Case Study: Three Elements Timberworks achieves faster design cycles, 50% lower development costs and greater innovation with Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks

Building residential works of art in timber with SolidWorks

Three Elements Timberworks, a Colorado timber-frame contractor, needed a faster, more flexible way to design and fabricate custom timber structures while expanding the use of steel and other materials for strength and aesthetics. After moving away from 2D AutoCAD to gain a competitive advantage in a high‑mix, low‑volume business, owner Eric Seelig selected SolidWorks from Dassault Systemes to automate design and manufacturing and support more innovative timber designs.

Dassault Systemes’ SolidWorks enabled Three Elements Timberworks to create libraries of trusses and standard parts, use parametric configurations, and export BOMs directly into manufacturing systems—shortening design cycles by 20–30%, cutting development costs by about 50%, and reducing scrap and rework. The solution also made design changes propagate across assemblies quickly (e.g., a turret pitch update that would have taken five days in 2D took ~20 minutes), boosting productivity and enabling wider use of steel and metal for new aesthetic and structural solutions.

Three Elements Timberworks

Eric Seelig

Owner