CAD & automation cut design iteration by 50% for balcony manufacturer

Mechanical Engineering Case Studies

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Project in Brief
Challenges & Needs
Solution & Approach
Business Impact
Project Samples

Project Overview

Client Profile

Custom balcony manufacturer

Location

UK

Industry

Building products

Inputs

GA drawings in 2D and architectural layout

Deliverables

3D parametric models, 2D manufacturing drawings, Excel BOMs and manufacturing documents

Business Needs

Migrating balcony design workflows from 2D AutoCAD drawings to 3D environment
CAD resources to manage high and fluctuating workload and meet delivery timelines

Challenges

Managing design changes with 2D was heavy on time as each balcony had 100+ parts
A small change in one of the parts lead to changes in all adjacent parts. This made it difficult to handle fundamental design changes in balcony
2D drawings posed challenges in checking and resolving internal assembly clashes in parts
Exporting drawings files to neutral formats as each drawing was made to a specific drawing scale

Our Solutions & Approach

A balcony manufacturer in the UK eliminated design iterations by 50% with CAD and Inventor iLogic

Share Your Thoughts

Input GA drawings along with architectural layouts prepared in AutoCAD DWG format were shared by the client. Inventor 3D CAD experts at Hitech studied drawings and raised RFIs to have sufficient information to develop 3D parametric models.

3D Parametric Model and Drawing

In the first stage, design rules were defined as per client’s need and DXF files, STEP and pdf handouts were created
Top-down approach was followed to create 3D parametric models and drawing templates were automated using iLogic
iLogic macros ensured error-free design customization through auto-update of iProperties and design parameters for interlinked parts and subassemblies
Smart Inventor tools also created DXF files with zero errors generated during DXF file conversion of bent parts
A senior QC person checked the final part models, assemblies and drawings against various parameters for collision, BOM standards, part nomenclature, material properties and other documents
The project team checked and reviewed deliverables on an ongoing basis before shipping them to the client via email
Ongoing work gradually lead to increase in the team size and expanded scope of work