Cadcoevolution install new CAD system at Pressfold

Northern Ireland company Pressfold, which designs and produces the Powersheild range of steel doors and frames, have taken delivery of a new CAD system from cadcoevolution.

Pressfold's Design Engineering Department had previously been using AutoCAD to create new drawings and make alterations to existing drawings, however with specification changes often required, recalculations had to be carried out manually. As Pressfold's business grew, so the engineers' workload increased, and the team was keen to find a solution that would help them to speed up the process.

Pressfold consulted the Belfast-based CAD reseller, cadcoevolution, which specialises in providing CAD solutions for engineers, designers and architects. Their first suggestion was that Pressfold should migrate AutoCAD to Autodesk Mechanical Desktop. As well as allowing the team to continue to create their designs in native AutoCAD software, Mechanical Desktop would be able to deliver improved detailing, a faster workflow and standards compliance.

Graham Devenney, Design Engineer at Pressfold, said: "Mechanical Desktop answered many of our requirements. It works well with door design because it provides table-driven components that allows fast creation of drawings and provides greater flexibility for dimensional change. New door designs can be developed quickly with prototypes being assessed on screen rather than through costly shop floor manufacture."

However, the problem of recalculating the specifications still remained. So, cadcoevolution wrote a separate spreadsheet program for Pressfold that works alongside Mechanical Desktop. The spreadsheet contains details of all the door hardware bought in by Pressfold including billing information. As the door design is completed, the data can be exported from Mechanical Desktop into the spreadsheet, where it can be automatically calculated in detail before creating a summary sheet.

"The result is that the design engineering part of the production process has become a great deal more efficient," said Mr Devenney.

With clients as diverse as HM Prison Service, Coca-Cola and the pharmaceutical giant, Novartis, Pressfold's Powershield doors need to satisfy exacting requirements, both architecturally and for performance.

The company offers a comprehensive line-up that includes fire doors, security doors, and personnel doors to suit commercial, industrial and residential applications, cleanroom doors aimed at manufacturers in the pharmaceutical, food processing and micro-electronics sectors, high performance doors, and glazed fire screens.

The company relies on a combination of practical engineering expertise, the best materials available and interactive computer design technology.

(SP)