For nearly 40 years, Burlington Technologies has delivered high-pressure aluminum die casting, machining and assembly for some of the most widely recognized brands in the automotive industry. The company specializes in designing and making the die castings for a broad range of engine compartment components such as brackets, hinges, housings, and transmission casings.
It said it standardized on SolidWorks Office Premium and PDMWorks to minimize design cycles, reduce errors, improve internal communications, and constantly refine product development.
“We had become used to working with complicated CAD software, so it is refreshing to use SolidWorks,” said Rick MacMillan, die designer on Burlington’s tool design team. “Its intuitive interface lets us do what we want to without a lot of extra steps. The fact that we can move (the design of) a bolt hole in a couple of mouse clicks, and have all of the geometry remain intact, saves time, ensures accuracy, and lets us be more creative.”
SolidWorks allows Burlington’s tool design team to work in 3D models and 2D drawings depending on customers’ needs. When engineers change 3D models, the corresponding 2D drawings automatically update with the changes, saving the company as much as a week in overall design time. The company said that reducing design cycles and errors allows its engineers to focus on innovation and design better products.
The company said the PDMWorks product data management software provides the version control and security to help ensure the company’s designs are accurate, yet accessible to authorized team members in the product development process.
The software allows multiple designers and engineers to work on a project at the same time without introducing errors.
“PDMWorks gives everyone peace of mind because, as designers, we wonder whether someone has changed our work,” MacMillan said.
“PDMWorks lets us manage who has access to designs, so we know every change that has been made. Between SolidWorks and PDMWorks, we’re doing more in the same amount of time than before,” he added.
Burlington Technologies also streamlines communications between its design team, engineers, the internal manufacturing team, and customers with eDrawings, an email- enabled design communication tool.
“High pressure die casting is an exact science in which precision and experience count for everything,” Rainer Gawlick, SolidWorks vice president of worldwide marketing, said.
“SolidWorks and PDMWorks allow Burlington Technologies to use the company’s expertise to make its products accurate, while also changing die casting into an art form.”
Burlington works with authorized SolidWorks’ reseller Javelin Technologies, one of Canada’s largest SolidWorks resellers, and an authorized and certified SolidWorks training and support organization for ongoing software training, implementation, and support.
