CLOUD

AquaCal, the country's largest manufacturer of heat pumps for pools and spas, has cut its product time to market by 60 percent with SolidWorks 3D mechanical design software. AquaCal uses SolidWorks to streamline product design, PDMWorks to maintain version control of different design iterations, and COSMOSFloWorks to study how efficiently water flows through the heat pumps and spas. Based in St. Petersburg , Fla. , and founded in 1981, AquaCal is one of the industry's oldest pool and spa pump manufacturers. AquaCal standardized on SolidWorks to migrate from static 2D drawings to dynamic 3D models, which enable engineers to better visualize and accelerate designs for assemblies, sheet metal fabrication, and plastic mold injection. “AutoCAD forced us to do too much work around each design iteration, so we searched for a 3D CAD system to drive product development from concept to manufacturing without overburdening us with high costs and complexity,” said Eric Bright, a design engineer at AquaCal. “Of all the products we reviewed, SolidWorks had the ease of use and design power to speed time to market, all in an affordable package.” AquaCal has repeatedly tested SolidWorks' design speed as AquaCal competes with a growing number of manufacturers to be first with the latest pool or spa pump. In 2003, the engineering team finished a complete reorganization and retrofit of the product line – two major model lines with multiple configurations for each – using SolidWorks software. SolidWorks' intuitive interface, assembly design, automated bill of materials, and associativity for automating changes throughout the 3D model helped engineers finish the designs in eight months, not the 17 months and additional staff that working with 2D tools would have required. Reduced prototyping, better design data management COSMOSFloWorks fluid flow simulation software, along with SolidWorks' collision detection and other troubleshooting capabilities, has helped AquaCal reduce expensive prototyping by solving design issues beforehand. “Some of the molds we deal with are quite expensive, so we need to have the design right the first time,” said Bright. “SolidWorks and COSMOSFloWorks let us spot and fix errors before they affect cost and scheduling.” COSMOSFloWorks was particularly helpful in studying how water flows through the Thermo Link Heat Exchanger, which heats the water before it is pumped into the pool or spa. AquaCal uses PDMWorks product data management software to manage the design data that the company generates, ensuring version control and preventing design errors. AquaCal also uses the eDrawings ä e-mail-enabled design communication tool to collaborate on 3D models with colleagues, customers, and suppliers. PhotoWorks ä software provides photorealistic images of the heat pumps that the company uses to show product models to customers and prospective customers. “SolidWorks has opened new productivity doors to AquaCal that enable the company to maintain its market leadership by delivering new and better products faster and with less work,” said Ilya Mirman , SolidWorks vice president of marketing. “Reduced prototyping, fewer errors to troubleshoot, fewer steps to design completion, and less busywork are the hallmarks of AquaCal's product development cycle.” AquaCal relies on SolidWorks reseller Solid Advice Engineering, Inc. for ongoing software training, implementation, and support.