Award-winning solid capabilities

Working in 3D has many advantages. Indeed, several of the winners of the 2004 Queen's Awards for Enterprise cited their use of 3D CAD software as one of the main factors contributing to their success. Unsurprisingly, nobody encountered at the Awards celebration mentioned using 2D! The development engineers at inkjet printer cartridge manufacturer Jet Tec, for example, winner of an Innovation Award, used SolidWorks 3D CAD, incorporating CamWorks CAM (computer aided manufacturing), so that they could more quickly produce tooling. The firm won its award for the 'Extralife' Epson-compatible cartridges, which include microprocessors to allow the printer to extract more ink from the cartridge after it has initially given the signal that the ink has run out. That results in 30% more prints before the cartridge has to be discarded. The company employs around 250 in Boston, Lincolnshire, and is currently moving into a factory extension, which takes it to over 40,000sqm. It has a tool room capable of making state-of-the-art mould tools using a variety of machines, such as Agie wire eroders, spark eroders and CNC mills, and its 10 toolmakers are also responsible for creating the company's purpose-built inkjet manufacturing machine, and the tooling for its two Kiefel KMV50 vacuum forming machines. The facility includes over 70 moulding machines of various makes ranging in size from 20 tons to 350 tons. Another Queen's Award 2004 winner to take advantage of 3D modelling is mechanical shaft seal maker Aesseal, based in Rotherham. Director of engineering Alan Roddis told MCS that the company uses Solid Edge for its CAD, and Unigraphics for CAM, as well as full PDM (product data management). Use of 3D CAD, he says, played a major part in winning its latest award, enabling the design of a modular range of seals covering a very broad set of requirements in the refining and petrochemicals industries. The 324-employee company has now won five Queen's Awards, has a turnover of £46m, and is growing at 20% per annum. 3D to shop floor And winner of a Queen's Award for export achievement, Vector International also uses SolidWorks, in its case with direct links to its shop floor to produce compact connections and sealing products for piping, vessel and pressure containment applications. Managing director Andy Smith says his company spent "a lot of money" on its systems. Interestingly, the company tried outsourcing its IT services but did not like the result, and has since hired its own IT professionals and brought everything back in-house. Vector is currently looking at how it might extend its systems to "help and support our front line people." Over the three years to the end of 2002, this 83-man company has seen export earnings from 40 countries nearly double. The list goes on, and it's salutary. Meanwhile, David Leadley, joint office manager at Land Instruments in Dronfield, profers the thought: "2D CAD is a drawing office aid, but working in 3D is a strategic asset for the company." A market leader in its field, although without a Queen's Award, the company makes equipment for thermal imaging, automatic flue gas monitoring, portable gas analysis, dust and opacity measurement and turbine blade pyrometry. Like many others, Land started its CAD experience with 2D AutoCAD, first attempting 3D in the mid 1990s with Matra Euclid. While the company says Euclid was a good design tool, it found "it didn't integrate too well with other company functions." These included both company MRP and data management at one end, and using the 3D models as a basis for photo-realistic renderings for brochures at the other. Two years ago, Land looked again at options for 3D. Leadley lists the drivers as a desire to have a common design platform, shorten time to market, reduce usage of industrial designers, improve design visualisation, enable rapid prototyping, reduce the number of prototypes required during the design cycle and allow the re-use of design data by other departments. More than the obvious After a six-month investigation, the company plumped for Autodesk Inventor, then at version 5.3. Leadley says it was "very easy to use and could be integrated with our CAM package." It also offered a "structured migration path from 2D to 3D", and could support the company's AutoCAD legacy data. Furthermore, Land had confidence in what it describes as "the aggressive development of Inventor". There are now six seats of Inventor, three on fixed licences for designers, and three floating for use by anyone who needs the data. To support the software the company also purchased new PCs with high-end graphic cards – a requirement too often overlooked. Needless to say, there was the barrier of a learning curve. But Leadley comments: "One of the big mistakes people make when adopting 3D is to start undertaking major design work with their new package straight away." At Land, work continued in 2D while the team began its initial training, including one afternoon a week having "a chat" and designing first simple components, and then more complex ones in 3D. Two small projects were undertaken using Inventor, and only when the designers were "comfortable" did they migrate to 3D. The company then went back to its reseller, Trionics in Ossett, for more training, six months after the initial purchase. That programme involved not only designers, but other personnel, such as those engaged in producing publicity material who were then encouraged to re-use the design data. Hence it's strategic – and in order to maximise re-use, Land's people built templates while IT set up network directories so that users in different parts of the company could all access the data. There are several additional benefits. First, the setting up of standard parts, which in Leadley's words "is a huge step forward for us." Second, in this company's design process there are a lot of reviews: working in 3D allows users to "see the effect of a change very quickly," he says. He describes that whole process as far more efficient. Third, the majority of errors and problems are now found during design. And fourth: "Communications have been improved, both internally and with overseas offices due to improved visualisation, and we have now been able to increase our use of rapid prototyping... We have purchased our own machine so we can have prototyped parts on the desk in a few hours." The final part of this story involves the 3D models being transferred directly to a computer in the hands of the machine shop manager, who is able to use them to generate NC machine tool instructions using Pathtrace. Land machines many of its own parts, including bought-in castings. Leadley's only frustration is "the slow uptake of suppliers willing to provide 3D models of their parts." Which is an issue. Graphics cards Meanwhile, returning to graphics cards, 3D Labs has brought out a massively parallel card to which it has assigned the name, 'Wildcat Realizm'. It certainly looked fast when demonstrated at this year's Solid Modelling show. SolidWorks and LightWork Design have already gone on record as strongly endorsing the development, and Tim Lewis, the company's European sales and marketing director, told MCS that 3DLabs also works closely with PTC. PTC itself is promoting Pro/Engineer Wildfire 2.0 as a way of, in its words, "easing the transition from 2D CAD to 3D solid modelling." One of the drawbacks to using Pro/E, which even its competitors acknowledge to be a very powerful package, has long been the problem of learning to make full use of it. In response, PTC says it has worked for two years to simplify menus, command structures and interface characteristics. Feature commands were consolidated from 76 to 23 and the user interface now employs what the company describes as a "lead or follow" philosophy that allows less experienced users to be guided by wizards.