Vaison Sport Speeds Development for Extreme Motor Sports

Christophe Vaison, a recognized driver and stuntman, created Vaison Sport in 1999. For over 10 years the company took part in the Dakar Rally raid, a cross-country long distance off-road race covering thousands of miles over unpredictable territory. Most competitive sections are off-road, crossing dunes, mud, rocks, and other dangerous terrain. Each stage of the race covers approximately 500 miles per day, taking a toll on both participants and their vehicles. “That experience helps the company to deliver competition and military vehicles that can endure harsh environments and keep on going strong,” says Head Engineer Matthieu Parent. Today the company specializes in the design of competition vehicles, cars used in stunt shows, as well as vehicles for military use.

Turnaround time is one of the keys to Vaison Sport serving its customers well. “Nowadays, vehicle or machine prototypes need to be produced in a very short space of time,” says Parent. Plus, the company has numerous people working simultaneously on a single project, which quickly becomes an endless management challenge.

That’s one of the reasons Viason Sport chose 3DEXPERIENCE® Works. “For us, the advantage of using the [cloud-based] 3DEXPERIENCE platform is that it allows different people to collaborate on the same piece of work,” states Parent. 
 

Another advantage is the option of combining different applications. The platform enables Viason Sport to keep using both CATIA® and SOLIDWORKS®. “In all of our projects, we have to work with different types of software,” says Parent. “The 3DEXPERIENCE platform lets you mix the two designs [CATIA and SOLIDWORKS], thereby reducing conversion time when working on projects.” 

The Viason Sport product development team works from all over the globe. “For us, the advantage of the cloud is that it's secure and offers access to our files wherever we are in the world,” emphasizes Parent. “We always have our files at hand and with no disruption to the [physical] work in the workshop.”

Additionally, all the information generated during Viason Sport’s product development process is automatically collected on the cloud-based 3DEXPERIENCE platform. The files are in one place and can be accessed by anyone, at any time. “You just need an internet connection,” says Mechanical Design Engineer Antoine LaGache. “That's what makes it [the 3DEXPERIENCE platform] useful.” 
 

SOLIDWORKS was essential to the development of the innovative technology. The company experimented with a lot of different designs, and SOLIDWORKS helped facilitate an efficient process. Get Help Fast

Viason Sport gets software support from their local reseller AvenAo, which helps the design engineers work more efficiently. The design team can easily get help with their questions, which keeps them productively working on projects.

“It [the 3DEXPERIENCE platform] is really the cornerstone of everything,” concludes Parent. “It's the key that's going to let us take a big step forward.”