One design firm in the Twin Cities to watch for is Lava Design, Inc., an agile team of award winning industrial designers who have applied the art of complex surfacing to clients as diverse as Octane Fitness, makers of a top selling elliptical machine, to local hardware tool giant Warner Manufacturing.
Founded by award-winning industrial designer Jim Easley in 1996, Lava Design has helped hundreds of companies develop new products from consumer electronics and medical devices, to light commercial and industrial products.
"Our core competencies are in industrial design and product engineering. Our designers use SolidWorks to present the design concept, generate the CAD model, and then engineer for manufacture," explains Paul A. Pilosi, Principal, who joined Lava Design's talent pool a few years ago. "We specialize in complex forms and advanced surfacing using SolidWorks."
Pilosi attributes much of the Lava Design's quick agility to bring ideas to the market to his staff's expertise in SolidWorks, which underpins nearly every stage of Lava Design's workflow.
"We use SolidWorks throughout our whole development process, because it's very versatile. SolidWorks has all the core functions we need from start to finish. There's really not much need for any other product design software in our organization," he says.
"We use SolidWorks for laying out initial concepts, generating complex surfaces, and engineering/ optimizing the parts for the chosen manufacturing process. We use the PhotoWorks module for renderings, which fulfills our clients' marketing needs. We use eDrawings to collaborate more effectively with our clients. If our customers need 2D documentation in their product development process, SolidWorks generates those drawings as well. The ease of use and comprehensive tools & functions make SolidWorks a key partner in our success."
Lava Design's strong emphasis on advanced software capabilities corresponds with an equal emphasis on skills. The team relies heavily on their regional provider of SolidWorks, Symmetry Solutions, to not only keep them up on the latest functions of the 3D platform, but also to further leverage the system to achieve higher levels of quality.
"There's of course the standard SolidWorks instructional classes, but Symmetry Solutions also offers regularly scheduled classes in advanced surfacing or assembly among a number of other pertinent functions," says Pilosi. "Symmetry Solutions also offers "Lunch & Learn" seminars, which offers users a great opportunity to enhance their knowledge about how to better utilize SolidWorks and its functionality in their day-to-day work."
Pilosi says he first encountered Symmetry Solutions at his last position. At the time, Pilosi persuaded his decision makers to switch from their incumbent Pro/Engineer design software over to SolidWorks. "I explained that they needed to invest in something both engineers and designers could use," Pilosi recalls. "Pro/E was too complicated. No one wanted to learn it. SolidWorks fit our needs in a much better way."
When he came on board with Lava Design, Pilosi was please to find out SolidWorks was their CAD software of choice and Symmetry Solutions was the SolidWorks provider for Lava Design. Given Pilosi's previous experience with SolidWorks and his relationship with Symmetry Solutions, the transition was seamless.
"The big advantage that sold me on Symmetry Solutions is that they only handle SolidWorks. I had experience with another reseller, who dealt with several different product design programs. I like Symmetry Solutions because they focus exclusively on SolidWorks. Therefore, they have the expertise and support to tackle any problem," Pilosi says. "Their technical support people and instructors are top notch. They have a very deep knowledge of the technical material. They know their stuff."
The designer's relationship with Symmetry Solutions has lasted ten years so far, and much of the support staff has remained constant - people are not only experts, but familiar with Pilosi's situation.
"Working with Symmetry Solutions has been a very pleasant and consistent experience. Jim Zink has been at Symmetry Solutions since I began working with them and has always been there for me when I have questions & always has the right answer. Tim Newton has also been a great resource to me. They're always there for technical help, which is most important to us. Even the vice president of sales, Paul Rudin, who I've had a long standing relationship with, always makes himself available to me."
In its efforts to create innovative products as well as fast results, Lava Design has focused on two major ingredients: the right tools and the right people.
So far, Pilosi says, it has paid off. "The software and support we've received with SolidWorks and Symmetry Solutions have been a big part of our success."
About Lava Design
Specialists in product development, Lava Design lets ideas flow. With years of experience in the design and engineering of consumer and commercial products in virtually every category, including medical, electronics, light industry, and fitness, Lava Design professionals make the entire process easy for clients. Lava Design's expertise in the latest technology provides a streamlined development process which catapults your product idea to the marketplace. Lava Design is based in the St. Paul/Minneapolis area. For a portfolio and to learn more about Lava Design, please visit: www.lavadesign.com.
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