As business models and office spaces evolve to meet the expectations of the 21st century, more companies are embracing green, open spaces and collaborative environments. Many offices are designed with sustainability in mind, such as the Dassault Systemes Boston Office which uses Teknion Furniture, a SolidWorks customer. Teknion Furniture prides itself on a variety of office systems which encourage customers’ employees to collaborate, innovate, and communicate in a continually evolving business landscape.
Teknion Furniture at the Dassault Systemes Boston Office.
Teknion aims to design furniture of the future, by expanding product lines and implementing sustainable manufacturing practices. To address these challenges, Teknion upgraded to SolidWorks Professional, SolidWorks Enterprise PDM, and SolidWorks Sustainability from its previous AutoCAD 2D design tools. The company was attracted to SolidWorks because of the software’s ease of use, design configuration, and enhanced visualization. With SolidWorks, Teknion spends less time and resources on making physical prototypes, allowing Teknion to focus more on innovating new products to optimize business environments. By implementing SolidWorks, Teknion has quadrupled its number of product lines and reduced development time by 50 percent.
Using SolidWorks Sustainability, Teknion can evaluate the environmental impact of their design decisions. The software enables the furniture company to examine factors including carbon burden, energy consumption, air emission and liquid discharges associated with a particular design. By providing greater insights into the product design, SolidWorks Sustainability allows Teknion to give side-by-side comparisons of material choices to show customers the environmental implications of using glass versus acrylic for elements in their furniture. Generating photorealistic images which display environmental information, SolidWorks Photoview 360 helps the Teknion sales team win orders.
SolidWorks solutions helps Teknion design products more efficiently, manage global design data more effectively, and examine the environmental ramifications of its products. To learn more about how Teknion paves the way to a greener future using products like SolidWorks Sustainability, read the case study.
As we discussed in Part One of the series, the Maker movement is harnessing ideas and technology to spur innovation. MakerBot’s Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer is bridging the gap between engineers, researchers, designers and creative professionals to create amazing, true-to-life products, quickly and easily.
SolidWorks Simulation and Workgroup PDM software allowed MakerBot engineers to create and evaluate several design iterations of the MakerBot Replicator 2. In doing so, MakerBot wasted no time getting the final product to market on September 19, 2012—surprising many customers.
From medical advancements, like UPenn’s 3D printed sugar lattice to help create new human tissue, to printing a case to fit a new iPhone 5, MakerBot is giving enthusiasts the ability to produce quality items right on their desktops.
To encourage the Maker movement, MakerBot created Thingiverse, an online platform that enables a community of users to share their digital designs with the world. More than 25,000 design files, including those created using SolidWorks, are available on the site, making it simple to download and print from the MakerBot Replicator 2. SolidWorks 3D Content Central also provides designers with free models that can be used with the printer.
Auto part manufacturers, medical researchers, artists and all designers in between are bringing new inventions (like the tractor below) to the table every day.
The
MakerBot® Replicator™ 2 Desktop 3D Printer is changing the world; in homes,
universities, research institutions and corporations. Enthusiasts no longer
have to sneak into a local university to get their hands on this technology. MakerBot
has sold more than 15,000 printers to date. The MakerBot Replicator 2 starts at
$2,199 and can be seen in action at MakerBot’s retail store in Manhattan.
Have you checked out Thingiverse.com or 3DCC? What are some products you would like to print using the MakerBot Replicator 2? Post a link to your models that would benefit from 3D printing in the comment section below!
The German engineers at Auswall combine industrial design, engineering, and ergonomics to create thrilling products. These specialties all matter when designing equipment, including a downhill mountain bike that folds into a backpack and can be used on skis or wheels. See how they're using SolidWorks to design products that are both innovative and fun in our latest installment of Born to Design.
WIRED’s editor-in-chief Chris Anderson recently published a book suggesting that the Maker movement will likely transform the U.S. economy. Anderson believes that as the Maker movement gains momentum, the American spirit of tinkering and building will be re-tooled and made more user-friendly for the Internet Age.
In
his book, Anderson lists SolidWorks as the best paid software for designers,
and mentions that the 3D printer is the most high-profile Maker tool to emerge
so far. And with Form 1, you have both…. The
low-cost, high-resolution 3D printer, was created by Formlabs using SolidWorks.
Formlabs, a Kickstarter funded company, wanted
to develop a printer that they “would be excited to use in their own design and
engineering endeavors.”
It only recently became possible for Formlabs to create such a complex product and bring it to market with little time and money – thanks to the help of key partners like Kickstarter and SolidWorks. Formlabs took advantage of SolidWorks’ sheet metal and injection molding capabilities for the printer’s unique design and analyzed the process using simulation.
Images: Formlabs
Recently unveiled, the Form 1 provides designers who haven’t been able to justify the cost of a traditional 3D printer for rapid prototyping and customized replacement parts with a high quality desktop printer. Developed with more of a “prosumer” audience in mind, both professionals and tech-savvy tinkerers (Makers) can benefit from this easy-to-use, out-of-the-box printer that can physically bring a design to life at a resolution that rivals some of the commercial options currently available.
Formlabs is in the process of setting up full-scale manufacturing of the Form 1 and is looking for more support through Kickstarter. Anyone who contributes will receive a discount on the desktop printer and will play a role in “starting this revolution in 3D printing.”
We can’t wait to see where the revolution takes us and what cool items are created using the Form 1. What would you print using the Form 1? Have you tried 3D printing and liked the final result?
Check back tomorrow for Part Two of our Maker movement series when you can learn more about the Makerbot 3D printer!
Every family has its own set of holiday season traditions: getting together with loved ones, building an awesome gingerbread house, or hitting the slopes (for those of you in colder regions). This year at SolidWorks, we are keeping our own tradition. We’re publishing our second annual Holiday Gift Guide filled with our very own customers to make it a little easier for you to make holiday wish lists.
While compiling the list, I couldn’t help but look around and realize how many SolidWorks customer products my friends and family use on a daily basis – headphones, coffee makers, bicycles, you name it. SolidWorks solutions helped create a wide array of consumer products to serve all of your needs like charging your phone while hiking in the mountains, entertaining friends and family, or listening to your favorite song on your iPod.
The list offers a little something for the SolidWorks fan in all of you. Take a look and get some great innovatively designed gifts, just don’t forget to print off the list before you go shopping.
If you’re looking for even more options, check out last year’s gift guide or some of our case studies and press releases for more inspiration. Happy shopping!
Manufacturers such as Honda, General Electric and Boeing use heavy power tools and equipment for their design and engineering needs. However, lifting these loads can cause worker fatigue and injury while decreasing productivity. To alleviate worker payload-associated stress and reduce workplace-related injuries, Equipois, Inc. designed the zeroG human-assist mechanical arm thus establishing “equipoise” (balance) between manufacturing employee health and output. The technology’s simple yet revolutionary design earned Equipois the Wall Street Journal 2011 Technology Innovation Award.
Equipois leveraged SolidWorks design and analysis tools to develop the
zeroG line of human-assist mechanical arms, which help workers maneuver
payloads as if they were weightless.
The zeroG, designed in SolidWorks, saves times and eliminates manufacturer overexertion and repetitive stress by allowing workers to guide tools rather than lift them as if they were weightless. Though the technology behind the zeroG was initially used for Steadicam stabilized camera and a Skycam “flying camera”, Equipois adapted the designs to address manufacturing challenges.
After choosing SolidWorks Professional and SolidWorks Premium solutions for its user-friendly simulation and design capabilities, Equipois, Inc. doubled its revenue annually and cut costs by decreasing the number of prototypes by 66 percent. The company was able to conduct simulations and design performance evaluations during the product design stage through SolidWorks virtual prototyping tools.
Moreover, Equipois also improved its employee onboarding process through the use of SolidWorks – it takes 70 percent less time to train an engineer on the software. SolidWorks not only helped Equipois optimize its product design process but it also helped the company improve manufacturing practices.
To get more information on the sleek zeroG mechanical arm and how Equipois designed it, read the case study.
Similar to Felix Baumgarnter’s contribution to the future of space travel, SE Corp., an analysis consulting firm, has enabled the use of the Kennedy Space Station for at least another 50 years. Using SolidWorks Flow Simulation, SE Corp. analyzed the impact of an inadvertent rocket fuel ignition inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
To perform advanced simulations in CAD and computational fluid dynamics, SE Corp. enlisted the help of SolidWorks Simulation Premium and SolidWorks Flow Simulation. The software allowed the firm to analyze the facility safety and emergency escape procedures of the VAB at the Kennedy Space Center to measure the effects of a rocket fuel ignition accident to test the durability of the VAB.
Using SolidWorks solutions, SE Corp. created a CFD model to
simulate the behavior of exhaust gases and ground-level thermal radiation. The
turnaround was around 24 hours even though there were roughly 200,000 elements.
Flow Simulation allowed the firm to produce grid-independent solutions and
report multiple flow gradients in a single day.
Creating jobs has been a hot topic these days in the weak global economy. Many answers are out there, but innovation is a proven engine to the economy as shown by Apple who created or supported over 500,000 jobs for U.S. workers in the Apple economy through innovation.
In our space of manufacturing, I’ve seen encouraging examples of successful companies creating jobs through innovation too.
Founded in 1976, Yaris began producing tractor cabs in a 1,000 m2 area in Turkey. Following the technology development and commitment to quality in the past 36 years, the company today operates on over 250,000 m2 working area with over 1,000 employees. Now Yaris has become the leading cab producer in Europe, exporting 70% of its product overseas.
Yaris had several challenges on their shop floor before:
In 2009, Yaris started implementing 3DVIA Composer and has witnessed tremendous progress in the past three years as shown in this Yaris shop floor video.
Now Yaris is able to cut technical documentation time by 13%, improve the quality of our technical communication, and provide assembly line workers instant access to 2,000 parts in 450 groups.
Dr. Kayhan Çalişkan, Project Manager at Yaris shared his experience: “While initially deployed to improve the quality of our complicated installation and repair manuals, 3DVIA Composer has also enabled us to improve the proficiency and efficiency of our assembly line workers.”
Remember this is not just talking. Yaris shop floor video proudly shows the world that Digital Manufacturing is now the reality. Unleashing the power of the 3D CAD data treasure, 3DVIA Composer along with several hundred dollars for a touch screen and a bar code scanner makes a digital shop floor commercially viable.
If Yaris can do it, why can’t we do it? Why can’t we create more jobs through innovation like Yaris?
The coming blogs will share more examples of innovative manufacturing businesses and how best-in-class companies achieve outstanding performance.
For more information on 3DVIA Composer, click on the images below to view 3DVIA Composer videos:
1) First Look at 3DVIA Composer Video
2) 3DVIA Composer User Manual video series (registration required):
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