Reducing lead time for customized rail design orders for stairlifts according to multiple international standards through design support and CAD customization.
Software - SolidWorks API, AutoCAD
Database - Oracle, MS Access, SQL
Languages - C++, VB, .NET, ASP, Java
The demand for strairlifts all over the globe is on a rise with rising elderly population. These assistive devices are increasingly being adopted in North America, Europe and U.K by disabled or elderly people to move up and down the stairs. The increasing challenge however for stairlifts manufacturer is the ability to respond to customer needs on time, especially in the cases of curved rail stairlifts as they are manufactured according to individual staircase. These types of stairlifts consume a large amount of time in measurement, design, manufacturing and installation. To remain competitive in such demanding market, manufacturers are required to harness their knowledge and turn it into processes that help them in maintaining productivity and shorten the lead time.
Hi-Tech partnered with a leading European stairlifts manufacturer to support rail design for different curved, straight and outdoor stairlifts customized according to country specific safety standards and staircase structure.
The Solution:
To address the client challenges, CAD specialists at Hi-Tech replaced the client’s manual legacy CAD systems with SolidWorks while keeping the vital functionalities intact to optimize the engineering steps involved in rail design, manufacturing and installation. Utilizing in-house as well as client end resources, special features, macros and tools were developed to customize the CAD system according to the design requirements. This change allowed client to easily convert design information from images to editable 3D CAD models of rails according to custom staircase structures.
The use of additional tools and macros also enabled client to easily extract fabrication drawings and standard GA drawings for production and sales purposes. Our dedicated team ensured that all the design information for custom curved rail stairlifts were according to country specific standards and made the design production ready. The client was able to perform “what-if” simulation by changing design parameters digitally to identify design trade-offs quickly.
