Case Study

PTC.comPage 1 of 3 | Creo Elements/Direct – Sanders Machinebouw

Sanders Machinebouw, Liempde, The Netherlands

Sanders Machinebouw develops and manufactures custom-ized equipment for nationally and internationally renowned clients. Sanders’ machines are used to fold, stack, inspect, or compress just about anything a manufacturer needs. Its cus-tomers include large and medium-sized manufacturers mainly in the food, photo, pharmaceutical and packaging industries.

Sanders has been in business for nearly 40 years and em-ploys a staff of 30 – and growing. The company credits its longevity to its excellent reputation for efficiency, flexibility, on-time delivery, and reliability – not to mention exceptional products that can last for decades.

The challenge: finding faster, easier 3D modeling

Sanders not only designs machinery, but also develops and manufactures products almost entirely in house, then deliv-ers and installs projects at customer sites. And though they produce mainly one-off, customized products, the company prides itself on a reputation of delivering high-quality prod-ucts on time. Not surprisingly, Sanders wanted its CAD (com-puter-aided design) system to be as fast and flexible as the company itself. So when the company went from the draw-ing board to 3D CAD, they looked for a CAD solution that could produce robust, custom machines quickly and inexpen-sively. Above all, Sanders needed CAD software that could enhance its ambitious reputation for high quality, flexibility, and on-time delivery – no matter what changes or surprises surfaced during development.

The solution: direct modeling with Creo Elements/Direct from PTC

After trying out a variety of 3D CAD tools like SolidWorks and AutoCAD®, which are built for larger, more structured envi-ronments, Sanders selected Creo Elements/Direct Modeling –a faster, easier CAD solution that gave Sanders the speed and flexibility it needed. With the direct modeling approach in Creo Elements/Direct, Sanders can design unique, one-off machines much more efficiently, as designers can work directly on model geometry – without needing any prior knowledge of the original design intent, or any insight into embedded en-gineering constraints and relationships in the models. Much like writers working on MS Word® documents, designers can simply open a Creo Elements/Direct file and pick up where another designer left off, making unlimited changes to the design ‘on the fly’.

The results: design time cut in half with Creo Elements/Direct

With Creo Elements/Direct as their standard 3D CAD, Sandersnow has a powerful design solution that’s as flexible as the company itself. Designers have been impressed with how easy it is to make changes to large assemblies. Plus, parts and assemblies imported from other formats perform like native data. Already, Creo Elements/Direct Modeling is delivering the results Sanders anticipated. For instance, the company recently developed a complex custom machine in just two months – a fraction of the previous development time. Sanders estimates that design time is 50% faster compared to using any other CAD package. And because Creo Elements/Direct is so easy to learn, new users, having just drawing-board experience, are up and running with 3D CAD, building new Creo Elements/Direct designs in a matter of weeks.

Sanders Machinebouw (NL) develops complex machines 50% faster with CreoTM Elements/Direct ModelingTM

LEaDiNg DuTCh MaNufaCTurEr ChooSES DirECT MoDELiNg ovEr SoLiDWorkS®,

aDDiNg SPEED aND EaSE To DEvELoPMENT

“With SolidWorks, i have to think ahead, and if it doesn’t work out, i’ve got to start over. With Creo Elements/Direct Modeling, you can make changes without ruining the whole model.”

–Bas Sanders, Project Manager, Sanders Machinebouw B.v.

Formerly CoCreate®

PTC.comPage 2 of 3 | Creo Elements/Direct – Sanders Machinebouw

Case Study

40 years of exceptional performance

Sanders Machinebouw has been producing high-quality machinery for large, multi-national manufacturers for four decades and counting. In fact, Sanders systems are of such good quality, some of its first machines from the 1970’s are still in operation today.

That staying power has built Sanders a lasting reputation with customers. But so has its responsiveness and consis-tency in meeting deadlines, despite the uniqueness of each project – a capability that Sanders attributes to the company’s small size, flexibility, and smart use of technology. “We hard-ly ever make two machines alike,” says Bas Sanders, Project Manager at Sanders.

So, when the company went from traditional drafting tools to 3D CAD, it sought out software that was as non-restrictive as possible for its one-off environment – one that would lead to more productive engineers and keep down overall design costs.

“Now we use Creo Elements/Direct for day-to-day machine design,” says Sanders. “All our engineers love it.”

That’s because Creo Elements/Direct Modeling requires little up-front planning or structure compared to other CAD soft-ware. Creo Elements/Direct is built on an direct modeling approach to design, where engineers interact directly with the geometry, rather than preplanning and structuring the models in advance. In fact, Sanders says, the company chose Creo Elements/Direct primarily for its flexibility. That’s espe-cially important when designs need to change mid-project.

“With SolidWorks, I have to think ahead, and if it doesn’t work out, I’ve got to start over,” says Sanders. “In Creo Elements/

Direct, you can make changes without ruining the whole model.”

Sanders would know. He’s used several other CAD packages, including SolidWorks and AutoCAD – even teaching courses in these applications. How does Creo Elements/Direct Mod-eling stack up against the others? Sanders thinks it’s the best suited 3D CAD for his company’s design environment. So well suited, in fact, that he estimates development is 50% faster compared to any other CAD package.

Specialist packaging equipment developed for one of Sanders’ international

clients

Sanders develops mainly one-off, customized products. With Creo Elements/

Direct, they can produce robust machines quickly and inexpensively.

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Case Study

He also knows from his experience that Creo Elements/Direct Modeling is one of the easiest to learn. “We had a man come here who had spent decades working on a drawing board,” says Sanders. “Within weeks, he was using Creo Elements/

Direct Modeling.”

Engineers from any background and software experience all seem to learn the software quickly. Most are especially impressed with how easy it is to make changes in large as-semblies, says Sanders. Plus, parts and assemblies, imported from other formats, perform just like native data.

That makes it possible to deliver projects on ambitious sched-ules. “We produced a complex machine, from concept to installation, in just two months using Creo Elements/Direct,” says Sanders. “We surprised ourselves. It’s incredibly fast!”

Sanders works with Creo Elements/Direct partner Xandorra for its CAD software and support. “Xandorra provides excel-lent support,” says Sanders. That’s not surprising; Xandorra has been successfully implementing and supporting installa-tions of PTC/Creo Elements/Direct products for many years.

“Xandorra knows Creo Elements/Direct products, and knows what it’s talking about. It’s one of the best in the business,” concludes Sanders.

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cerning the benefits and results obtained by customers using PTC solutions is based upon

the particular user’s experience and testimonial, is furnished for informational use only,

and should not be construed as a guarantee or commitment by PTC. Due to the varying

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4856B–Creo Elements/Direct–Sanders Machinebouw–CS–EN–1010

Sanders works with Creo Elements/Direct partner Ad Ultima Group for its CAD software and support. “Ad Ultima Group provides excellent support,” says Sanders. That’s not surpri-sing; Ad Ultima Group has been successfully implementing and supporting installations of PTC/Creo Elements/Direct products for many years. “Ad Ultima Group knows Creo Ele-ments/Direct products, and knows what it’s talking about. It’s one of the best in the business,” concludes Sanders.