Alliance Spacesystems, Inc.

The Challenge

Alliance Spacesystems, Inc. (ASI) designs and manufactures mechanical systems, robotics, structures, and mechanisms for spacecraft and scientific instruments, including the robot arms used on “Spirit” and “Opportunity,” the two rovers developed by NASA for the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission. From its founding in 1997, ASI needed a powerful yet flexible 3D CAD system to develop highly precise, complex mechanisms, and collaborate with scientists and NASA mission planners.

The Solution

ASI selected the SolidWorks Office mechanical design solution system because of its powerful capabilities functionality, ease of use, open architecture, communications capabilities, and integration with a complete set of engineering add-on solutions. By deploying SolidWorks on the MER robotic arm project, ASI met a compressed design schedule with limited resources; increased design quality, innovation, and robustness; streamlined design communications and approvals; and enhanced collaboration with scientists and mission planners. In addition, ASI used integrated SolidWorks Simulation analysis software to test and optimize the design of parts and assemblies.