Allied-Baltic Rubber, Inc.

The Challenge

Allied-Baltic Rubber, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of suspension links and rubber components for the automotive industry. We needed a software package that would provide us with the tools to adapt to changes in the ever-changing automotive industry. We needed CAD software that would allow us to create complex rubber components, design and build in-house assembly equipment and testing machines, create files for FEA in SolidWorks Simulation, and also provide our tool maker with usable files for their CAM software. We worked with AutoCAD for years and really never realized its shortcomings until we started working with more complex parts and equipment. As the requirements for part complexity and automated equipment increased we found that AutoCAD could not provide us with the means to adapt to these changes. As we were evaluating different software we also had to keep in mind that the companies we deal with all used different software packages. We agreed that we needed something that would in some way be able to import/export to Catia, Unigraphics, Solid Edge, AutoCAD, Mechanical Desktop, and Pro/ENGINEER.

The Solution

Most of the CAD software packages we evaluated were extremely costly with expensive maintenance packages, required continuous training updates, and still did not provide us with all of the features offered in SolidWorks. After pricing and comparing features of many software packages, SolidWorks was the obvious choice. Nothing compares to the power, versatility, and ease of use of SolidWorks software. One of the primary reasons for purchasing Solidworks was the very large selection of converters. We found that SolidWorks could import/export some version of a file that would be compatible with our customers and suppliers software package. Before SolidWorks this would have been very costly and time-consuming as we had to involve a 3rd party to do the conversion for us. The second most important reason for choosing SolidWorks was the ease of use. We did not have the time to send someone away for a few weeks to learn new software and then every few weeks to relearn the software when a new version or feature was released. Most of the software we checked into was overly difficult to learn and required more training time than we were willing to spend – SolidWorks made it easy.