Dyco, the leading manufacturer and integrator of turnkey container-handling systems, has switched to SolidWorks 3D CAD software, a move that has nearly doubled engineers' design speed and for the first time will enable teams to work efficiently with very large assemblies. 'The big thing my guys are talking about is speed, and how it lets them design better products,' said Dyco engineering manager Doug Gordner. 'With our previous software, Autodesk Inventor, it took five, 10, even 15 minutes to open a model'.

'No longer do we have to keep single assemblies in multiple files to avoid crashes'.

'It's also much quicker and easier with SolidWorks to customise a design for a customer who, for example, wants a machine to handle 12-inch-tall plastic containers versus standard 10-inch-tall plastic containers'.

'SolidWorks is faster, more stable, and easier to use, a combination that lets us work nearly twice as fast on our most complex designs'.

The 33-year-old Bloomsburg, Pa, company makes a full line of container-handling equipment, including fully automatic systems for bagging, debagging, annealing, palletizing, bottle turning, and conveying, many configured or fully customised for each customer.

With their previous software, Dyco engineers were forced to split large files into two assemblies to avoid crashes, freezes, and other performance problems.

They can now work easily with 6,000-part assembly designs and can add nuts, bolts, and other fasteners to designs, driving part counts even higher and increasing file complexity.

Dyco is making heavy use of the SolidWorks eDrawings e-mail-enabled 3D model-sharing tool, which is helping CNC operators make parts and machine assembly personnel more quickly fit parts together.

The company is also using the PDMWorks product data management tool to replace its spreadsheet-based filing system and is beginning to use COSMOS analysis software to streamline development and analysis of robotics equipment.

'Dyco machines optimise the efficiency of customers' plants, so the company keenly understands the critical importance of efficiency in its own business,' said SolidWorks Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Rainer Gawlick.

'That's why adopting SolidWorks software was a natural decision, and the result is that Dyco can design better products and deliver them more quickly to market'.