January 2008
When rail companies need to repair locomotives, or nuclear power plants need to service reactors, they often rely on specialized heavy lifting equipment from Whiting Corporation. To design and manufacture this massive equipment, Whiting relies on SolidWorks ® 3D CAD software. Whiting’s multi-ton overhead cranes and rail maintenance equipment handle everything from radioactive nuclear waste to subway cars for clients like Bechtel National, Amtrak, BNSF, and Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in New York.
For more than 120 years, Monee, Illinois-based Whiting has been building heavy-duty industrial cranes. It now specializes in delivering overhead cranes, foundry equipment, and rail transportation maintenance equipment. The company standardized on 20 licenses of SolidWorks software for all new project designs. It also uses COSMOSWorks® design analysis and PDMWorks® Workgroup product data management (PDM) software to streamline product development and speed product delivery. SolidWorks and COSMOSWorks help Whiting ensure design accuracy, which is paramount for cranes that must meet exact safety standards set forth by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and other watchdog groups.
“We found that we were spending a lot of time checking designs and fixing issues with our 2D AutoCAD® software,” said Ed Slota, transportation product manager at Whiting. “SolidWorks has helped us meet growing time-to-market pressures because it allows us to finish designs quickly and accurately. Faster design means we’ve been able to conduct more what-if scenarios to find the best approach. Improved product visualization early in the design process has also been essential. This design visualization and validation gives us confidence that our equipment will deliver on the promises we make to our customers.”
Whiting’s first full project in SolidWorks was a rail car truck repair hoist used to lift rail car trucks to a working height so crews can repair or replace components. SolidWorks’ visualization and part interference features enabled engineers to quickly model the product and troubleshoot any errors prior to production.
Slota expects COSMOSWorks to play a critical role in the future as more engineers use it. “Analysis at the design stage is new for us,” he said. “Previously, it has been the realm of a separate analyst team. Incorporating it in the design phase helps us get the design right up front, which cuts costs and keeps production moving.”
PDMWorks Workgroup allows multiple engineers to work on large assemblies to accelerate design time. PDMWorks also ensures version control, quick document retrieval and audit histories so Slota and other managers can track which engineer completes what task.
“Industrial-strength crane development requires CAD software that lets engineers focus on solving critical design challenges, not software workarounds,” said Rainer Gawlick, SolidWorks vice president of worldwide marketing. “Whiting has a solid reputation for paying attention to the details that matter to its clients, and that precision shows up in its cranes at work every day.”
Whiting relies on authorized SolidWorks reseller FISHER/UNITECH for ongoing software training, implementation, and support.
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