PTC Resources for Small & Medium Businesses

The Expansion of 3D into the Small to Midsize Market

Indeed, the move from 2D to 3D offers a wide range of benefits to organizations of any size. No wonder, more and more SMB companies are planning their transition, too. But there are best practices and recommendations that SMBs should follow to ensure optimum benefits from the move to 3D. The Aberdeen Group has done extensive research in this field and summarized their findings in a compact Sector Insight Report.

Five Things You Should Know About 3D CAD Software

If you’re a design engineer working in a “typical” manufacturing company, you may be spending 60 to 80 percent of your time not creating new designs, but fixing old ones – updating, optimizing, making changes for ECOs, and so on. There are ways to make design changes less disruptive and less time-consuming, however. In all, PTC has identified five major issues that design engineers face, and offers insight into how 3D CAD software can help mediate or resolve these issues. This item is available as PDF and mp3 audio file.

Virtual Prototyping – The Facts & Myths

The economy is creating more challenges than ever before for small and medium businesses. Yet, even with these challenges, engineers must continue to create great products faster and cheaper in order for their companies to stay competitive. This webcast is shedding light on the realities of Virtual Prototyping and shares best practices from experienced engineers, highlighting modeling analysis and animation techniques to ensure designs perform as intended. Furthermore, it includes recent research of CIMdata, Inc, one of the leading analyst companies worldwide as well as practical examples in a 3D CAD demonstration.

Concurrent Engineering – How to Excel at Top-Down Design

This is part II in our Educational Webcast Series. The webcast package covers the concept of Concurrent Engineering and provides best practices for top-down design. It includes recent research of CIMdata, Inc, one of the leading analyst companies worldwide as well as practical examples in a 3D CAD demonstration.

SMB Roundtable: Straight Talk from CAD Designers

Straight talk from 3D CAD designers – there is nothing more valuable than first hand information from your peers. We have asked representatives from SMB companies in various countries why they have made the decision for Pro/ENGINEER and why they are happy with their decision. Share their experience and advice for successful state-of-the-art engineering!

Ivan Robinson, Commercial Engineer at Thermex Ltd., one of the UK’s leading global heat exchanger manufacturers, has moved from 2D to 3D design several years ago. It has been a long time since Mr. Robinson even used a 2D solution, so quantifying how much time the 3D capabilities save his team is less of a concern than it used to be. "I’m of the view that there are other things that have a greater impact on the day-to-day working life of engineers,” he explains and in this article, shares insight into five ways how 3D design with Pro/ENGINEER makes his job easier. Join Ivan for a real-life report about his day-to-day job tasks in the 3D world!

Are You a [Pro] ENGINEER?
View this short movie to learn why users from various countries and industries enjoy working with Pro/ENGINEER. For more first hand insight from your peers read these short case studies below — from users for users!

View movie (1:12)

Fabio Carta has been working as naval designer for INSEAN in Rome, Italy, for about 10 years, and there he uses Pro/ENGINEER on a daily basis. Prior to joining INSEAN, he had never used any CAD system, and designed entirely on paper. He recalls: “I learned to use Pro/ENGINEER by myself, following the instructions in the documentation provided with the software. In a short time I learned to model surfaces of hulls and marine screw propellers with good quality, and managed to carry out all my design tasks in Pro/ENGINEER with ease.”

Mr. Huber first started working with Pro/ENGINEER on a defined development project in 1996. At that time, Release 18.0 was the current version of Pro/ENGINEER. Even back then, it took just a few days of hands-on training to become familiar with the Pro/ENGINEER system, he reports. “At the beginning, the quite strictly defined drop-down menus provided an easy start. Now, with all the enhancements of the Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire versions, and the icon-based menu structure, it has become even easier to use.”

"What I like most about Pro/ENGINEER is the speed with which changes can be implemented. We usually progress through several design iterations during a project until we hit sign-off, and with Pro/ENGINEER, this is as efficient as can be", reports Gavin Burnham, who works as Senior Design Engineer at Vax Ltd., the number 1 floorcare brand in the UK.

Constantijn Romijn is in the final year of his studies at the Department of Automotive Engineering at the Hogeschool van Arnhem en Nijmegen (HAN) in the Netherlands. He has been working with 3D CAD Software, including both SolidWorks and Pro/ENGINEER, for nearly one and a half years. “I personally prefer working with Pro/ENGINEER”, he says. Read on to learn why!

Rudolf Freymadl manages the CAx Process Chain division at Hatz Engine Works in Ruhstorf-an-der-Rott, Germany. In his area of responsibility, he uses Pro/ENGINEER primarily for 3D modeling (designing), for generating derivative engineering drawings, and for structural strength calculations (thermal structure analyses). He says: “Pro/ENGINEER enables me to embark on totally new approaches to product development.”

“What I like most in Pro/ENGINEER is the ease-of-use of the design features. In the CAD industry, very often ‘ease-of-use’ is a synonym for ‘no power’. This is certainly not the case with Pro/ENGINEER. If you can visualize a design in your mind, you can surely create it with a feature in Pro/ENGINEER”, says John Bijnens, who teaches Pro/ENGINEER to students in the Bachelor and Master degree programs at Katholieke Hogeschool Limburg (Limburg Catholic University College) in Belgium.

Fritz Jordi is the founder and proprietor of Jordiform Product Development, a design and engineering services firm specializing in mold design, based in Rickenbach, Switzerland. When founding his company, he decided to make Pro/ENGINEER his standard 3D CAD software. “For me, this was an easy decision. Its geometric precision is one of the most salient strong suits of Pro/ENGINEER. The models we produce are always 100% accurate –we do not have to worry about rework or rejects in production.”

“As a product design and development consultancy, the scope of our work changes from project to project. Using Pro/ENGINEER integrates most of the design process into a single, easy-to-use package. From mechanical layout to design, simulation, and analyses, we have all the tools necessary to meet, or even exceed, the expectations of our clients,” reports Redza Shah, principal at produktworks design.

Chris Breeden and his team at CMR USA LLC use Pro/ENGINEER mainly to create very large wiring harness assemblies for diesel engines. Tasks range from creating simple brackets to more complex and large assemblies. “I honestly could not imagine using anything else better for our designs”, Chris Breeden says. Read on to learn why!

Having worked for a variety of companies in different industries, Mike Ahrens was able to become familiar with many aspects of product design – and with various CAD packages, including SolidWorks® and AutoCAD®. About Pro/ENGINEER he says: "My design productivity increases when my 3D CAD software tools run smoothly without interruption... and this is why Pro/ENGINEER is the best choice for my business."

Jaime Moreno has more than 10 years of experience in product design, focusing on the research and development of new products for Bosch® Tool Corporation in the USA. He has been using Pro/ENGINEER since 2001 and says: “For my specific job and industry, there are two aspects of Pro/ENGINEER which have proven to be invaluable to me.“ Read his story and learn, how he benefits from using Pro/ENGINEER.

Peter Lomas has been working with Pro/ENGINEER for almost 10 years now and he has been so impressed with the software that he has introduced it into two companies as he has progressed through his career. He says: “Since picking up Pro/ENGINEER, I haven’t used any other 3D CAD software – I simply haven’t felt the need, as Pro/ENGINEER does everything I need it to do as a Design Engineer, and a lot more on top!”

“Pro/ENGINEER extends my mind and lets my thoughts become reality. It allows me to produce perfect designs and brings my innovative potential into full play", reports Ice Wang of Changzhou Development and Manufacture Centre Company in China. And indeed, Pro/ENGINEER allows him to design innovative, patent-winning products bringing his company a major economic benefit.

When founding Teknikide in 2003, Mr. Kjellgren selected Pro/ENGINEER as the design package of choice for his company, since, in contrast to many competitive products, Pro/ENGINEER is capable of handling even the most complex and advanced designs, while covering all needed areas of functionality. He says: “We use Pro/ENGINEER for everything related to our designs, from early concepts through calculating, production tooling, drawings – even for advertising material. The software is extremely robust, so we never have to worry about crashes.”

Kim Sook Goo of R&D Plus Co. Ltd., a leading manufacturer of small appliances in Korea, has been working with Pro/ENGINEER for more than decade, and strongly favors the software over other CAD systems he has tried, such as AutoCAD® or I-deas®. Mr. Kim says that Pro/ENGINEER contains so much powerful functionality that it provides a clear competitive advantage for his company, but at the same time, from a user perspective, it is so surprisingly easy to use – especially for 'freshmen' who have never worked with a 3D CAD system before.

George Donagher of Bord Na Móna PLC–the leading Irish producer of peat processing equipment, has more than 10 years of engineering experience. Having worked with other 3D CAD tools such as Autodesk® Mechanical Desktop earlier in his career, he turned to Pro/ENGINEER and has continued using it ever since. “I guess I am spoiled for any other 3D CAD products for the rest of my life", he says...

"Moving from 2D design with AutoCAD® to 3D design with Pro/ENGINEER sped up our development times by 80%,”reports David Barbour, Technical Manager of Re-Process Technologies, a leading South African manufacturer of mining equipment. In his story, Mr. Barbour describes why he has chosen Pro/ENGINEER and how the software helped his company to successfully migrate to 3D design in 2008.

Thomas Bichler works as a CAD administrator at FRONIUS International GmbH, a leading manufacturer of welding technology, solar electronics, and battery charging technology. He has many years of experience working with various 2D and 3D systems, including AutoCAD® and Mechanical Desktop®, and has been using Pro/ENGINEER for over six years. "The introduction and adaptation of Pro/ENGINEER went very smoothly; after only one or two months, our environment was optimized and the employees were familiar enough with the software so that we were able to complete our projects at the desired level of productivity," he reports.

Benoît Grelier works as an R&D Engineer for SCOTT Sports SA, a leading European manufacturer of sports equipment and accessories used by bikers, skiers and other sports enthusiasts across the globe. Mr. Grelier had his first contact with 3D CAD software when he attended engineering school. There, he was mainly educated in Pro/ENGINEER, but was also taught SolidWorks® 3D CAD as well. This exposure allowed him to directly compare the two products and to experience their differences first-hand, so understands the many benefits that Pro/ENGINEER delivers.

Dr. Prümper has worked with Pro/ENGINEER for more than 10 years. Throughout his lengthy professional career, he has used various CAD systems, but for the challenges he has to face on a daily basis in his engineering office, Pro/ENGINEER has proven to be the most powerful and most efficient solution.

Fabrizio Calandro is a Mechanical Draftsman working for CROWN Closures Italy S.r.l. He has been working with Pro/ENGINEER for eight years. Prior to Pro/ENGINEER, he was able to experience other 3D packages, such as Mastercam and SolidEdge, but he says that “Pro/ENGINEER has proved to be more powerful and stable than its competitors.”

Paul Heatherington is Lead Designer at Burnside Autocyl, a manufacturer of hydraulic cylinders in Tullow, Co. Carlow / Ireland. The company has implemented Pro/ENGINEER when making the move from 2D CAD to 3D CAD in 2005.

Thomas Alder works as mechanical engineer for nowak engineering GmbH in Spreitenbach, Switzerland. Having graduated from engineering school in 2005, he belongs to the younger generation of Pro/ENGINEER users. When he started working for nowak engineering, Mr. Alder attended a one-week training class conducted by the local PTC Reseller. “The training week was very effective, and I found the learning curve very low,” he reports. “Although I was totally new to the 3D world, I was able to do productive work right after my training week."

"It doesn’t take long to become familiar with the software. Within a day or two you can begin to understand the process and build some models", reports James Lynch of Design Partners in Bray, Ireland. “But, of course, it’s not until you begin to explore Pro/ENGINEER in your day-to-day work that you realise you were only scratching the surface of what’s possible, and begin to exploit the full potential of the software. And, working in a design consultancy where everybody wants everything yesterday, you have to learn quickly – and Pro/ENGINEER allowed me to hit my deadlines right the first time.”

Tuomas Pöysti works as CAD System Specialist at Planmeca Oy, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of high-tech dental equipment, where he administrates and supports other users of Pro/ENGINEER. He says: "I am privileged to support a very talented group of about 30 mechanical and industrial designers. They rarely need help with basic modeling in Pro/ENGINEER – they all got up to speed quickly and find it generally easy to use." Read on to learn more about Tuomas' day-to-day experiences with the software.

Yasuhiro Murakami works as R&D Manager at THERMOS® K.K., the Japanese branch of the THERMOS Group, the internationally renowned manufacturer of insulated products. Mr. Murakami has been using Pro/ENGINEER for many years now, designing most of the THERMOS products, including sports bottles, portable mugs, and the thermal cooker. "The software’s usability has been developed further constantly, and evolved in such an impressive way that, today, I find it even much easier to use than any other 3D CAD package on the market.”

"In our business, speed is a decisive factor for success. Modeling in Pro/ENGINEER is very quick. For example, I have just completed a design for a new battery, and the entire design has taken me only three days!" Read on to learn how Allan Turtle benefits from using Pro/ENGINEER.

Maicon Jarschel, Product Analyst with Embraco Compressors, started working with Pro/ENGINEER after joining Embraco’s Cooling Products Division in 2001. Although he had never worked with 3D CAD systems before, he had no difficulties learning this powerful design software. Now, with more than eight years of experience, he says: “Pro/ENGINEER allows me to constantly improve my skills as a designer. It is almost like the software is one step ahead of me, anticipating what I need to do and helping to elaborate my designs.”

Selecting a PLM system for any business, especially a small to mid-size business, is a challenge. A structured, well thought out process is critical to success.

Download the white paper developed by industry experts, and learn about 10 steps to follow when selecting software solutions.

SMBs – A Blueprint for Success
“Today’s small and medium-size businesses are facing more challenges than ever before. A global economy poses new and difficult problems including ever increasing complexities in product design and stringent time, cost and quality requirements. But this economy also provides opportunities to find new markets and more customers. So what approach should a small discrete manufacturer take to prosper in these risky economic times?”

Growing Business Through Superior Product Development
“Leading small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) understand the value of speed, agility, customer responsiveness and cost containment in the dynamic global marketplace. Combining these traits creates competitive advantage. But how can a SMB in the complex sphere of discrete manufacturing infuse its internal processes with these attributes and ensure that such processes propel long-term success? Especially during a time of shrinking markets and budgets?”

Becoming More Competitive Through Built-In Cost Containment
“Cost containment has become part of every company’s culture particularly at small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs.) Containing and cutting costs to increase profitability can have exponential competitive benefits for SMBs as long as they take a positive approach to such a strategy, one that balances efficiency with delivery quality and other attributes that customer value.”

“Process change is hard, especially for something as complex and dynamic as a company’s product development process. This benchmark study found that Best-in class companies report that as result of process improvement: 1) their ability to achieve success in the marketplace with new products and/or services was improved or significantly improved by 80%; and 2) their ability to deliver more new and innovative products was improved or significantly improved by 70%.”

Download the white paper, What does “Getting the Process Right” Mean for the SMB Enterprise to how to distinguish your company from your peers in the area of product development.

No doubt you have evaluated different ways for your organization to save money. But, have you taken a serious look at how you can harness product development activities- tasks that you do every day- to make more money? Learn how you can plan your company's path to business fitness.

Now that all-digital product development is a reality and information collaboration is a fact of business life, reusing product design information is becoming a necessity. However, Aberdeen Research found that performance gaps between many manufacturers can be tied directly to the effectiveness of how companies approach design reuse.

Design reuse has come a long way from the days of searching for part numbers and recording data in paper notebooks. Today's methods are far easier and much more efficient- adding needed speed to the entire product development process. Learn how you can save as much as 75% of a design engineers modeling time, improve quality and time to market.

Join PTC for this webcast and learn the best practice strategies for design reuse. Discover how design reuse promotes efficiency in product development, resulting in reduced design cycle times and accelerated time-to-market.

“In today’s competitive market, companies need to look for ways to reduce excess costs and preserve valuable time. To identify successful practices for reducing scrap and rework, Aberdeen examined two areas that are a source of scrap: the design process and manufacturing planning.”

Learn how companies looking to reduce costs and save time by reducing their scrap rates and required rework can look to those who are most satisfied with their scrap and rework rates for best practices to improve.

Production scrap and design rework are two inefficiencies that can quickly put you at a competitive disadvantage if you aren’t working continuously to reduce them.

Learn how you can save time and money by following four steps to reduce production scrap and rework.

Join PTC for this webcast and learn how successful companies are implementing new initiatives in change management, production machining and product validation to significantly reduce production scrap and design rework, and their associated costs.

Small and Medium businesses are facing pressures to meet the changing needs of their customers. “Aberdeen research suggests that a collaborative design effort that engages ‘outsiders’ as well as ‘insiders’ in the product development process can have a powerful impact on an organization’s ability to develop and deliver successful products.”

Download this report and learn how top Small and Medium businesses are benefiting from adopting a cross-departmental collaboration strategy that improves product definition and supports design for manufacturability initiatives.

Not only has product development become fully globalized, but the pressures to deliver products on time and within budget have mounted.

Reviewing the state of your company’s collaborative framework in terms of speed, accuracy and completeness will help you set a collaboration-building strategy that works for your company.

The pressures of globally distributed design teams and more stringent time, cost, regulatory and quality requirements continue to complicate the product development process. In order to succeed, SMB organizations need to collaborate across project teams more efficiently to bring the right products to the marketplace at the right time.

View this on-demand webcast and learn how leading companies have built an engineering collaboration framework that's best suited for their business.

Physical prototypes and testing add additional cost and consume valuable time during the design cycle. Often times, designs are too constrained late in the process to property address problems identified during testing. In today’s uncertain economic environment, you can’t afford to add additional time and cost to your development cycles.

This Aberdeen Report will provide you with best practices on how other Small and Medium Business are leveraging virtual prototypes to identify and troubleshoot performance issues early in the design cycles.

Virtual prototyping can save time, cut costs and deliver fresh insight into CAD models, but only if it’s applied correctly. Do you have the correct measures in place to employ virtual prototyping with confidence?

This feature article will help you define best practiced for implementing virtual prototypes that produce credible results, and products that perform as well in the real world as they do on the workstation.

Photorealistic rendering solutions are more feature-filled and easier to use than ever. By following four best practices, engineers can use these applications to create more realistic images more quickly and further reduce the need for building physical prototypes.

With Pro/ENGINEER Advanced Rendering, you can quickly create stunning, photo-realistic product images. Now you can produce richer marketing material and enable more compelling design reviews in less time and without costly physical prototypes or staged background scenery.

Download one of our three screensavers to see a few examples of the possible effects!