SolidWorks Composer upgrades airdrop system specifications to new water

It is a very risky proposal to put up to 42,000 pounds of payload from a cargo plane through the parachute to the ground. In order to ensure that the payload of the airdrop hits the target intact, a company like Wamore, Inc. needs to provide expertise. The products produced by the company in Arizona, USA, are used to support the US military in the combat area. Its product range includes air navigation equipment (AGU), inertia reels, parachute release control systems and soft landing airbags.

According to CAD expert Mark Gerhart, while years of experience with SolidWorks design, simulation, and product data management solutions have benefited Wamore, there are still many challenges in providing assembly instructions for robotic-controlled autonomous airdrop systems. “Before we made the assembly instructions, it was like playing a tough battle,” Gerhart recalls. “Basically, we have to take pictures of the equipment during the assembly process, then put the photos into the file, and at the same time, the notes. A textual explanation explaining how to assemble and use the product."

Although this method of making assembly instructions is effective for Wamore, it is inefficient, has many problems, and is far from ideal. Gerhart explained: “There are several issues that need to be addressed. First, if any design changes are to be made to our products, the instructions must be completely redone and additional time taken to take the photos. We must wait until the specific stage of production. It was possible to shoot, which caused serious delays in time. In the end, the photos were not always clear and detailed, or our production staff could not read the written instructions, bringing a series of troubles to designers and engineers. I can't concentrate on the design."

To solve these problems, the company began looking for solutions that could link the production of assembly instructions to actual models. “It took me a long time to find this solution,” Gerhart emphasized. “When I heard about SolidWorks Composer, I said to myself that in order to be able to produce assembly documentation for our products with greater efficiency. We must have this software.” Wamore purchased SolidWorks Composer technical file editing software to improve the production of its assembly files. "We can design products in the virtual world, but when we want to craft our designs, we can never get out of the real world." Gerhart commented, "The SolidWorks Composer software makes me feel relieved when I am modifying When the model is in SolidWorks, the software also automatically applies this update to all associated files."

Create a manual containing the latest content in a small amount of time

Wamore's latest model, the 2000-pound AGU, is the company's first project to use SolidWorks Composer software to make assembly instructions. "Conservative estimates in the past required a two-week production process, and now it takes only one and a half days to complete," Gerhart said. "It's easier to make a production line instruction manual, and considering that you don't have to wait for a specific production stage, I will With more flexibility. With SolidWorks Composer, I can create what I need as I want."

Because Wamore also uses SolidWorks EnterprisePDM software, the design changes and assembly updates are handled very quickly and effortlessly. "One of the things I love about SolidWorks Composer is that I can import a lot of input data and easily update the files." Gerhart pointed out, "I just need to go into SolidWorks EnterprisePDM to update the files and links, and everything is done."

Higher quality means fewer problems

Not only did Wamore save time by using SolidWorks Composer to make assembly instructions for its 2000-pound AGU, but it also greatly improved the quality of the documents, which drastically reduced the problem of production online.

“With SolidWorks Composer, the written description is almost superfluous because the image contains a lot of information,” Gerhart said. “Our production staff can get the part number, thread fixative, torque value and the SolidWorks Composer image itself. The tool information, no need to read the instructions. This will minimize the occurrence of the following situation: the producer asked me to open the model because they do not understand the instructions."

Show customers how to use the equipment on site

Wamore also uses SolidWorks Composer software to communicate more effectively with customers. By producing product animations, films and technical documents (accessible via the Internet and handheld devices), Wamore helps its customers get the latest information from distant battlefields and improve the integrity of their combat readiness.

“We used SolidWorksComposer to create some video clips on how to use the Talon parachute release control system, which we showed to our customers in a web conference,” Gerhart said. “We saw the huge potential of the software. Not only can we improve us. Customer communication efficiency also enables users to browse content made using SolidWorksComposer from any location in the world via smartphones and tablets."