Migrating to Autodesk Simulation 2012 - A customer's perspective

Change is not always easy – but it’s certainly not something you can afford to be afraid of if you want to grow your business. We recently spoke with Eddie Kolesar over at Esterline Power Systems (EPS) who is a de facto “change expert” – having driven countless major initiatives at his company – to get his insights on what has made them so successful in adopting new technology into their processes.

Here’s what we found out…

Finding the Right Partner

“You can buy software anywhere, but support is key,” was the first thing he mentioned when we spoke with him. EPS has been partnered up with KETIV, a leading Autodesk solutions provider, since they first started with the early versions of AutoCAD and through the migrations to Mechanical Desktop and
Inventor. It’s critical for their business that users are as productive as possible and the online events,
training, and support from KETIV helps ensure their engineers are best-in-class.

The EPS team also takes advantage of events such as Autodesk University and KETIV’s Advanced Manufacturing Academy along with the plethora of information available to users in the Autodesk Manufacturing Community.

Making the Switch

Continuous improvement is a big part of EPS's business philosophy, as they recognize the need to evolve and advance processes as an important part of growing the business. “Don’t be afraid of new software, it’s not a ‘switch.’ There is a migration process, and that is why it’s important to evaluate your options carefully and make sure that you have the support of the reseller,” Eddie mentioned.

An example of a switch EPS has recently undertaken involved their solution for simulating the performance of their products. A few years ago, the team recognized that they needed to be able to analyze both parts and full scale assemblies, so they purchased a license of ANSYS Mechanical.
He notes, “It did its stuff. The software was good but the support was really lacking.” After the acquisition of Algor by Autodesk, the team saw that they could get the same capabilities of ANSYS inside Autodesk
Simulation Mechanical and get support from KETIV, whom they trust at making their implementation significantly more successful than before.

A surprising aspect of the migration was the ease in which it was accomplished. “The functions are all there. They may be in a different spot and sometimes you may need some help, but with KETIV they make sure they really understand the problem and then help you solve it.”

Keep Thinking Ahead

The last piece of advice that Eddie shared with us was, “Think about the future. Don’t buy just for now, but for four to five years down the road. Think broader scope.” Wise words from someone that’s
seen, and driven, his fair share of change.

Esterline Power Systems designs and manufactures a broad range of high-reliable power switching and control components and equipment for aerospace, rail, and high-end industrial applications worldwide.

Comments

[John Evans]

Fabulous write-up Loren. I love the opening statement.