Professional floor system provider recognized for product development.
Autodesk recently announced that HTC Sweden, a provider of professional floor systems, has been named the Autodesk Inventor of the Month for October. HTC Sweden utilized Autodesk Manufacturing products including Inventor, AliasStudio and ProductStream, HTC to create beautiful, hygienic and easily managed flooring, according to the company.
Autodesk Inventor plays a critical role in helping HTC Sweden develop its products, according to the company. As the foundation of the Autodesk Digital Prototyping solution, Inventor software brings together design data from all phases of the product development process to create a single digital model. This single digital model simulates the complete product and gives engineers the ability to better visualize, optimize and manage a design before producing a physical prototype.
Via its design partners, HTC utilizes Autodesk AliasStudio software for concept and industrial design, along with Autodesk Productstream software to create a digital pipeline that manages all data. The company's use of Autodesk 3ds Max animation software allows them to use their digital model to develop marketing materials, saving significant costs and spurring sales in advance of manufacturing.
"The time is long gone when you could afford to have the design and engineering departments working separately and updating one another with drawings," says Karl Thysell, product development head at HTC Sweden. "Product information should be stored in one place and available to everyone so that feedback from one department to another can be delivered in a structured, digital form. The full suite of products that Autodesk provides—from AliasStudio and Inventor during the conception and engineering phases, to Productstream for managing the product development lifecycle—has been invaluable in helping us create and manage a digital workflow."
As a result of the company's adoption of Digital Prototyping, HTC Sweden has minimized the number of physical prototypes that it needs to create. Today, only one research prototype is built before a new product is launched together with a small commercial series. Previously, the company had to dedicate time and resources to develop up to five sets of physical prototypes. With the cost of a prototype for the company's flagship product, the HTC 2500 iX, being nearly $500,000, the savings can be substantial.
"It's no accident that HTC Sweden is experiencing 40 percent annual growth in their product segments and that the prognosis for its new product line points toward a 200 percent increase in new business," says Robert "Buzz" Kross, senior vice president of Autodesk Manufacturing Solutions. "Digital Prototyping enables time-savings and profitability, which in turn generates organic growth and market expansion. It is gratifying to see a customer reaping the rewards of digital prototypes, and it is a pleasure to name them as October's Inventor of the Month."
HTC Sweden launched a patent pending system for grinding concrete in 1992, and is now the market leader for diamond-based concrete grinding systems. HTC Sweden’s flooring machines use a diamond-based grinding system to create a floor that is more cost effective to maintain than other flooring materials.
Each month, Autodesk selects an Inventor of the Month. Winners are chosen for engineering excellence and groundbreaking innovation.
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