Software helps Brush streamline development

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Oct 13, 2006

Leading UK power transformer manufacturer adopts CoCreate products in an effort towards implementing leaner product development.

Brush Transformers, the leading UK power transformer manufacturer, has recently invested in 28 seats of CoCreate's OneSpace Designer Modeling and Model Manager.

Brush has developed and maintained a reputation for excellent quality of product and service.

The company produces highly engineered products that are supplied to customers worldwide.

Brush is part of the FKI Group and its markets include utilities, oil, gas, petrochemical, industrial and commercial developments and offshore applications.

Over 50% of its products are supplied into foreign markets.

Brush decided to adopt the CoCreate products in an effort towards implementing leaner product development.

"If we want to remain competitive, we need to improve design quality and reduce overall costs", said Roy Horne, Drawing Office Manager at Brush Transformers.

Horne said that his team preferred the CoCreate software over other 3D CAD systems because it: fosters the re-use of components from previous projects; makes last-minute changes easier to implement; integrates the design department and project work with other departments in the company; dramatically reduces the amount of costly physical testing; and has proved quick and easy for team members to learn.

During a week-long benchmark, the team experimented with working on multiple projects, making 2D changes to existing designs, using 2D to create 3D, using components across projects and responding to unplanned design changes.

Brush has streamlined development even more by organising its design team to make the most of new and seasoned users.

"We keep fully trained designers modelling and trainees on 2D detailing/modelling".

Model Manager is an addon to Designer Modeling, providing data management for all designs and associated information.

With Model Manager, Brush can load and store 3D designs and associated 2D drawings, use revision and state control, find all the different places a design is used in the company, and search the company's large database to find designs in seconds.

All new 3D CAD data will now be stored in Model Manager.

Then design and production departments can draw from one central data vault.

"This helps us work with the same data concurrently", said Horne.

"It helps us meet our quality and productivity goals because we can quickly find and use existing components and designs in new projects".

The company uses CoCreate's FE Analysis, a further addon to Designer Modeling.

As a result, it expects to cut physical prototypes by 75% which, in turn, will cut overall costs and speed up delivery times.

In the near future, the company will integrate its product development into its ERP system for further gains as it continues toward an optimal lean product development environment.

Brush Transformers deployed Designer Modeling and Model Manager simultaneously.

The company was assisted greatly by CoCreate reseller, CSI - Concurrent Systems.