Agriculture in Japan presents many difficult challenges. Er, design opportunities. Only 15% of the land is arable, and individual farms are small, some only an acre or two in size.
- Output is diverse, with rice, wheat, vegetables, fruit, and tea all grown on the little agricultural space Japan offers.
- Diets are changing, and demand for meat is overshadowing Japan’s traditional staple crops.
- An aging population of farmers, most over 60 years old, now work most of the land.
What can design do to help? Creo customer IHI Star says it responds by producing farm implements that feature multiple specialized functions. ”There are so many variables in our markets, we end up producing many complex machines but in very small quantities.”
With IHI Star, you can purchase a machine that’s just the right scale for you and your farm: bale hay into squares or rolls from small to large, spread fertilizer with precision, or a harvest corn from the front or side of your tractor. In fact, IHI Star produces dozens of different implements, most with the small acreage farm in mind.
To develop all these different designs, IHI Star uses Creo’s direct modeling approach because it helps engineers easily create and share designs and adapt to last-minute changes. IHI Star says that, with 3D, designers communicate ideas and share expertise more easily than when they used 2D only. New products get developed faster, and they don’t have to worry about their tools becoming outdated.
“We thought sooner or later everyone would be switching over to 3D CAD,” says Mr. Hideyuki Takayama, Development Manager at IHI Star. “We also realized there probably wouldn’t be any more big functional enhancements made to 2D CAD itself.”
The manufacturer has enjoyed great results with Creo’s direct modeling approach, completing its first project at 60% of budget.
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