“I do a lot of sheet metal design in my job and really appreciate the user-friendliness and ease-of-use of the sheet metal functionality in Pro/ENGINEER.”
Thomas Alder works as mechanical engineer for nowak engineering GmbH in Spreitenbach, Switzerland.
Having graduated from engineering school in 2005, he belongs to the younger generation of Pro/ENGINEER users. When he started working for nowak engineering, Mr. Alder attended a one-week training class conducted by the local PTC Reseller.
“The training week was very effective, and I found the learning curve very low,” he reports. “Although I was totally new to the 3D world, I was able to do productive work right after my training week. Now, after three years, I still keep learning from my senior colleagues as my job tasks expand. The functionality offered in Pro/ENGINEER is so rich, it seems there is nothing that cannot be done with this software.”
Why Pro/ENGINEER is So Effective
“Currently, I am involved with designing a wave soldering machine, which uses many sheet metal components. I think it is great that such comprehensive sheet metal functionality is fully integrated in Pro/ENGINEER.
The wave soldering system “modula wave” is being designed completely in Pro/ENGINEER.
A special feature of Pro/ENGINEER is that I can easily convert volume components to sheet metal components, if necessary. This means that I can start by designing a simple volume model-for example, a covering. Later in the process I can convert this volume model into a parametric sheet metal component, which is then used through to the production process. This method is not only very easy to use, but also offers enormous advantages with respect to time and quality.
Detail view of the soldering unit.
The user-friendliness in ‘sheet metal mode’ is excellent, so that it was very easy for me to learn how to use this feature. Especially time-saving is the use of UDFs (User Defined Features), which allow me to easily reuse existing design elements, such as vent slots, corner undercuts, complex openings, etc., for an efficient production process.”