Expro oils wheels of subsea design with Inventor and Vault
1 min read
Oilfield service company Expro has added 20 seats of Autodesk Inventor to its existing 10, as well as Autodesk Vault for WIP (work in progress) data management.
Expro says that its engineers already using Inventor had been reporting greater accuracy and increased productivity, along with better communication with colleagues, subcontractors and customers as a result of its visual models.
The company has been working with Autodesk supplier Imass Design Solutions to streamline its design processes and workflow, and it was Imass that suggested the WIP data management system, which will now link into Expro’s company-wide PDM (product data management) system.
“Imass has done a total audit and an evaluation of the way we work. It recommended an automatic feed of CAD information into our mainstream data management system,” says Expro CAD administrator Gavin Hay. “This will avoid duplication of data or having to enter it manually with all the opportunities for error this presents.”
Vault will organise Expro’s 3D models, drawings and documents in a central location, so reducing the time to find, reference and reuse design data. Also, as product designs evolve, it will provide for version control and protection from unintentional overwriting.
Inventor is currently being used to design new subsea tools, and Hay says that its 3D models and animation have helped non engineers to understand its developments. Inventor is also being used in Expro’s office in Houston, Texas, enabling easier data exchange data between locations.
