Case Study: IHI Corporation achieves halved design cycles and a company-wide 3D transition with SolidWorks

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IHI Corporation, a heavy-equipment manufacturer, faced the limitations of 2D design for complex mechanical systems and relied on a few costly, hard-to-use high-end 3D CAD systems. When the mid-range Windows-based SolidWorks and accompanying tools like 3DVIA Composer became available, IHI moved to adopt SolidWorks to enable a company-wide transition to 3D design and better visualization.

SolidWorks was rolled out across the company beginning in 2000; its ease of use and responsive development (including participation in beta programs) allowed rapid training and adoption. Using SolidWorks and 3DVIA Composer, IHI halved the design cycle for water gate mother-model creation and, after just two hours of Composer training, produced section/detail drawings and assembly/disassembly animations that improved sales presentations and helped win orders.

IHI Corporation

Shin-ya Watanabe

Manager, Engineer Group