CAD software with a twist increases productivity

Turnaround time gets shorter and shorter

As a manufacturer of stairs, railings, fences, gates, canopies and privacy screens, no day is the same at Straatman | building smart connections. In fact, no product is identical. That is why the company from Varsseveld has been relying on HiCAD and HELiOS since 2013. Together with the supplier of the software, ISD Benelux, they have focused from the outset on customization for even higher productivity in the engineering and production process.

Back in 2012, Straatman was looking for a party that could help make the step from 2D to 3D engineering. "At ISD Benelux, they made that promise. So we entered into a six-month trial period together to see if what we had in mind could also be realized by ISD," says Bart Peters, technical director of Straatman BSC. 

"That led to a final 'go' in 2013 and we haven't regretted it for a moment to this day. Incidentally, we started with one license at the time to discover the package and explore the possibilities. That turned out positively, after which we developed a roadmap for training six engineers." In the meantime, those figures have also been superseded, as no fewer than sixteen engineers at Straatman currently work with HiCAD and HELiOS on a daily basis.

Parametric designing

For Straatman, one of the important qualities of HiCAD is, among other things, the fact that it also supports customization. "We therefore started working with ISD from day one to develop customizations in the package," says Bart. "Everything with the aim of making the engineering process as efficient as possible and, above all, keeping the lead time as short as possible. Drawing a part in 3D takes time, but thanks to the software and the way ISD is in the game, we have achieved significant efficiency gains in the 3D design process. A great example of this is the custom link that ISD Benelux realized between HiCAD and a parametric design tool. The parametric design is loaded into HiCAD via an API, with the software then giving us the freedom and flexibility to further modify the design. That makes the software very powerful for us." So you can also turn to ISD Benelux for CAD software with a twist.

Automate simple tasks

The more efficient we can design in 3D, the shorter the turnaround time, Bart continues. "It's a continuous process for us, so it's important that we keep developing to make tools even faster and even better. Whereby the simple tasks are automated, leaving our draftsmen more time for the more complex matters." 

Ambitions abound for Bart. "Our aim is to make a sales growth every year and that means increased productivity in our engineering department. We really need HiCAD and HELiOS and thus ISD Benelux for that. Also to ensure that the package remains stable, both now and in the future. It is the basis of our existence and actually the heart of our organization. A kink in the cable of the 3D software means that everything behind it goes down the drain." 

He is also looking forward to a more fluid transition from HiCAD and HELiOS toward production. "Right now this is still done via an indirect link to our ERP system, but this too can be further automated."

In short, still plenty of wishes. Finally, Bart praises the cooperation with ISD Benelux. "We have been working together very pleasantly for many years. ISD has a lot of technical knowledge in-house and, if necessary, can also switch quickly with the headquarters in Germany to improve the software itself. That is really of great added value."