, tools, models, terminology and users.
As a result of the integration of DriveWorks and SOLIDWORKS with the companys ERP system, IMI cut the task of creating a Bill of Materials down to a single click from within SOLIDWORKS a step that used to take up to four minutes and was conducted by all eight engineers multiple times per day. Now, the process is automated, adding in extra layers of error checking and streamlining the steps to eliminate manual i ntervention.
IMIs long-term goal is to expand its use of DriveWorks and SOLIDWORKS, adding more users along the way looking for opportunities to automate mundane or error-prone processes within engineering, marketing, sales and management.
Our team at Fisher Unitech said to think of DriveWorks not as an app, but as a development environment, said Dewey. Our company has embraced that philosophy, giving us the power and freedom to create tools that help us work better and smarter across the board. And, were just getting started.
Read More: Fisher Unitech
DriveWorks product configurator software is used by companies of all sizes. It’s suitable for any industry where quotes or 3D files and drawings are part of the sales to manufacturing process.
See how versatile and customizable it is by having a go with our online configurator examples on www.driveworkslive.com
