We’re taking it a bit far with the Tinder reference, but what IMPACT! does for conveyor solid modeling is what Tinder did for the dating scene: it's added efficiency and specificity.
When you consider the significant time savings you could see as a design engineer using an in-context configurator for conveyor solid models, efficiency is your main gain. This configurator allows you to complete steps on your own that others would normally have to do (and wait hours or days for them to do so) or would require a lot of model hunting, gathering, and downloading. If you’re working with a manufacturer to support you, you’ll save the effort of describing your design to someone else at a conveyor manufacturer, getting in line to wait for them to do it, reviewing what they did, communicating what was wrong, and waiting for the vendor to do it again (OK, maybe not every time, but it sure seems like it!).
Instead, with an in-context configurator, you can eliminate most of these steps by completing the design and making changes to fit your SOLIDWORKS master assembly all on your own. Many of our design engineer partners are truly designing on the fly using software built to support their creativity and their need for detailed, precise solutions.
Tinder for CAD Solid Models
The best part? CAD model mates and references using Glide-Line’s in-context configurator easily adapt and re-configure based on the new information you’re entering as you make changes and updates to your design. It’s like Tinder for CAD models. You enter a new requirement for your client’s automation process, and the configurator automatically adjusts the related model parts to accommodate. It will even update the pricing instantly, so you know the exact bottom line impact your changes have.
Eliminate the time-consuming step of mating CAD blocks in SOLIDWORKS by using IMPACT!. The software utilizes magnetic snap-to mating, so getting your blocks into the model accurately is as quick and easy as possible.
Tinder made it easy to find a potential dating opportunity with exactly what you are looking for, and IMPACT! by Glide-Line does the same. Instead of swiping left and right to make a selection, however, you can customize each of our products to meet your (eh hem) needs. The conveyors can be configured to your exact specifications. If you want cross members located specifically, drives in exact locations and orientations, or breaks for shipping in precise measurements, IMPACT! will help you determine a part number for exactly what you need. Glide-Line will then take this information and build bespoke to your specific application. IMPACT is quick and easy to get exactly what you’re looking for… just like Tinder.
Conveyor Solid Models Made Easy
IMPACT!, Glide-Line’s in-context configurator, with a proprietary API that bridges Excel with SOLIDWORKS, automatically takes care of these steps:
- Evaluates the throughput, weights, lengths, and heights handled by the conveyor you’re designing (Applications support)
- Provides accurate, dynamic pricing (Estimating support)
- Enables easy, accurate model creation (CAD support)
- Allows magnetic snap-to mating (CAD enhancement)
- Shows device actuations (various operational states) (CAD enhancement)
- Saves your design for future use, changes, or repeatable configurations (CAD enhancement)
So many times in the sales and applications engineering process we’ve seen generic conveyor blocks mashed into a general layout for a customer. But that results in designs that aren’t very accurate. What happens next? A design engineer gets to clean up the mess.
Thankfully, that practice is not even necessary with an in-context configurator. Since IMPACT! is so easy to use, you can build it the way it’s supposed to be, which means not having to go back and change the designs later. It’s quick and painless to build it right from the get-go.
Whether you’re an applications engineer working on initial design recommendations or a design engineer working on detailed, precision application designs, the configurator gives you the flexibility and time to do it right the first time.
IMPACT! IN ACTION
When it comes to designing conveyor application systems, precision is your forté. The simplest details capture your attention until they’re just right.
It’s great practice to double-check all moving parts in your design to ensure fit across all aspects of your master assembly. And what better way than to use software that shows conveyors’ moving parts in all extremes of their states. For example: if a lift and locate conveyor application moves vertically from point A to point B, the model should be validated in both states. With many of Glide-Line’s conveyor models, the motion state can show both extremes with a click.
Creating Great Conveyor Solid Models
Here at Glide-Line, we assist integrator design engineers in creating adaptable designs for their clients. We have three phrases our in-house designers live by:
1) Be the Operator.
2) Be the Mechanic
3) Be the Product.
By adopting these three perspectives, you end up with a great design for your assembly-based conveyor system that’s product-, mechanic-, and operator-friendly. IMPACT! allows users to accomplish this goal in the initial design phase and throughout change management, order processing, and assembly.
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