UK-based Ishida Europe chooses SolidWorks

Ishida Europe to cut product design time by 80 percent with SolidWorks software.

Ishida Europe will use SolidWorks 3D CAD software to streamline design time for the machinery global food companies use to automatically weigh and pack everything from cereal to seafood.

The U.K.-based company plans to reduce custom machine configuration time by 80 percent with SolidWorks' automated design and advanced sheet metal capabilities.

Ishida Europe is the European commercial and manufacturing arm of Ishida Co, the Japan-based global developer of weighing and packaging machinery founded in 1893.

Its machines weigh and pack food for such global brands as Frito-Lay, Mars, and Nestle.

The parent company had largely been using static 2D software in its operations around the world before gradually switching to SolidWorks.

The company has purchased 40 licenses of SolidWorks, and expects to grow that number to further increase product development efficiency.

"From my experience, SolidWorks is the market leader in the custom machinery design market," said Ishida Europe Design Systems Manager Tim Cutler.

"Many of our suppliers also use SolidWorks, so we can ensure we're on the same design page without wrestling with piles of 2D drawings".

"SolidWorks' 'right-first-time' parametric modeling will also eliminate the many errors associated with 2D design".

Ishida's machines are large, complex, and highly customized.

Cutler and his team would spend up to five days designing custom parts in 2D software to meet customers' requirements.

Engineers will cut that time to less than a day using SolidWorks' smart table-driven design features.

By plugging in specifications for different features, engineers can quickly configure machines to handle the type of food each customer packages.

That precision boosts confidence that the design will be accurate before manufacturing starts.

These factors are already beginning to allow Ishida to outsource manufacturing overseas without delivery and rework timescale issues.

"Ishida is a market leader in the industrial food equipment industry, and its decades-old reputation is founded on quality and customer service," said SolidWorks Marketing Manager, Europe, Simon Booker.

"Using SolidWorks for 3D design will help the company deliver better designed custom weighing and packaging machines faster and enhance its customer relationships".

Ishida Europe relies on authorized SolidWorks reseller Solid Solutions Management for ongoing software training, implementation, and support.

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