Have you ever wondered how 3D CAD software to create 3D configurators is used in the real world? Find out how a British company has made it cheaper than ever for farmers around the world to grow crops on their fields – increasing sales from 200.000 € million to 6 Mio. €.
The rolling green meadows. The smell in the air. The dirt on the rubber boots. Every mention of British agriculture evokes vivid images. But the modern farm is anything but parochial – it houses advanced technology, state-of-the-art machinery and victories of modern technology.
Just ask Claydon Drills, Newmarket agricultural machinery manufacturer in Suffolk. The company is committed to using innovative technology to solve common problems in the agricultural market ad has developed a product enables farmers to reduce the cost of sowing and growing crops on their fields.
It was a difficult, complex challenge. The product had to serve customers in 26 countries and withstand extreme temperatures from -20 to 50 degrees. Plough anything from fine sand to heavy clay to solid stone. And because agriculture is so often a balancing act of high costs and low margins, the product had to be reliable.
The result? Claydon Drills developed and produced a patented seed drill that reduced cultivation costs to one-third of their previous level while increasing sowing speed fivefold.
The key to the success of the design is a two-tine system. A tine cultivates the field, followed directly by a seed tine, which plants the seeds in the ideal environment for optimal growth.
The unsung hero in this product is 3D CAD. Claydon Drills used Solidworks to create sophisticated computer models of their design, allowing them to test the machines and simulate breakpoints. Upon completion of the model, a visual view of the assembly structure was used to produce the same kits and part numbers for the ERP system – reducing production costs.
Claydon Drills has found this ability to translate ideas into 3D models with advanced visualization to be very useful in bringing the right machine to market in the shortest possible time. Since starting Solidworks ten years ago, Claydon Drills has increased its annual sales to 6 Mio. €.
When it comes to using 3D CAD, it seems you can really harvest what you sow.