Nectar Product Development Combines Elegance And Technology with SolidWorks

With the world’s fossil fuel supply decreasing, solar power is becoming a more popular and cost-effective options for American homebuyers, according to an article in the Huffington Post in August. Nectar Product Development is paving the way to the solar energy future. Nectar is a long-time SolidWorks, which has combined industrial design, mechanical engineering, and innovation to build the world’s largest pedestal mounted solar panel: the Amonix® 7700 CPV solar power system. Nectar’s 7,000-square-foot facility in Long Beach, California, provides a creative environment that integrates concept development with sound engineering and design-for-manufacturing techniques which enabled the creation of the 77 foot by 49 foot panel.

Leveraging SolidWorks technology to advance innovation, Nectar Product Development was able to transition their designs from 2D and standardize on the SolidWorks platform. Using tools such as SolidWorks Premium and SolidWorks Simulation Premium, Nectar can more efficiently execute multidisciplinary development – the company was able to develop products up to 10 times faster than they did previously. During the Amonix design and production process, Nectar Product Development performed over 100 structural, fatigue, buckling, and deflection studies to optimize the panel’s support structure using SolidWorks Simulation Premium. As a result of these simulation tests, the company was able to cut production costs by 25 percent! Darren Saravis, CEO of Nectar Product Development, says that SolidWorks solutions are at the core of the company’s goal to find elegant solutions to complex challenges.

In addition to providing engineering muscle, SolidWorks provides Nectar with the advanced modeling tools required to develop aesthetically beautiful designs like the SolarFlora™, a 15-foot-tall plantlike structure with solar panel leaves that’s installed outside the Long Beach Convention Center. The structure produces over 12 kW of electricity daily while serving as a decorative sculpture. SolidWorks has enabled Nectar’s staff to think artistically and technically when it comes to 3D design and find the best solutions to contemporary problems.

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