With clients such as Volvo, Komatsu, and ABB, SwePart Transmission’s projects are often complex, involving numerous stakeholders and intricate components that must function seamlessly together. By implementing 3DEXPERIENCE platform, SwePart has taken a significant step towards structured, customer-focused collaboration – entrusting two young engineers with leading the initiative.
SwePart Transmission designs and manufactures high-quality transmission components tailored to customer needs – from gearboxes and gears to driveshafts. With two factories in Sweden, they deliver to industrial customers such as Volvo, Komatsu, and ABB.
Their largest site in Liatorp houses the design department, a flexible machine fleet, and a newly expanded assembly area, while the Sibbhult facility focuses on high-volume production and heat treatment. Working with large-scale projects, SwePart’s work is often complex, involving numerous stakeholders and intricate components that must function seamlessly together.
A Platform Customers Already Worked With
When mechanical design engineers Adam and Alexander joined two years ago, SOLIDWORKS was already in place, provided by PLM Group. Exploring the cloud-based 3DEXPERIENCE platform soon became the natural next step.
“We studied together, and during our respective thesis projects we came across 3DEXPERIENCE. In our CAD courses, we had worked in SOLIDWORKS, so it felt natural to continue using that environment. We started by using the revision management feature, which was easy to apply to different design ideas,” says Adam Berggren.
“We quickly noticed that many of our customers were using 3DEXPERIENCE, and that showed potential for easier file sharing and collaboration,” Adam continues to explain.
By restructuring and centralizing file management, they improved both internal processes and customer collaboration.
“After presenting our idea to our manager, we attended an onboarding session at PLM Group. That session sparked several ideas on how we could achieve what we envisioned.”
Efficient Management of Hundreds of Components
Customer requests at SwePart vary widely – from individual components to large gearbox projects that can span more than a year.
“During design projects, there’s a lot of back-and-forth, and sending files can be very time-consuming. When dealing with an assembly of 200–300 parts, you don’t want anything to be missing. It feels much more secure now to just click a button and have everything in place,” says Alexander.
Each product they develop goes through multiple process stages. Now, a CAD family – a collection of configurations of a part or assembly – is created for each finished product, with each step represented by its own configuration. This provides a clear structure that simplifies both documentation and tracking.
“Previously, this structure and synchronization existed only on the drawing side. We’re now also setting up various review workflows, which we’re currently introducing to our colleagues,” Adam explains.
Successful Pilot Project with the New Platform
The first project to fully utilize the platform was the development of new gearboxes for a construction machine.
“It was the first project where we used the platform and ran a full trial to make sure it worked as intended. That gave us the confidence to continue using it,” Adam says, and concludes:
“Now we have everything well-structured in the new system, and we believe it’s going to work really well in the future.”
Bringing 3DEXPERIENCE to the Shop Floor
SwePart is also looking forward to using 3DEXPERIENCE directly in production. By displaying 3D models to technicians via tablets or smartphones, they hope to reduce the need for paper drawings and improve understanding.
“Being able to show models in real time makes it easier to understand what needs to be manufactured. It provides completely new support for our colleagues in the workshop,” says Adam.
The goal is to improve access to accurate information and create a smoother workflow from design to manufacturing.
SwePart’s Proven Platform Benefits:
- Centralized data management – all files gathered in one place
- Drawing-to-solid link – full synchronization within 3DEXPERIENCE
- Streamlined workflow with CAD families – reduced number of separate files
- Ability to modify a single component and reflect it across all configurations
- Time savings and improved structure
Curious about cloud-based collaboration?
Like SwePart, many companies are streamlining workflows and boosting efficiency with 3DEXPERIENCE. By moving CAD data and product information to a structured, cloud-based environment, teams can work with better version control, faster file sharing, and clearer traceability throughout the development process.
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