Original Date: 10/27/2003
Revision Date: 01/18/2007

(equipment: Solid Works 3-D Design Software)
Auto-Valve, Inc. implemented a 3-D software called Solid Works, which has decreased the time to design and redesign valve assemblies.

Auto-Valve, Inc. (AVI) produces 400 to 500 different valve assemblies per year, with about 30% of these assemblies consisting of design changes. AVI previously made these changes using AutoCAD, a 2-D drawing software, which required engineers to make changes to all of the different views and sections of an assembly. In 2000, AVI acquired Solid Works, a 3-D modeling software that alleviated the time consuming task the engineers previously experienced.

AVI imported its AutoCAD drawings into the Solid Works software and created 3-D models. The models contain features showing the relationship to other parts. When changes are made in one, all other views and sections are automatically updated. Solid Works has two incorporated software tools: COSMOS and eDrawing. COSMOS is used to perform Finite Element Analysis on 3-D models, while eDrawing allows users to e-mail 3-D models to customers. The e-mailed files contain animated 3-D models with options to stop an animation or rotate a model. These files can be used to conduct design reviews with the customer over the phone. Solid Works can also be used in conjunction with the File Manager software, SmarTeam. AVI uses SmarTeam to manage all of its valve assembly drawings and revisions. The files in SmarTeam contain scanned assembly images, AutoCAD drawings, and Solid Works models.

Since Solid Works was implemented, AVI has created 20% more valve assembly drawings per week, increasing efficiency and decreasing the time needed to design and redesign assemblies, resulting in faster customer response turn-around time.

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