IQS School of Engineering

IQS (Institut Quimic de Sarria) is one of the most prestigious academic and scientific universities in the world. A Jesuit institution with its main campus in Barcelona, Spain, IQS has prepared students for future careers for more than 110 years. The institute manages two schools of the Ramon Llull University: IQS School of Engineering and IQS School of Management, both of which offer undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs. The IQS School of Engineering offers degrees in industrial engineering technology, providing students with the professional skills needed to design, innovate, construct, maintain, and manage industrial equipment and installations. IQS offers education in the different areas of engineering, preparing students to become valued members of multidisciplinary development teams. Until 2007, the IQS School of Engineering used a combination of AutoCAD®, Autodesk® Inventor®, and CATIA® design software to support its curriculum. That’s when a desire to spend more course time on design, engineering, and production techniques—and less time on learning how to use different pieces of software—prompted IQS to seek an easier-to-use, more versatile 3D solution to serve as the program’s standard development platform, according to Professor Andres Garcia. “I selected SOLIDWORKS® Education Edition software because it is easy to use and provides very useful tools, for engineering students, on many subjects,” Garcia recounts. “There’s a big time savings in teaching students using SOLIDWORKS software, as well as additional time savings in production, given the parametric nature of SOLIDWORKS and its integrated simulation capabilities. We still use CATIA, AutoCAD, and Inventor software to meet specifi c customer requirements, but overall, we prefer SOLIDWORKS because it helps us to better prepare students for employment.” The IQS School of Engineering has implemented 200 SOLIDWORKS Education Edition licenses, in conjunction with 30 licenses of machining software by SOLIDWORKS Gold Partner SolidCAM®, to support the Industrial Engineering Technology Program’s design and production needs. In addition to SOLIDWORKS 3D modeling, IQS leverages other SOLIDWORKS tools, including simulation, design optimization, motion analysis, plastic injection simulation, fluid-flow analysis, piping, routing, costing, sustainability, and toolbox capabilities.

COVERING MORE GROUND

Since implementing SOLIDWORKS Education Edition software as its primary platform, IQS has been able to provide its students with more extensive experience in real-world product development and manufacturing techniques. “We use SOLIDWORKS for many student projects, beginning with sketch tracing and 3D scanning, before moving on to design optimization using simulation and fl uid-fl ow analysis tools, the creation of molds and sheet metal parts, and manufacturing,” Garcia explains. “SOLIDWORKS Education Edition is the full package for engineering education and is easy to learn, which allows us to broaden student training,” Garcia continues. “The integration between simulation, fl uid-fl ow analysis, motion analysis, and plastic injection simulation, all within a parametric model, enables us to provide students with the complete designthrough- manufacturing experience.”

FEWER ERRORS, MORE COST-EFFECTIVE PRODUCTION

With the range of simulation and engineering tools provided with SOLIDWORKS Education Edition software, IQS students can more quickly create accurate designs, make fewer design errors, and minimize reliance on physical prototypes. Complete integration between SolidCAM and SOLIDWORKS software (SOLIDWORKS serves as the geometry engine for SolidCAM) has also helped to reduce the program’s manufacturing costs. “With SOLIDWORKS, we’ve reduced design time by 50 to 99 percent while simultaneously cutting design errors by 30 percent,” Garcia stresses. “This time reduction is even more signifi cant if we integrate simulation into our process. We hardly use prototypes anymore and estimate that we have reduced prototyping costs by 50 percent and manufacturing costs by 20 percent since moving to SOLIDWORKS. We can check many design options with SOLIDWORKS. We design plastic components with an optimized mold that allows us to achieve serial parts without prototypes. We can then manufacture the molds directly with the integration of SolidCAM in our process.”

ACQUIRING SKILLS AND CERTIFICATION

In addition to helping the IQS School of Engineering provide students with a more complete industrial engineering technology experience, the transition to SOLIDWORKS provides students with the opportunity to gain industry-recognized certifi cation of their SOLIDWORKS skills by taking the Certifi ed SOLIDWORKS Associate (CSWA) exam. Recently, 102 students chose to take the exam, of which 96 passed, gaining the CSWA certifi cation that improves student employment prospects. “By standardizing on SOLIDWORKS Education Edition software, we provide our students not only with the skills that most closely match industry needs, but also the opportunity to gain certifi cation of those skills,” Garcia notes. “In short, SOLIDWORKS helps our students learn more and then apply what they learn by making it easier to secure employment.”