Case study: How SOLIDWORKS Laid a Solid Base for Baser

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It’s hard to believe during the depths of winter. But at the height of summer, seeking solace from the sun is a crucial part of being able to relax in the balmy weather. Who doesn’t enjoy a leisurely cool, refreshing drink from a table guarded by a parasol as the world passes you by? It’s something we take for granted every year. Not Baser, however. Parasols are their bread and butter. Or more accurately, their protective canopy. What’s more, they’ve had the might of SOLIDWORKS to support them from the off.

Who is Baser?

German designer Baser knows a thing or lots about parasols. Their patented design has made securing an umbrella sunscreen a far simpler process than ever before. Think about traditional parasol bases. A clunky, chunky and unwieldy block that props up inelegantly, assuming the actual parasol even fits at all. Not so Baser’s design. Its slender and malleable design can withstand all sizes and weights of parasol thanks to its sandbags and central locking system. It’s a design that the team has adapted to include attachment to balconies. Enjoy the view, bathe in the shade.

Where does SOLIDWORKS fit in?

Appropriately enough, right from the ground up. The 3D CAD program was used exclusively to design, test and craft the finished product. Pin-sharp accuracy and lifelike stress-testing lends itself perfectly to Baser’s meticulous designs. Sure, the product has a simple function. But it’s a task that encounters multiple variables: distance, strength, height and placement. Any and all of these factors can upset the balance of the parasol if the measurements and materials aren’t perfect. As with all designs, if the foundations and fundamentals aren’t up to the job, then the rest of the product may as well not exist.

Baser


Throwing shade

Baser found that with SOLIDWORKS’ 3D CAD, having their designs loaded into the software made it easy to make rapid changes on the fly – simplifying the process of producing virtual prototypes. Swift alterations and new products were possible with just a few clicks and some fresh calculations. Even better, being able to stress-test the capabilities of different materials within the software dramatically reduced costs by making it possible to optimise material choices without the need for expensive physical prototypes.


Free CAD for the free market

Baser got on board with SOLIDWORKS through the Entrepreneur & Startups program. What’s that? Well, it’s an initiative that helps small start-up hardware companies get the design leg-up that soon-to-be successful companies need. It’s a program that offers a full free year’s subscription to SOLIDWORKS CAD, visualization and simulation, not to mention training to use it all effectively. There’s advice and guidance from the very best experts and engineers the industry has to offer.

Being a small company with big ideas, Baser took this opportunity and grabbed it to become a leading player in a crowded field. In doing so they took their parasol base to the next level (whilst still remaining very much weighted to the floor). Baser’s time in the sun is only just starting – and we will raise a glass to their success. In the shade, of course.


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SOLIDWORKS UK

SOLIDWORKS UK

Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corp. offers complete 3D software tools that let you create, simulate, publish, and manage your data. SolidWorks products are easy to learn and use, and work together to help you design products better, faster, and more cost-effectively. The SolidWorks focus on ease-of-use allows more engineers, designers and other technology professionals than ever before to take advantage of 3D in bringing their designs to life.