Ellis Furniture Speeds Time to Market with Digital Design to Manufacture
Workflow
FARNBOROUGH, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 30, 2012--
Autodesk,
Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) has named Ellis Furniture (Ellis) — a U.K.-based
furniture company in business for more than a century — as the Autodesk
August Inventor
of the Month for using Autodesk
Inventor as part of Autodesk
Product Design Suite to offer greater levels of product
customization in significantly less time.
Ellis Furniture leverages Autodesk Inventor software to offer greater levels of product customization to its customers and create high-quality furniture that fits their needs. (Photo: Business Wire)
This speed enables Ellis to rapidly explore a number of design options
for its customers — ranging from luxury hotels to government
institutions — and create high-quality furniture that not only fits
their precise needs, but is designed to last a lifetime.
“We have a number of standard ranges for our products, but within these
ranges, our customers have the flexibility to customize the product as
they wish,” said Tom Ellis, director of Ellis. “We see the market
increasingly heading in the direction of providing more custom elements,
and Autodesk software is helping us meet that need in a timely manner.
When all is said and done, we’ve cut our time to market by half.”
Using Autodesk software, the company estimates that it is able to
clarify initial product design concepts with customers 20 percent faster
and establish material sources and material costs 30 to 40 percent
faster. Ellis’ manufacturing process — including generating a bill of
materials (BOM) and preparing design files for computer numerical
control (CNC) machine tools with Autodesk software — takes 80 percent
less time.
A Continuous Digital Workflow
Ellis worked with Autodesk Platinum Partner Symetri to purchase and
implement Autodesk Product Design Suite, which includes Autodesk
Inventor and other digital
prototyping tools such as Autodesk
Vault data management software and Autodesk
3ds Max rendering software. Ellis then integrated the Autodesk
software with its corporate enterprise resource planning (ERP) system.
The rules-based design automation capabilities of Inventor software
enable an efficient workflow where intelligent data behind each
furniture design is fed into Ellis’ ERP system. This fully digital
process eliminates manual data entry, reduces errors and speeds up
turnaround time — even as the company gives its customers greater
freedom to express their design intent and personalize their furniture
offerings.
When one of its larger university customers required a vast array of
size and color permutations for a new range of furniture, Ellis was able
to develop a base model in Inventor software and tailor it until the
university was satisfied. Likewise, when one of its military customers
urgently needed a new range of bedroom furniture, Ellis was able to
complete the models in Autodesk Inventor within a week and go straight
into manufacturing with total confidence and without delays on the shop
floor. Two weeks later, the units were being shipped to the other side
of the world.
“At the heart of every successful business is the ability to quickly
meet customer needs and deliver a great experience,” said Brenda
Discher, vice president, Manufacturing Industry Strategy and Marketing
at Autodesk. “With the help of Autodesk Product Design Suite, Ellis
Furniture now delivers more customized products in less time, outpacing
its competition.”
About the Autodesk Inventor of the Month Program
Each month, Autodesk selects an Inventor of the Month from the users of
Autodesk Inventor software, which takes manufacturers beyond 3D to
Digital Prototyping. Winners are chosen for engineering excellence and
groundbreaking innovation. For more information about Autodesk Inventor
of the Month, visit www.facebook.com/adskinventor.
About Ellis Furniture
Established in 1891, Ellis Furniture is a privately owned family
business, now in its fourth generation. The company produces a wide
range of furniture from its modern 200,000 sq.ft. factory based in West
Yorkshire, England. For additional information, visit www.ellisfurniture.co.uk.
About Symetri
Symetri is an Autodesk Platinum Partner, operating in the oil, gas,
nuclear, transportation and manufacturing sectors, supplying 2D and 3D
CAD design software, as well as specific third-party software
applications. For additional information, visit www.symetri.co.uk.
About Autodesk
Autodesk, Inc., is a leader in professional and personal 3D
design, engineering and entertainment software. Autodesk tools help
unlock the creativity in everyone, from children and hobbyists to design
and engineering professionals. Customers across the manufacturing,
architecture, building, construction, digital art and entertainment
industries, including the last 17 Academy Award winners for Best Visual
Effects, use Autodesk software, mobile apps, cloud services and
communities to design, visualize, simulate and communicate their
ideas. For more information follow @autodesk
or visit autodesk.com.
A video featuring Ellis Furniture is available on the Autodesk YouTube
Channel at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMcsQjxDSH8&feature=youtu.be.
Autodesk, Autodesk Inventor, Inventor, and 3ds Max are registered
trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries
and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. Academy Award is a
registered trademark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their
respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product and
services offerings, and specifications and pricing at any time without
notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors
that may appear in this document.
© 2012 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50391942&lang=en
Source: Autodesk, Inc.
Autodesk, Inc.
Stacy Doyle, 503-707-3861
stacy.doyle@autodesk.com