Creating Digital Prototypes With Autodesk Inventor Helps Award-Winning
Dental Manufacturer Save Time and Money
SAN RAFAEL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 30, 2011--
Autodesk,
Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) has named A-dec, Inc. — a leading manufacturer of
dental chairs and equipment — as Autodesk Inventor
of the Month for November 2011, recognizing its use of Autodesk
software to more effectively design and develop products and generate
technical documentation, such as user manuals and service guides, for
its popular dentistry products.
A-dec uses Autodesk Inventor to more effectively design and develop popular dentistry products. (Photo: Business Wire)
A-dec’s award-winning dental equipment can be found in the White House,
ships at sea, more than 100 countries and 90 percent of dental schools
throughout the United States and Canada. Founded in 1964, the
family-owned, Oregon-based company is one of the world’s leading dental
equipment solution providers and a one-stop shop for cutting-edge,
configured to order dental equipment systems.
To design new products and help ensure all parts operate smoothly within
a dental system, A-dec relies on Autodesk
Inventor Digital
Prototyping software that allows the company to validate product
designs prior to physical prototyping, integrate system components
easily with the use of assembly simulations and cut time to market
significantly.
Using Inventor software, A-dec engineers can bring innovative ideas to
life in a 3D model. And given the complex and integrative nature of
A-dec’s dental equipment, Inventor helps engineers quickly determine
whether and how one component will work within the greater equipment
system. For example, before a single part is manufactured, engineers can
look at digital prototypes of entire assemblies and systems to help
ensure all parts connect and move smoothly.
“The digital prototype is our primary design tool,” says Patrick Berry,
staff engineer in product development at A-dec. “With Inventor software,
we can integrate everything in one place and see a complete prototype
before anything is built. We’re getting to a more perfect physical
prototype much faster. Also, now that we have incorporated Autodesk
Product Design Suite, it has enabled us to further enhance our
workflow.”
Autodesk 3ds Max, Inventor Publisher and Vault Software Further
Simplify Documentation
For several years, the A-dec Technical Communications team has been
importing Autodesk Inventor models into Autodesk
3ds Max rendering and animation software to create photorealistic
illustrations for its publications. This allows the team to begin
illustration work well before they have a physical product to work with
and allows time to evaluate and improve documents before they go to
translation. The realistic images require less textual explanation,
improving usability of the documents and reducing translation costs.
A-dec has also started exploring Autodesk
Inventor Publisher software, supplied by Autodesk partner IMAGINiT
Technologies, as part of its workflow. Inventor Publisher is innovative,
easy-to-use technical documentation software for creating 2D printed and
3D interactive product documentation.
A-dec plans to move many documentation and instruction-related projects
to Inventor Publisher, and expects significant efficiency gains in
preparing exploded view drawings and training animations. Historically,
these tasks would have required many hours from the technical
publication department to work with Inventor files created by the
engineering department, filter the model or images, and then complete
the work in other software applications. With Inventor Publisher,
eliminated and streamlined tasks will allow these projects to be
completed with a fraction of the effort previously required.
A-dec is testing the free* Inventor Publisher Viewer app for viewing on
mobile devices — this could allow the consumers of A-dec’s
documentation, such as field service technicians and dentists, to access
rich interactive 3D Inventor Publisher content right from their mobile
devices. This digital publishing option can provide A-dec customers
relevant 3D information right at their fingertips, without having to
rely on a hard copy manual.
In addition, A-dec engineers use Autodesk
Vault data management software to manage all data related to the
digital prototype. With many engineers working concurrently and
designing parts that must ultimately interconnect, Vault software lets
the engineers know they’re always designing and building interfaces
around the most up-to-date parts. Vault software also makes it possible
for stakeholders in different departments and locations to leverage the
digital prototype and its built-in information. External vendors use the
digital model to create tools and cast parts.
“With its use of Inventor and other Autodesk solutions, A-dec is
extending the power of Digital
Prototyping beyond the engineering department to other parts of the
company,” said Robert
“Buzz” Kross, senior vice president, Manufacturing Industry Group at
Autodesk. “The more ways A-dec can efficiently benefit from a single
digital model within the organization, the more the company can increase
productivity, reduce costs and dramatically improve their own customers’
experience with their products.”
About the Autodesk Inventor of the Month Program
Each month, Autodesk selects an Inventor of the Month from the users of
Autodesk Inventor software, which takes manufacturers beyond 3D to
Digital Prototyping. Winners are chosen for engineering excellence and
groundbreaking innovation. For more information about Autodesk Inventor
of the Month, contact us at IOM@autodesk.com.
About A-dec
As a leading manufacturer of dental chairs, delivery systems, dental
lights and treatment room cabinetry, A-dec provides reliable dental
equipment solutions to better the lives of dentists and their patients
worldwide. For additional information, visit www.a-dec.com.
About IMAGINiT Technologies
IMAGINiT Technologies, A RAND Worldwide Company (OTCBB:RWWI),
is the world’s largest provider of enterprise solutions to the
engineering community. IMAGINiT is a leading provider of Autodesk
software solutions and the largest North American Autodesk Authorized
Training Center (ATC) partner. For additional information, visit www.imaginit.com.
About Autodesk
Autodesk, Inc., is a leader in 3D
design, engineering and entertainment software. Customers across the
manufacturing, architecture, building, construction, and media and
entertainment industries — including the last 16 Academy Award winners
for Best Visual Effects — use Autodesk software to design, visualize and
simulate their ideas. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in
1982, Autodesk continues to develop the broadest portfolio of
state-of-the-art software for global markets. For additional information
about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com.
Editorial Note: An interview with A-dec is available on the Autodesk
YouTube Channel at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU7opgZl4EE&feature=relmfu.
*Free products are subject to the terms and conditions of the
end-user license and services agreement that accompanies the software.
Autodesk, AutoCAD, ATC, Autodesk Inventor, Inventor and 3ds Max are
registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its
subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries.
Academy Award is a registered trademark of the Academy of Motion Picture
Arts and Sciences. All other brand names, product names or trademarks
belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter
product and services offerings, and specifications and pricing at any
time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or
graphical errors that may appear in this document.
© 2011 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50088269&lang=en
Source: Autodesk, Inc.
Autodesk, Inc.
Jennifer Gentrup, 415-547-2435
jennifer.gentrup@autodesk.com