Product category:
3D CAD software
News Release from: Micro Concepts | Subject: Autodesk Inventor
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 12 June 2008
Digital prototyping for SMEs - a
practical guide
More than ever before, small business needs the competitive edge that digital prototyping can provide, says Mark Mills of Autodesk reseller Micro Concepts.
It stands to reason: if you can produce fewer physical prototypes, you can save the commensurate development costs and get your product into manufacture and out to market much faster than the competition According to a key report by industry research firm The Aberdeen Group, best-in-class manufacturers build only half the number of physical prototypes of the average manufacturer
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 2 Aug 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
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And most of those best-in-class manufacturers are using digital prototyping.
If you're a small business, you're probably aware of the merits of 3D digital prototyping software.
But, like many SMEs, you may be unwilling to move from your existing 2D capacity for fear it will be too costly to implement or that it will create an interruption to workflow and production that a small operation could not withstand.
As a consequence, many believe that digital prototyping is only for the bigger companies with the scale and financial muscle to invest in the requisite software and skills.
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Not so; the democratisation of state-of-the-art software is a reality.
SMEs have easy and affordable access to digital prototyping tools.
And with the help of industry experts such as Micro Concepts - the UK's leading Autodesk manufacturing reseller to SMEs - smaller manufacturers can easily identify their digital prototyping capabilities and implement them with a surprising lack of interruption to their operations.
Some of the big success stories in the adoption of digital prototyping have been SMEs for whom the new software has revolutionised their business.
3D prototyping software not only helps bring products to market faster and more cheaply, it has also helped clinch customer sales pitches through the ability to demonstrate, with extreme clarity, exactly how a product will look and behave before it is produced.
This minimises risk so effectively for a new business prospect that, all else being equal, it's hard to say no - especially when, through Inventor, that prospect becomes closely involved in the design process from an early stage.
This is a situation familiar to Dorman Long Technology, consultant and contractor of services to the construction industry and specialist subcontractor for heavy lifting and skidding operations.
The company's recent high-profile infrastructure projects include Wembley Stadium, Heathrow's T5 and Paddington Station.
"This is a highly competitive market", says Dorman Long's Senior CAD Technician, Steve Garratt.
"By presenting a solid rendered object with 3D views early in the process, we can accurately illustrate what the end result will look like and so effectively involve clients in the development of the design and how it will meet their needs".
One of the key aims in moving to solid modelling was to improve design communication.
Every Dorman Long project is bespoke - tailored to the specific client's requirements.
As a result, it was often extremely difficult to portray in 2D drawings what they were trying to achieve with highly complex designs to nonengineering clients.
3D digital modelling changed all that.
"We already had a positive view of what Inventor could do, as it was in use with a continental fabricator partner", recalls Garratt.
"We were impressed with its intuitive, easy-to-learn functionality".
Just because you implement 3D digital design, it doesn't necessarily mean that you have to abandon 2D drafting entirely, and this is a big concern for smaller businesses for which much of their work - and their valuable intellectual property - is still based on 2D drafting.
The Aberdeen Report also reveals that 77% of companies that use 3D modelling, also use 2D drafting.
Further, it clarifies: "Manufacturers add 3D modelling instead of replacing 2D drafting".
This means by using a product like Inventor, which enables users to design either way, manufacturers who have generated thousands of CAD drawings over the years can continue to use them.
This puts the intellectual assets and knowledge that went into those drawings to the best possible use.
Dorman Long had more than 10 years of success working with 2D AutoCAD.
The company recognised that the integration of 2D and 3D and interoperability with AutoCAD would give them ideal design continuity and that there would be minimal interruption to workflow during implementation.
But the company's design engineers continue to use 2D AutoCAD for initial sketching and quick layout drawings and find Inventor's integration capability enables simple transition into the 3D design as it develops.
As 3D digital design becomes increasingly widespread, manufacturers are realising that the benefits extend beyond the virtual model itself.
Being able to see and even experience your product - through testing and simulation - before it is made is a huge advantage, and it is one which is equally available to SMEs as to their larger counterparts.
For example, engineers could use it to calculate an eventual point of failure and design the product so that this is in a serviceable area, so prolonging its life.
A smart operation may even use this information to help work out what spares are needed for the product throughout its life.
The ability to rapidly generate detailed 3D digital prototypes based on real data means potential problems can be spotted and addressed early on, and that engineers have scope to play around with a broad spectrum of design variations, without incurring delays or unnecessary costs.
This means they can bring better products to market.
"Being able to check accurately for fit at design stage avoids costly mistakes later on in the manufacturing and installation processes", says Dorman Long's Garratt.
The company's designers make extensive use of the detailed 3D exploded views when collaborating with, for example, engineering partners manufacturing jacks for Dorman Long designs.
Digital design vastly reduces the risk of error as data are input, extrapolated, updated and re-used, which frees-up engineers to think creatively about new design variations.
This is because digital prototyping enables any number and scope of changes to be made quickly and without adding to costs.
Once these have been agreed and incorporated into a final design, a physical prototype can then be generated, safe in the knowledge that this is now unlikely to be changed.
Being able to show customers an early example of a product is another key benefit of digital prototyping, enabling the design team to get detailed feedback that will ensure the finished article not only meets but exceeds client expectations.
This presents a persuasive opportunity for sales and marketing, too, making it easier and economically justifiable for companies to develop speculative prototypes to persuade existing customers and new prospects what the company could do for them, given the chance.
The only real limit is the team's imagination, as today's tools are intuitive and easy to use with minimal training, ensuring a rapid payback.
Whether the business is large or small, firms with sophisticated 3D digital prototyping facilities will find they have an extra tool with which keep themselves ahead of their competition.
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