Project SummaryFor more than 60 years, Preciosa has been
produc-ing brilliantly cut crystal from its headquarters in the
Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. Harnessing a Bohemian
tradition that dates back to 1724, Preciosa creates chandeliers and
light fixtures that are installed in prestigious build-ings all
over the world. To eliminate production mistakes and satisfy the
needs of customers requesting 3D models of designs, Preciosa
adopted Autodesk® Inventor® software, as well as other Autodesk®
Digital Prototyping products, including AutoCAD® Mechanical
software and Autodesk® Vault Manufacturing data management
software. With the Autodesk solution for Digital Prototyping,
Preciosa has been able to:
• Reduceproductionerrorsby70percentreducingcosts
• Cutdesigntimeoncomplicatedchandeliersby50percent
• UseDigitalPrototypingtoreducethenumberofphysical prototypes
for new products
• Delivercompellingimageryforcustomerstoreview and approves
The ChallengePreciosa creates custom fixtures for cathedrals,
music halls, hotels, and palaces for customers across Europe, Asia,
the Americas, and the Middle East. Accurately conveying designs to
customers in far away locations is critical to Preciosa’s business.
In recent years, customers have asked Preciosa for more realistic
3D imagery rather than 2D drawings. In addition, Preciosa realized
that designing in 3D would help reduce production mistakes, which
cost the company time and money.
Eager to improve its design process and cater to its discerning
clientele, Preciosa began to evaluate tools that would enable it to
model and visualize designs in 3D. The company sought a solution
that was easy to use and learn, available in the Czech language,
and compatible with the AutoCAD® software it had used for many
years.
Clear cut beauty.
Preciosa crafts stunning chandeliers and lighting fixtures with
Autodesk® Inventor® software and Digital Prototyping.
PreciosaCustomer Success Story
Autodesk® Inventor® AutoCAD® MechanicalAutodesk® Vault
Manufacturing
When we design in Inventor, we don’t have any engineering change
orders. It’s significantly different than when we use 2D design
tools. —Josef Oulehla,
Product Engineer Builder Preciosa
The SolutionAutodesk Inventor software fit the company’s
requirements perfectly. “We liked that by purchasing Inventor, we
also got AutoCAD Mechanical,” explains Vladimir Kadlec, head of the
engineering team at Preciosa. “We have a lot of drawings in AutoCAD
and still use 2D regularly. By choosing Autodesk, we have both 2D
and 3D tools when we need them.”
Efficient Design ProcessWith Digital Prototyping, Preciosa has a
design process that is both flexible and efficient. Sketches for
new products are created by hand or using a 2D design tool such as
AutoCAD. After a customer approves the sketches, Preciosa creates
shop drawings for the design. If the product is based on an
existing chandelier that already has AutoCAD drawings, Preciosa
will complete the design process using AutoCAD. But for new
designs, particularly those with complex features, Preciosa
engineers use Autodesk Inventor to create 3D models of designs.
Going beyond 3D, these models are accurate digital prototypes. From
these models, they can gener-ate 3D views for customers to review
and approve designs as well as the technical documentation needed
for production.
To manage design data, Preciosa uses Autodesk Vault
Manufacturing data management software. With Autodesk Vault,
Preciosa’s teams have access to all engineering data in a
centralized location and can find, reference, and reuse design data
more quickly. “We’re building our own library of parts,” explains
Jan Divis, CAD/CAM project manager at Preciosa. “The more we add to
our library, the faster we can complete projects because we don’t
need to recreate every part.”
Autodesk Inventor BenefitsWhen using Inventor software, the
advantages are clear. In particular, Preciosa benefits from the
ability to validate designs before production. For
example, designs of highly intricate products may include sheet
metal parts and cut crystals that can’t touch one another. “The 3D
models we create in Inventor are digital prototypes that we can
evaluate from every angle,” says Josef Oulehla, engineer at
Preciosa. “Inventor lets us test for interferences before we go to
production. As a result, we can eliminate mistakes and save
money.”
Preciosa is also saving time and money by producing fewer
physical prototypes for products designed in Inventor. “Because
Inventor eliminates mistakes in the design phase, we don’t have to
rely as much on physical prototyping,” says Oulehla. “The first
physi-cal prototype is almost always perfect with Inventor.”
In addition, Inventor software and Digital Prototyping help
Preciosa meet critical weight requirements for its products. Before
designing a custom chandelier for a new building, for instance,
Preciosa receives information from building contrac-tors and
architects on the ceiling where it will be installed. “We must take
into account the material and weight-bearing capacity of the
ceiling,” explains
Kadlec.“UsingInventor,wecanverypreciselycalculate the weight of a
chandelier so that we know it will never fall down.”
Visualization Aids Understanding But aside from eliminating
mistakes, what Preciosa likes the most about Inventor is that it
helps every-one involved understand designs immediately. “We share
data from the Inventor model with our cus-tomers,” says Kadlec.
“They can tell us immediately what they like and don’t like. And
because they can see exactly what a chandelier will look like,
there are no surprises when the final product arrives.”
The ResultBy using Autodesk Inventor for a significant portion
of its design work, Preciosa has reduced production mistakes by 70
percent and cut the number of
Preciosa has cut production mistakes by 70 percent since
adopting Autodesk Inventor software.
Images courtesy of Preciosa.
Autodesk, Autodesk Inventor, Inventor, and AutoCAD are
registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its
subsidiaries and/or affiliates
intheUSAand/orothercountries.Allotherbrandnames,productnames,ortrademarksbelongtotheirrespectiveholders.Autodeskreservestherightto
alter product offerings and specifications at any time without
notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical
errors that may appear in this document. © 2009 Autodesk, Inc. All
rights reserved.
physical prototypes required before finalizing a design. “When
we design in Inventor, we don’t have any engineering change
orders,” says Oulehla. “It’s significantly different than when we
use 2D design tools.”
For complicated chandeliers, Inventor software also reduces
design time. “Modern chandeliers may have lots of intricate design
elements such as triangular glass parts arranged in a spiral,”
notes Kadlec. “It would take us a month to design this type of
chan-delier in 2D. But with the 3D design capabilities in Inventor,
it takes two weeks or less.”
Concludes Kadlec, “With Inventor, we’ve reduced mistakes and
design time while satisfying our cus-tomers’ requests to review
designs in 3D. It’s been a great solution for us.”
For More InformationTo find out how Autodesk Inventor and
Autodesk Digital Prototyping can help you increase pro-ductivity,
reduce mistakes, and cut costs, visit
www.autodesk.com/inventor.
We share the Inventor model with our customers. They can tell us
immediately what they like and don’t like….there are no surprises
when the final product arrives.—Vladimir Kadlec Head of Engineering
Preciosa
http://www.autodesk.com/inventor
