ZETR Shortens Development by Over 30 Percent with SOLIDWORKS and 3DEXPERIENCE Works

Minimalist electrical power outlets and light switches are the brainchild of ZETR Director Garth Elliott. Throughout 20 years as an electrical contractor on varying types of commercial and residential jobs in Australia, Elliott noticed the lack of options for electrical fixtures, particularly in high-end architectural buildings. He was inspired to create a series of flush-finished outlets and switches that go beyond their physical function to blend into surfaces as a subtle detail.

Elliott founded ZETR in 2017 to transform interaction with electricity into a considered, beautiful, and tactile experience. To achieve its mission, the company needed to dramatically expand its product line; increase manufacturing throughput; and establish formalized product development workflows, according to Design and Product Manager Joseph Romano.

“When I joined ZETR, the company was using Autodesk® Fusion 360™ design software for fixture development,” Romano recalls. “We tried to use Fusion 360 for a while but had problems related to the accuracy of the models—with some models and sketches undefined—and also experienced revision control issues. We moved to SOLIDWORKS® Premium design software in June 2021.”

The move to SOLIDWORKS also required that ZETR implement a data management solution for secure revision control. The company decided on the cloud-based 3DEXPERIENCE® platform because the solutions provide transparent data management in the cloud without the expense of a server and PDM administrator.

ZETR avoids unnecessary iterations and streamlines development processes because SOLIDWORKS, in conjunction with 3DEXPERIENCE Works solutions enables a defined, formalized workflow. “When we were using Fusion 360, it was every designer for him or herself, with everyone having their own process,” recalls Romano. “By standardizing workflows and tapping the power of SOLIDWORKS design configurations, we’ve realized 30 to 40 percent time savings on our development timelines and tripled our product line relatively quickly because everyone follows the same process and knows what the next step will be.” In addition to working more efficiently and growing the product line, ZETR has reduced internal design iterations and back-and-forth communications with suppliers and manufacturers.

Setting the Stage for Growth

ZETR has grown at a rate of 50 percent quarter over quarter since implementing SOLIDWORKS and 3DEXPERIENCE Works solutions.

“Now that we have our product development team working efficiently and effectively with SOLIDWORKS and 3DEXPERIENCE Works solutions, we’ve launched an R&D effort to take advantage of the international opportunity presented by a universal standard that requires new and replacement fixtures. We have equipped our product development team with the tools to ramp up development and production as we grow into an international organization,” Romano says.