High Peak Systems Ltd

Improve your design cycle

Ben Fentem — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 08:18:15 +0000

British summer has finally arrived! All across the UK’s roads and bridleways, a fair weather creature known as the Mamil can be seen in abundance. Often travelling in packs, and frequently to be found outside watering holes serving alcoholic beverages, the Mamil, or ‘Middle Aged Man in Lycra’, can be found with his push bike making the most of the Great British countryside and the sunshine.

Bicycle technology has developed constantly, from early innovations such as rubber tyres and sprung saddles to modern suspension systems and electric drive systems, the technology involved in the bicycle has evolved almost beyond recognition. Carbon fibre, aircraft grade Aluminium and other materials have brought down weight and

increased frame strength, multi compound tyres have helped increased speed, grip and durability on and off the roads.

Two of the biggest names in Mountain Biking have turned to PTC’s Creo software to help them bring the latest technologies into their bicycle designs.

Specialized brought the first mass market mountain bike to the market in the early 1980’s and were one of the first companies to develop a line of mountain bikes designed specifically for women. The women’s bikes feature smaller diameter tubing, a lighter (but not weaker) overall weight, and tuned suspension.

“Our products are 100% inspired and built for the women we are and the women we meet every day,” says the company web site. This year Specialized’s women’s line is 10 years old.

“Many of the ideas and themes you find on our high-end bikes originated in the women’s line,” says creative director Robert Egger.

“That’s because they tend to be more open minded about trying new ideas.”

Robb Jankura, mountain bike engineering manager and power PTC Creo user, credits the design software for helping Specialized bring the best ideas to market.

“With PTC Creo, we can explore more concepts than ever before, and pick those that will have the most impact on performance or

comfort. We fully built, tested, and optimized these new components within PTC Creo, saving us weeks and months compared to traditional physical prototyping techniques.”

Santa Cruz Bicycles was founded in 1993 in Santa Cruz, California. Today they manufacture 19 different models of high performance mountain bikes and are in the process of moving into larger premise to allow them to grow further, having doubled their turnover since 2007. Joe Graney, Santa Cruz Bicycles Director of Engineering says that PTC Creo has a lot to do with that growth.

“Over the past year, we created six brand new models, plus upgraded several more. Before we used PTC’s design tools, we were only producing one or two new models per year,” states Graney. “Our customers want the latest technology, and being able to bring new bikes to market quickly satisfies that desire and drives sales. People want to buy the latest and greatest. With PTC Creo, we can create many design iterations before prototyping. This means we are able to decrease our time-to-market, while we design exciting new bikes. We’ve actually cut the time it takes to bring a new mountain bike model to market by about two-thirds.”

While the bicycle industry may not be everyones industry, the same challenges apply. Decreasing time to market, lowering costs, better material usage are benefits that all design and manufacturing settings can benefit from. For more information on PTC Creo products and to see which of the tools could help optimise your design requirements, contact sales@highpeaksystems.com or give us a call on 0845 453 4101

*PS, 3 members of the team at High Peak Systems fall under the category of Mamil, or at least young Mamil

Could Mathcad have saved The Apprentice’s blushes?

Ben Fentem — Fri, 31 May 2013 14:07:14 +0000

**Guest post by Thomas Devaraj, PTC Mathcad’s Presales Business Development Manager**

In this week’s episode of The Apprentice UK the competing teams had to complete an international task that required them to fly out to Dubai. For this task, the teams were required to negotiate deals for specific items on a list for a luxury hotel. One of their missions on the list was to obtain the flag of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for a specified size at the best price possible.

The apprentices seemed to struggle with basic unit conversions from feet to centimeters. In a hurry and under pressure they ordered a made to measure flag of the UAE over the phone. Whilst clarifying the dimensions with the producer, team member Kurt Wilson conducted a quick calculation and converted the required dimensions of 4ft by 6ft into 48cm by 72cm.

Oops!

Using PTC Mathcad’s built-in unit converter it’s easy to see where the error was made.

It’s fair to say they had a bit of a shock when they turned up to pick up the flag from the producer.

Nick Hewer remarked, “Here in the land of the sand dune, the camel, and the Burj Al Arab, size really matters. They came to buy a flag of a certain size, they got the size wrong, they got one the size of a napkin. Why? Because they weren’t paying attention.”

In the end this cost them dearly: the price of the first flag + the cost of the correctly sized replacement flag. They narrowly lost the task and their project manager got fired.

On a far more serious point, quantifying the impact of errors from what may at the time seem like trivial calculations can be difficult. Very often such decisions need to be made quickly and in a pressured environment, so it’s easy to see how such errors may easily occur.

A high profile example can be traced backed to 1999 when NASA lost a $125 million Mars orbiterbecause one engineering team used metric units while another used English (Imperial) units for a key spacecraft operation.

“People sometimes make errors,” said Edward Weiler, NASA’s Associate Administrator for Space Science in a written statement.

“The problem here was not the error, it was the failure of NASA’s systems engineering, and the checks and balances in our processes to detect the error. That’s why we lost the spacecraft.”

The crucial point is, humans make mistakes, but it’s the ability to identify and correct those errors before it’s too late that we should be focusing on. The question is, can you or your business afford to make what might seem like trivial errors that ultimately might end up costing the business or even your job?

See how PTC Mathcad helps engineers and scientists to understand unit conversions, giving them total confidence in their calculations and giving them the ability to stay one step ahead.

To find out more about Mathcad visit www.highpeaksystems.com/products/mathcad/ or call 0845 453 4101

Taking control of electrical design

Ben Fentem — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:59:38 +0000

The global plant and machinery market is highly competitive. Like all industries, companies have had to find smarter ways of working in order to compete, and they have looked to their engineering departments to see where improvements and cost savings could be made in design and manufacturing.

Among the challenges faced by the plant and machinery sector are the diversity of products produced, and the equally diverse requirements of their customers. On a technical level, there is increasing focus on the decentralization of control systems and the introduction of modular design philosophies; highlighting the need for controlled design reuse. The drive of mechatronics in the industry has meant greater collaboration between engineering disciplines. Examples include mechanical and electrical engineers communicating about harness and panel placement with fluid engineers, regarding the valve control systems required by the complex fluidic systems found in many plants and machines.

In this dynamic marketplace, constant product changes must be managed in a controlled manner in order to meet schedules, reduce rework, and lower costs

E3.series is used by thousands in the plant and machinery sector. Its broad functionality and flexibility has helped them deliver complex and innovative products, with the new E3.series Machinery Edition designed to meet the complex issues faced by the plant and machinery sector.

Specially configured to meet the needs of key industries, E3.series industry editions evolved through working with key customers in each of these sectors and contain functionality core to these industries. The E3 Series Machinery Edition includes:

E³.schematic: For design and documentation of plant and machinery electrical and fluid schematics.

E³.panel: For general arrangement drawings of cabinet enclosures. Work in either 2D or 3D, place devices, cable ducts and mounting rails and prepare panels for manufacture.

E³.pdf: For producing intelligent multi-sheet PDF outputs of designs, with full project structure and built-in hyperlinks.

With numerous other modules available, including tools for options and variants, panel auto routing and revision management as well as integration in to most major MCAD and PDM systems, the E3.Series Machinery edition is used by thousands in the plant and machinery sector. Its broad functionality has helped them deliver complex and innovative products.

To find out more about E3.Series, explore the Electrical Solutions of the site, or contact us on 0845 453 4101 or via email at
sales@highpeaksystems.com

Using PDM in Small to Medium Businesses

Ben Fentem — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 11:49:48 +0000

In a recent global product development survey, one big difference in the design process came to light between larger enterprises and Small to Medium Businesses: The use of Product Data Management, or PDM, Software. Of those surveyed, 29% of SMB’s currently run a commercial PDM solution compared to 75% of larger companies.

For many smaller companies, different product data is stored in different location and formats, making it difficult to cross-reference all information that’s related to a particular product. Often shared folders and ftp sites are used to manage and transfer information. These are easy to setup but come with some serious restrictions; particularly as the company and the amount of data being managed grow.

Access rights and security are impossible to control, revision management becomes ‘last save wins’, data is often duplicated, non-CAD users can’t see design data until late in the process, problems in producing Bills of Materials or where used reports.

Many of the commercially available PDM systems require too much configuration and management to be valid solutions for smaller companies, however this doesn’t have to be the case. PTC Windchill PDM Essentials is a streamlined solution for SMB’s, based on PTC’s Windchill software, allowing companies to manage CAD data and Documents.

PDM Essentials is easy to deploy, easy to use and easy to maintain and provides numerous benefits including:

–Shortened time-to-market – Increases development efficiency via early visibility and collaboration allowing access to single source of product data for all roles to facilitate concurrent engineering, analysis, manufacturing, etc.–Improves quality and innovation

– Enhanced communication and collaboration improves quality and innovation, increasing the effective utilization of company knowledge and IP.

–Reduces development and manufacturing costs – Helps eliminate errors due to version control, improves data reuse and efficiency through quick searches, and ensures formats are automatically generated upon release for use by manufacturing, purchasing, etc.

To find out more about PDM Essentials and to see how PDM software could benefit your business, contact us on 0845 453 4101 or email us at sales@highpeaksystems.com

Electrical design for the Automotive Sector

Ben Fentem — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 08:52:32 +0000

Over the last couple of years, E3.Series has been rapidly adopted within the Automotive and Special Vehicle industries and their supply chain. Ford, the Fiat Group, BMW and Mercedes amongst others have all adopted E3.Series to design and develop electrical systems for their vehicles. Numerous big name manufacturers of buses, fire engines, earth movers and construction equipment have also integrated E3.Series into their product development process.

In the coming months we will be introducing you to some British and Irish adopters of E3.Series within the automotive industry and its supply chain. From prestige marques to bus builders and harness manufacturers, we will share how E3.Series has helped to improve design processes, increase innovation, save time and money and improve quality.

To find out more about E3.Series for Automotive wire harness and control design, view the video below or contact us on 0845 453 4101 for more information.

Pland Stainless – Design for the Secure environment

Ben Fentem — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 11:41:56 +0000

High Peak Systems customer Pland Stainless have been featured on engineering.com’s Product Design Show, this time focusing on their work in design for the secure environment and the design challenges this creates.

Dean Johnson, Design and Development Engineer at Pland Stainless has long been a user of Creo Elements Direct Modelling and makes use of its extensive sheet metal functionality to meet these special demands.

To find out more about Creo Elements Direct Modelling, visit the Creo Elements Direct pages on our website

Get back to making Cool Stuff

Ben Fentem — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 15:50:34 +0000

Zuken have released a great new video highlighting some of the benefits of using Zukens E3.Series. Recently reviewed by Jason Brett of Cad Digest who described E3.Series as:

“A Comprehensive set of electrical, pneumatic and hydraulic design tools for creating the cabling, connectors and controls that bring machines to life….I found E3.Series to be fast, powerful and efficient..”

To find out more about E3.Series, Click here or contact us on 0845 453 4101

Creo User Aquamatic Samplers chosen as Connectpress Innovator of the Month

Ben Fentem — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 10:05:54 +0000

High Peak Systems customer, Aquamatic Samplers have been chosen as the ConnectPress Innovator of the Month Pick for January 2013 for taking the leap from 2D into 3D using Creo Elements/Direct Modeling.

The Innovator of the Month highlights CreoCommunity.com’s picks on companies innovating in manufacturing.

PTC Creo Elements Direct Modeling Delivers Easiest Approach for 2D Designers to Add 3D

Industry needs water. Power plants, food processors, and manufacturers all suck up billions of cubic meters of the stuff so they can light your house, feed your family, and roll out your automobiles. In fact, it’s estimated that industry accounts for 22% of global water use.

Aquamatic’s Technical Director, Peter Smith

“We took on the software, starting with a 2-day training course from High Peak Systems. Learning Creo’s direct modeling approach was no problem at all. Making modifications easily was probably what sold us on the direct modeling approach,and with our data in 3D, models are easier to visualize and analyze, especially for anyone who’s not an expert at reading 2D drawings.”

“Overall, Creo is making our design /development process a whole lot smoother.”

Read the full story to find out more.

How Creo Elements Direct helped design the world’s fastest-selling consumer electronics device, ever.

Ben Fentem — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 16:02:25 +0000

Officially named the fastest-selling consumer electronics device ever by Guinness World Records, Kinect for Xbox 360 has gone down in history as one of the greatest successes in the gaming sector. The first of its kind on the market, the controller-free entertainment system sold an average of 133,333 units per day to total eight million units in its first 60 days between 4 November 2010 and 3 January 2011 – a figure no other consumer electronics device has exceeded within this time span..Take a look at how the use of PTC technology, particularly Creo Elements Direct, has helped make Microsoft Kinect the success it is today:

‘The incredible speed and flexibility of direct modelling has enabled us to achieve results that would not have been possible with a parametric approach. Each method has unique advantages, so the blending of these capabilities in Creo enables users to access the extended capabilities of both through . The result is a toolset that is powerful, flexible and very fast.’

Louis Barinaga, director of mechanical engineering, Xbox Accessories.

Bus and coach giant Alexander Dennis selects Zuken’s E3.series

Ben Fentem — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 14:50:05 +0000

Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL), Britain’s largest bus and coach manufacturer, has recently adopted Zuken’s leading electrical and fluid CAD software,E3.series.

Alexander Dennis chose E3.series after an extensive selection process which focused on their desire to create a fully-integrated electrical design process and a unified project and data management environment. They will use E3.series to help drive process change for electrical system and harness design.

A key factor in Alexander Dennis’ decision was E3.series’ object-oriented architecture, which will enable the company to create smart drawings which feed all stages of the design process, including manufacturing and purchasing. Additionally, Zuken’s PDM adaptor (ZPA) will integrate electrical design and part data with Siemens TeamCenter, Alexander Dennis’ chosen PLM tool.

David Alexander, Group Engineering Systems Manager at Alexander Dennis, said: ”We wanted a flexible, highly integrated electrical design solution which would help us improve our existing system and establish new design processes, ranging from the capture of a vehicle’s functional electrical topology, through detailed design, to the creation of harness manufacture data.”

An additional factor was E3.series’ built-in capacity for design process evolution; as process needs change, the system can be developed to keep up with new requirements.

E3.series will enhance the accuracy, consistency and availability of Alexander Dennis’ data, helping them meet the future challenges of competitive product development and manufacturing.

Every minute of every day ADL buses carry 25,000 passengers in 20 countries around the world, covering 2.5 billion miles per year. ADL is the fastest-growing bus business in the western world, having tripled turnover in the past five years to £500m, extending its reach with build partnerships, joint ventures and acquisitions in territories such as Hong Kong, China, Australia, New Zealand and North America.

For more information about E3.series, see www.highpeaksystems.com/products/zuken

For more information about Alexander Dennis, see www.alexander-dennis.com.