Blecks, a Netherlands-based manufacturer of chimney caps, steel doors, and steel stairs, had a significant amount of manual workload in their design process. To meet growing demand for their products they needed a solution to speed up their workflow and automate repetitive tasks. To help with this, they began using DriveWorks Solo to streamline their operations.
After seeing the value of DriveWorks, they then scaled up to DriveWorks Pro to take their design automation to the next level and incorporate a configurator solution for their steel door product line.
How Blecks use DriveWorks technology
Blecks have automated the cutting of parts for their chimney caps using DriveWorks. DriveWorks drives the generation of 2D drawings, part lists and .dxf files for laser cutting. Information is passed into SOLIDWORKS® custom properties which is then etched onto each part to help identify it after cutting. The chimney caps now have a design automation rate of 95%, with over 900 orders having been run with DriveWorks.
Blecks have also created a configurator for their steel doors. This is accessed on the web and the user interface has been designed to match the company’s branding. They have now run over 1000 orders of their steel doors with this project.
They are currently working with the CPQ DriveApp to accelerate their project to implement DriveWorks as their CPQ solution. Their next aim is to integrate DriveWorks with their ERP system.
Additional benefits for Blecks
When using the steel door configurator, the user is guided by error and warning messages to ensure they are configuring a design which can be manufactured. This helps to reduce the risk of errors early in the order process. Using DriveWorks rules, generated files are saved with dynamic names, allowing the files to be sorted by thickness or material.
Translation functionality has been added to the steel door configurator, enabling the user to change the language between Dutch and English.
“Our focus in production has shifted to standardizing our engineering and further develop the standard production methods. This allows us to serve more customers in a shorter time and streamline the process”
– Corstian van Bochoven, Commerical Director at Blecks
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