Efficiently and cost-effectively produce 3D-printed vintage car replacement parts from damaged or worn out parts and also from a variety of part design file formats.
Implement the cloud-based 3DEXPERIENCE platform, including the 3D Creator, Collaborative Business Innovator, and Collaborative Industry Innovator roles.
- Reduced design cycles by 15 to 20 percent
- Cut part delivery times in half
- Saved 20,000 euros annually on software and hardware costs
- Continued working despite COVID-19 pandemic
When industrial designer Gauthier Laviron and salesman Bastien Vanlathem had trouble finding replacement parts for their vintage cars, they realized the rarity of certain spare parts created a business opportunity. They launched GRYP 3D in 2018 and today have a bourgeoning 3D print vintage car replacement parts startup with five employees in Bordeaux, France.
GRYP 3D prints parts from native CAD design files or 3D scans of damaged/worn-out parts. The startup initially used open-source and low-cost design software, which became problematic due to clients' file formats issues. Laviron explains, "If the file is not set up correctly, it's like a photo that you save with the wrong resolution. It can negatively impact manufacturing." Such software also became a hindrance due to licensing issues and the re-training required for new employees.
GRYP needed a single solution that everyone knew how to use, so it formalized its workflows on the 3DEXPERIENCE® platform. It implemented the 3D Creator, Collaborative Business Innovator, and Collaborative Industry Innovator roles for designing and 3D printing vintage car parts because the platform can read all major CAD file formats.
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Cheaper and Quicker Part Design and Delivery
Moving to the 3DEXPERIENCE platform at the beginning of 2021 saves the company 20,000 euros (approximately USD 23,000) each year on computing hardware and design software costs. It also enabled employees to work remotely during the pandemic. But perhaps the most significant savings are realized in reducing design cycles for parts requiring modification or modeling by 15 to 20 percent and cutting delivery times in half—from a month to just two weeks.
"The 3DEXPERIENCE platform is perfect for us because we can open every CAD format that we receive, which is a huge advantage and time saver for us, at much less cost than traditional CAD software. But the real big advantage is that everyone can see what everyone else is doing and can work in parallel and prioritize design steps to boost productivity," Laviron says.
The 3DEXPERIENCE platform is perfect for us because we can open every CAD format that we receive, which is a huge advantage and time saver for us, at much less cost than traditional CAD software. But the real big advantage is that everyone can see what everyone else is doing and can work in parallel and prioritize design steps to boost productivity.
An Affordable Time Saver Enables Growth
The transparent data management of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform and the customizable dashboards enabled GRYP to formalize its workflows. The efficiency of the data management/workflow capabilities save substantial production management time, freeing Laviron and Vanlathem to pursue new business.
Laviron stresses, "Most importantly, from a functionality, customer relationship, and growth standpoint, the 3DEXPERIENCE platform is a huge plus. Although we only have a few of the tools now, we can see everything that is possible and will be added over time. Depending on how our company grows, we can tap platform solutions and only add roles [capabilities] as we need them, which is a practical, cost-effective approach for maintaining and supporting growth."
