ACADEMIA

CONCORD, Mass. - KeyMed has standardized on SolidWorks( three-dimensional (3D) design software to design its life-saving endoscope equipment and workstations found in hospitals worldwide, SolidWorks announced today. The U.K.-based company uses SolidWorks software, including COSMOSWorks(tm) analysis and SMARTEAM( product data management (PDM) applications company-wide - from research and development to manufacturing. Together, these applications enable the company to streamline the product development cycle and get its medical products into doctors' hands faster. KeyMed, a subsidiary of Olympus Optical Co. Ltd., uses 30 licenses of SolidWorks computer-aided design (CAD) software to design support equipment for a range of endoscopy systems that enable doctors to see internal organs during surgery. Their products include vacuum pumps, sterilization cases, and ultrasonic cleaners, as well as equipment trollies that carry life-saving utensils down hospital corridors. SolidWorks greatly increases KeyMed's productivity, where each project can involve hundreds of parts, shortening the product development lifecycle, and reducing design errors. KeyMed previously used a mix of 2D and 3D CAD packages, but replaced them with SolidWorks to gain more powerful design capabilities in one easy-to-use product. SolidWorks also integrates with several third-party software packages that are essential to KeyMed's design process. "Our products' ergonomics are complex in terms of shapes and moldings and our previous design software was not flexible enough to model all the surfaces," said Ian Hallett, KeyMed's medical research and development manager. "We also wanted to expand our CAD use within the engineering department and throughout the entire company, and our existing software wasn't suitable for that because it was too difficult to use. SolidWorks is clearly a more advanced design package that offers superior modeling capabilities, a powerful user interface, and extensive integration with third-party packages." With SolidWorks, KeyMed can visualize what a product will look like on the computer screen instead of machining actual parts, an expensive and time-consuming process. The company uses SolidWorks' PhotoWorks(tm) to produce photo-realistic images for internal feedback on its designs. KeyMed uses SolidWorks' eDrawings to e-mail designs to its parent company in Japan, replacing in-person meetings that added months to the product lifecycle. The company also uses eDrawings to share designs with its 200 suppliers, allowing them to view 3D CAD files as a simple, self-executing program, without downloading additional software. Suppliers can review and mark up the drawings and e-mail them back to KeyMed in record time. KeyMed uses COSMOS finite element analysis solutions, which let KeyMed calculate how its products will perform under shock and loading vibrations, such as those that come from orderlies pushing trollies through hospital doors. Additionally, KeyMed uses SMARTEAM product data management software (PDM) to effectively manage the thousands of drawings KeyMed produces every year, allowing engineers to view the designs on a read-only basis. "As a leader in the specialized medical and industrial equipment market, KeyMed realized it needed to move to an integrated 3D CAD package that would allow it to increase productivity to continue to meet market demand," said Simon Booker, SolidWorks sales and marketing director for the UK and Ireland. "SolidWorks has set the standard for 3D CAD software and has the largest selection of integrated partner applications in the industry, making it the right choice for companies that need a complete, powerful, solid modeling solution." KeyMed is working with SolidWorks reseller NT CADCAM for ongoing software implementation, training, and support.