Case Study
The best of all worlds for mold and die
Vero International Software
Parasolid lets Vero International provide mold and die makers with highly advanced mold and die software that is compatible with the widest variety of major CAD programs
Vero International works within a paradox: the company must create intelligent, specialized software that must also be compatible with many other applications.
The developer’s paradox
Vero International Software, a publicly traded company and one of the world's fastest growing CAM vendors, develops CAD/CAM and CAE applications for the mold and die industry. These applications, called the VISI-Series, combine strong modeling functionality with specialized intelligence for streamlining the development of tools and dies. In creating these applications, Vero developers must balance seemingly conflicting requirements.On one hand, they are providing applications that are tailored to the unique needs of a particular industry. On the other hand, their customers require compatibility with a wide variety of major design applications.
Another big challenge in creating software for the mold and die industry is modeling functionality. It must be highly advanced. “Our customers work in a wide range of industries, including automotive, consumer goods and aerospace,” says Richard Youhill, sales director at Vero. “They must be able to handle all of the complex shapes their customers create.”
Parasolid from a development standpoint
The need for advanced modeling functionality led Vero to consider purchasing a geometry kernel in the early 1990s. That way, the company could continue to focus on its core expertise in mold and die design and be ensured of a modeler that was always up-to-date with the latest functionality. After evaluating a number of options, Vero chose Parasolid, the world’s leading geometric modeling kernel. That was in 1994 and Vero was the first company to license Parasolid on a PC. The reason they chose Parasolid was because “it was the most stable of the kernels on the market and had the most functionality,” according to Gerry O’Driscoll, Vero’s development director.
Since then Vero has continued to rely on Parasolid, basing the entire VISI-Series product line on this kernel. “We continue to choose Parasolid because we trust its quality and reliability,” says Don Babbs, Vero’s CEO. “Parasolid is critical to our ability to deliver the high level of functionality our customers require.” The VISI-series includes a comprehensive range of design, analysis and CAM software including modules for 3D design, mold tool design, progressive die design, analysis, 2D and 3D CAM, high-speed machining, wire EDM and five-axis machining. In addition to tapping Parasolid’s strong modeling functionality, Vero uses Parasolid as the platform that delivers other critical features, such as associativity between its design and manufacturing applications. Parasolid also enables essential functionality within the CAM software, such as interference checking.
From a development standpoint, “The power of Parasolid is a huge benefit,” says O’Driscoll. “It’s modeling capabilities are excellent and we use them extensively.” Even by conservative estimates, it would take a company such as Vero years of development resourced by a large development staff to bring a geometry kernel modeler to practical production, let alone one known for innovation and reliability. Another key Parasolid advantage is its reliability. “We’re always confident about its quality,” he adds.O’Driscoll notes that it has been easy to work with Parasolid over the years. By that he means that Parasolid is easy to integrate within the Vero applications, such as when a new version of Parasolid becomes available. It takes only one-half hour to integrate the new version and another half day to compile the updated code. “It takes just that short time to provide our customers with the most up-to-date modeling capabilities available,” O’Driscoll says. The other aspect of working with Parasolid that O’Driscoll appreciates is the support from Siemens PLM Software. “It’s excellent,” he says.
Parasolid from a marketing standpoint
The benefits of Parasolid extend to Vero’s marketing efforts as well. Vero’s customers must accept design files in any format. If they can’t they might lose business. Because Vero’s customer base is broad, this becomes a tall order. “Our customers work in many different industries so they’re dealing with many different CAD systems,” explains Youhill. “The Parasolid pipeline is the easiest way for us to ensure that our customers have the level of compatibility they require.” What Youhill refers to is the ability to transfer files in Parasolid format from one Parasolid-based application to another with 100 percent accuracy. In addition, because the user base of Parasolid is so large (more than two million users), there are highly accurate translators available to translate any file format into Parasolid.
The other way that Parasolid aids Vero in its marketing efforts is that it makes it easier to create new applications. For example, the company recently decided to add an analysis solution to the VISI-Series. “The development went quickly because we were able to draw down a great deal of functionality from Parasolid,” explains Youhill. The new program, VISI-Analysis, is an add-on solution. Because customers pay extra for it, it’s bringing in additional revenue. More importantly perhaps, VISI-Analysis is opening the door to new accounts. “We’ve managed to secure many new accounts specifically because of the analysis tool application,” Youhill adds. For Vero International Software, marketing benefits such as these combine with development advantages to make Parasolid a very valuable asset.
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Challenges:
- Provide specialized design, analysis and manufacturing solutions for the mold and die industries
- Ensure that Vero software is compatible with the widest variety of formats customers might encounter
- Continually update VISI product line to create new business opportunities
Keys To Success:
- Integrate Parasolid® software to give CAD/CAM and CAE applications advanced modeling functionality
- Trust Parasolid to ensure compatibility with leading design systems
Results:
- Reliability of Parasolid ensures robust performance of VISI applications
- Broad acceptance of Parasolid (1 million+ users) is selling point for VISI-Series
- Parasolid functionality speeds development of new applications and enables Vero to effectively focus its development resources on their areas of expertise
Industry:
- Machinery & Industrial
Client's Primary Business:
Vero International Software develops and sells VISI-Series, one of the world's leading PC-based design and manufacturing solutions for the mold and die industries.
Business Initiatives:
- Production Efficiency
Solutions/Services:
- PLM Components
- Parasolid
Client Location:
Gloucestershire, England
United Kingdom
"We have been more than happy with our choice of Parasolid. Since we started using it in the early 1990s, Parasolid has continued to open up new markets and potential new users for our products."
Don Babbs
CEO
Vero International Software