Product category:
3D CAD software
News Release from: SolidWorks Corporation | Subject: SolidWorks
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 19 October 2006
Virtual design helps shrink set-top box
design
For the past five years, DCA has been using SolidWorks to create an effective, flexible and efficient virtual design environment from concept to production.
The fast-paced consumer electronics industry presents product developers with a number of challenges Alongside the creative considerations of design, user interface, functionality and compliance, competitive pricing and tight deadlines mean consultancies such as DCA are under pressure to bring often complex products to market faster than ever before
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 31 Jan 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
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In a recent project, the client had just six months to design and manufacture a new range of set top boxes.
The top of the range model had to be as high functioning as equivalent boxes on the market - and half the size.
DCA is one of Europe's leading (and largest) product design consultancies, with an experienced team of over 70 design professionals working across a range of industry sectors.
Established in 1958 the company has embraced - and often driven - the changes that have transformed the product development process over the past 50 years.
Always an early adopter of technology, DCA uses the latest computer aided design solutions to help bring out the very best in its designers at every stage of the development process.
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For the past five years, DCA has been using SolidWorks to create an effective, flexible and efficient virtual design environment from concept to production.
SolidWorks enables product developers such as DCA to meet the increasingly tight deadlines demanded by clients and, crucially for companies with outsourced suppliers, the software eases the flow of communication and engineering data.
"Initially we had two or three seats, and now we have 18", says Damian Mycroft, Communications Manager at DCA.
"It has become one of our standard design packages and we use it at every stage of our product development process".
DCA was recently commissioned by Amino, a leading provider of in-home multimedia technologies for IPTV, to help in the aesthetic and mechanical design of a new range of set top boxes.
The range, which would ultimately include six variations, needed to be ready for launch at an important US trade show.
The brief threw up several challenges for the DCA design team, as Mycroft explains: "The development time was short".
"We were given an initial deadline, which was then reduced during the project so the launch could take place at the trade show".
With time for only one round of prototyping, the product development process had to be slick.
There were practical considerations to add to the challenge, as Stuart King, Senior Associate explains: "The brief was really an exercise in effective packaging".
"If you consider equivalent products with similar technology they are about twice the volume".
"We had to fit large numbers of components into a very tight space, while maintaining the design identity of other Amino products".
The DCA team began by sketching the front profile of the box, capturing the rounded, sleek styling adopted by Amino, and scanned that initial shape into SolidWorks.
From there, the front profile was extruded into a 3D model of the correct dimensions, and rendered to create a photorealistic image of the finished product.
"On a project like this, you quickly have to move from pure design to the practical realities of how to make up the assembly: where internal components are going to go, how to generate air flow, the exact positioning of cables and interconnects and how to meet EMC requirements", says King.
"SolidWorks was invaluable for that".
Using data sheets supplied by the client, DCA was able to create a library of standard parts and fixings within SolidWorks, so the engineers could experiment with different layouts and develop the optimum positioning of all the elements within the box.
By setting constraints for each part and the box itself, SolidWorks identified any problems with a proposed layout which could be rectified immediately, reducing potential delays later on in the development process.
"We also used SolidWorks to help generate block foam models of modular parts such as card readers, hard drives and PCBs", says King.
"These were used in presentations to the client to help demonstrate the flexibility of the range and enable them to make informed choices".
SolidWorks offers a range of features that specifically benefit product developers such as DCA.
For the set top box project, DCA identified three features that were of particular use: Multibody, Configurations and eDrawings.
Multibody enables the user to create a master part which can be distributed to different departments, so that development can take place on different aspects of a product at the same time without losing control of the overall design constraints.
Any changes are automatically updated to the original model, avoiding confusion and retaining accuracy throughout the process.
Configurations enabled DCA to develop two product variations without doing twice the work, as King explains: "We had to consider the modularity of this product as there are about five variations in the complete range".
"We decided to work on the two with the most components, and set up two configurations within SolidWorks".
"This gave us an easy way to switch between the two designs, helping to reduce the overall development time and avoid unnecessary repetition".
Effective communication between DCA, its client and suppliers was a vital part of ensuring the project was completed on time.
eDrawings enables DCA's clients to review 3D or 2D models on a PC without any additional specialist software.
Concepts can be spun around and viewed from every angle, with explanations and notes that can be hidden or displayed as necessary.
"The product development process at DCA is always a two way street of information and ideas between us and our clients", explains Damian Mycroft.
"eDrawings enables the fast communication of clearly presented design concepts which our clients can easily understand".
"This ability to communicate effectively saves significant amounts of time and ensures good working relationships across a project".
Speed of communication was also important between DCA and its suppliers in China, as King explains: "Our supplier works in 2D, so we used SolidWorks to flatten our 3D forms and create 2D reference drawings".
"Since all of the engineering data for these drawings remains connected to the original 3D model, any changes made to the original are automatically updated in the 2D versions".
This was particularly useful for maintaining design flexibility even late on in the project, enabling DCA's client to make changes that could be immediately communicated to the Chinese supplier without causing extended delays.
"When we had to make a crucial last minute change - adjusting the position of a hole that affected several internal components - we were quickly able to update our 3D model, which in turn updated the 2D drawings in real-time for our manufacturer in China".
"The product by this stage was actually on the production line and our client was with us as we made the change, so we were all relieved when it went without a hitch", says King.
DCA expected several rounds of prototyping before going into production, but that turned out not to be the case.
Amino was keen to begin marketing the new range, starting at a trade show in the US, just six months after DCA had received its design brief.
"We went through the first round of prototyping and suggested another round once we'd made the necessary updates to the design", says Mycroft.
"But the client said we should make the updates and then go straight to production".
"So the first round of sample making was actually for tool production".
"We made the changes in SolidWorks and sent the revised designs for tooling".
"Within four weeks of sending the data we had the parts back and they were fine".
The new Amino AVC range was successfully launched in June 2006, receiving positive feedback from the industry.
Confident of the product's appeal, DCA has entered it into several awards as an example of how good design can be achieved on a limited budget and within a tight deadline.
"Improvements in systems and technologies such as SolidWorks are really helping to drive developments within our industry", says Mycroft.
"We have to be fast and flexible to meet our clients' needs and, as this project shows, good communication and a reliable CAD system are absolutely vital".
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