CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive

12 May 2005

Implementation Investments

Alibre Design Enables Gossen to Grow Its Business of Maintenance-Free Home Improvement Products

By replacing its 2D CAD tool with the Alibre Design 3D design system, Gossen Corporation, a Milwaukee, WI-based manufacturer of plastic and wood trim, accessories and maintenance-free products for the home, has built a competitive edge. For starters, the low cost application has enabled Gossen to dramatically shorten its product development cycles while increasing cost-efficiencies and customer satisfaction.

These notable gains are the result of the Alibre Design software's easy-to-use, solids-based, parametric design capabilities, says Brian Emanuel, Window and Door Systems Specialist at Gossen. "In just a couple of hours of online training, we're producing more, working faster and doing things with Alibre Design that we could never achieve in AutoCAD, like producing 3D drawings, models and assemblies," adds Emanuel.

For example, a key benefit of creating prototypes of Gossen products in Alibre Design is showing, with precise detail and accuracy, how the various components fit together and interact prior to building the actual model. Not only does this prevent errors, it saves money. In fact, Alibre Design recently enabled Gossen to resolve a design issue with one of their casement windows, saving nearly $30,000 in tooling and extrusion costs.

Additionally, Alibre Design enables Gossen design engineers to easily change models, check interference and automatically update drawings. It also allows them to create custom documentation and store it in a secure repository. Should they encounter any issue with the software, the Gossen team knows it can rely on Alibre's online support and training-a key selling point according to Emanuel.

Gossen's business has also improved because their customers are very impressed and persuaded by the quality and detail of the drawings created in Alibre Design. Emanuel explains, "They get very excited. Much more excited than with a 2D drawing. The vast majority of our customers cannot look at a 2D drawing and read it correctly. In comparison, 3D speaks volumes."

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