When people are asked what they want most in their automobiles, they first cite safety, fuel efficiency and reliability. But right behind those factors, they say they look at functional interiors and ergonomics.
The automotive industry moves at a very fast pace, with short, unforgiving lead times. More than ever, innovation is critical. For nearly 20 years, Austria’s 3CON has built a solid reputation as a leading global manufacturer of automotive interior machinery. 3CON strategically established sites in Austria, China and North America in order to cater to local customer requirements, as well as deliver agile after-sales services. With designers in multiple locations, collaboration was the biggest challenge that prevented 3CON from innovating at the required speed to meet market demands.
To improve multi-site collaboration and accelerate the process of transforming concepts into sturdy, efficient equipment while maintaining quality, 3CON selected Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE® platform. In this new environment, they manage complexity with a library of standardized components that is easily accessible to designers regardless of their location. This streamlined process enables the ability to customize existing components to meet customer specifications in a cost efficient way. Designers also use the system to share their vision and exchange ideas with clients early in the sales cycle and use real-time input throughout the entire process. This not only enhances the relationship with the customer, since they know exactly what they will get, but helps reduce design cycle time and costs by eliminating the need for costly changes later in the design process. Because the system is fast and easy to use, 3CON can rapidly try out new ideas and test more design iterations to increase their innovation capacity.
Watch the new customer case study video to hear directly from 3CON’s leadership about the successes they’ve had to date, such as cutting design time by 30%, lowering the assembly start-up phase by 50% and reducing the risk of cost overages due to improved project visibility. They also share their future goals, such as delivering high-end 3D virtual experiences to their sales force and customers and paperless production. Additional information about 3CON’s experience is available in a written study.
