Roasting machines designed with Autodesk Inventor create a superior cup of coffee

Using Digital Prototyping to create an accurate 3D model with Inventor has already helped Ponderosa significantly streamline its design-to-manufacturing process.

San Rafael CA—Ponderosa Roasting, a specialty manufacturer of coffee roasting machines, has been named as the Autodesk (NASDAQ: ADSK) Inventor of the Month for January 2009.

Ponderosa used Autodesk Inventor software to design and manufacture coffee roasting machines that give greater control over various aspects of the roasting process, ensuring that each coffee bean is optimally roasted.

Using Digital Prototyping to create an accurate 3D model with Inventor has already helped Ponderosa significantly streamline its design-to-manufacturing process. Ponderosa recently developed a custom, 15-kilogram roaster in just four weeks—a process that previously would have taken nearly six months.

“Nobody in the industry can provide the dynamics that we can with our roasters,” says Boyd Guildner, cofounder and president of Ponderosa.

“We wouldn’t have been able to create such an advanced roaster without Inventor. Inventor allowed us to think outside the box and explore multiple roaster designs before cutting a single piece of metal.”

The Inventor of the Month program recognizes the most innovative design and engineering advancements made by the extensive community using Autodesk Inventor software—the foundation of the Autodesk solution for Digital Prototyping.

A digital prototype is a realistic 3D digital simulation of the entire end product, used to virtually optimize and validate a product before it is built to reduce the necessity of constructing physical prototypes.

Most coffee roasting machines use a drum that rotates and tumbles the coffee beans while heat is applied via burners. Ponderosa, which designs coffee roasters ranging in capacity from one pound to nearly 500 pounds, creates machines that precisely control every variable in this roasting process, from how fast the beans turn in the drum to how much airflow they’re exposed to, as well as how much heat is applied by the burners at any given moment. By manipulating these variables, Ponderosa can create increasingly sophisticated and multifaceted flavor profiles for coffee.

Digital Prototyping Speeds Innovation

Working with Autodesk reseller partner Hagerman & Company helped Ponderosa to rapidly experience the benefits of Digital Prototyping. Inventor software’s digital prototypes and sheet metal tools enable Ponderosa to combine manufacturing information such as punch tool parameters and custom bend tables with an accurate 3D model of sheet metal folding.

Inventor software made it easy to check for interferences between various assembly parts, helping to catch potential errors before the design reached the manufacturing floor.

In addition, Inventor software made it easy to check for interferences between various assembly parts, helping to catch potential errors before the design reached the manufacturing floor.

“Inventor software helps transform great ideas into great products, in less time than ever before,” says Robert

“Buzz” Kross, senior vice president of Autodesk Manufacturing Solutions. “We are impressed at the way Ponderosa has used Inventor to bring their innovations to market, and we are proud to name them as our Inventor of the Month for January.”