Creo Customer: Stryker soups up the rescue cot with Creo

By GEOFF HEDGES | Published: JUL 14, 2011

Have you seen the latest ambulance cots? I hope not—emergency rescue equipment is one technology we’re all mostly better off never experiencing first hand.  That said, if the time ever comes, let me assure you, emergency cots are not what they used to be. Today’s cot is versatile, high tech, and hopped up.

According to Stryker Medical, that’s because the cots have been newly engineered to make both patients and emergency responders safer and more comfortable. For example, the company’s industry-leading power cot, the Power-PRO XT, includes oversized wheels that need only low roll force to move the cots over uneven terrain. High-speed hydraulic lifts and pneumatic back rests make for less strenuous transport as well.

That’s not all. An ambulance cot may include features like breakaway headrests for navigating tight spaces, adjustable grab bars and rails to accommodate emergency responders of different heights, and even fail-safe manual systems if the rechargeable battery pack dies—quite a change from the days of simple beds on collapsible legs.

We recently talked to Stryker design engineer Kurosh Nahavandi, who uses Creo Parametricto model the newest generation of cots for the company. He says from the earliest design, parametric modeling is ideal because of the way the software can regenerate the entire model in response to even the littlest marketing change.

Nahavandi talks about the changing population, its health issues, and how Creo is helping Stryker unlock efficiency and creativity as it addresses a new era of medical challenges.

Triumph Motorbikes Selects PTC for Enterprise PLM

Windchill Solution to support growth and product development needs

Needham, MA - February 21, 2012 - PTC^® (Nasdaq: PMTC) today announced that Triumph Motorcycles Ltd, the largest British motorcycle manufacturer, has selected Windchill^® for Product Lifecycle Management (PLM).  The use of Windchill will enable Triumph to better support business growth and product development needs.

Triumph was established in 1902 and is an iconic brand not only in the UK, but worldwide.  At the heart of its philosophy is a commitment to develop truly unique motorcycles that offer the perfect blend of design, character and performance.  Triumph's innovation expertise and passion have driven its creation of a range of bikes, from cutting-edge super sports bikes to retro-classics and laid-back cruisers.

"Triumph motorcycles have always had a special character," said Geoff Hurst, Chief Information Officer, Triumph Motorcycles Ltd.  "We pride ourselves on our distinctive design, performance pedigree, outstanding engineering and unique engine sound.  With that reputation and our annual production level of 50,000 motorcycles (which includes the design of 4 new models each year and numerous updates), we felt it was key to move our product development to another level and implement a fully integrated PLM system."

As a long-time user of PTC solutions - Creo Parametric for product design and Pro/INTRALINK solution for data management - Triumph was aware of PTC's technology and capabilities.  "We had used Pro/INTRALINK to its maximum capacity and, after a business evaluation, decided to deploy Windchill as a single, comprehensive PLM system to support the entire design from early-stage product development to manufacturing," continued Hurst.  "We believe we will see a significant improvement in the design, production and manufacturing development times."

For automotive companies such as Triumph, Windchill can create a well-defined and orderly process for how informal and formal changes to product design are proposed, evaluated, implemented and documented.  Windchill delivers a best practice change-process strategy that enables all product development parties to instantly access all necessary data in order to improve product quality, reduce product costs, minimize product inventory and improve time-to-market by minimizing manufacturing downtime.

"The automotive market is ultra-competitive and the stakes are high," said Sin Min Yap, vice president, Market Strategy at PTC. "Designing and engineering a motorcycle from the ground up is a complex process that must keep pace with the ever-changing requirements of customers. These companies require superior technology to overcome the industry's most daunting challenges.  Windchill enables automotive companies like Triumph to manage customer needs, product performance, distributed collaboration, intricate global supply chains, and disparate data to put them ahead of the pack."

Additional Resources

• PTC's Automotive Industry Resource Center (web site)
• PTC's Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) Resource Center (web site)
• Windchill 10.0 Interactive Experience (demo)
• Map Your Best Route to Product Value (eBook)

PTC and DoD STARBASE Bring Science and Technology Opportunities to Georgia, Michigan and Minnesota Students

National youth program delivers STEM learning opportunities that inspire students to pursue engineering careers

NEEDHAM, Mass.- March 6, 2012- PTC^® (Nasdaq: PMTC) announced today it is continuing its support of the United States Department of Defense-sponsored STARBASE national youth program to deliver STEM learning opportunities to students in Georgia, Michigan and Minnesota.  The program's goal is to motivate young people to pursue science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education and careers.

Since its inception in 1989, the DoD STARBASE program has introduced 3-D engineering design and manufacturing using PTC software to over 610,000 students across 75 locations in the United States and expects an additional 70,000 students to participate in 2012.  The program provides students with 20-25 hours of real world STEM experiences. The program is a hands-on, minds-on inquiry based curriculum that encourages teamwork through challenging activities.

STARBASE Robins Program, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. The Houston County Board of Education believes a vibrant engineering and technical education is beneficial to civic, economic and intellectual activity for its county and its state.  "In order for our students to succeed and address the challenges of the workforce, we have to better prepare them with curriculum and programs that encourage critical thinking," said Barbara Wall, director of career, technical and agricultural education, Houston County Board of Education.  "PTC provides the software and technology to learn design and engineering skills and STARBASE gives us the program to apply the concepts in a real world scenario."

STARBASE One Program, Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Michigan.  Students who attend the classes at STARBASE One experience a leading edge curriculum which incorporates physics, chemistry, technology, engineering, math and STEM careers.  STARBASE One offers a first class facility that includes workstations equipped with PTC software for modeling, a space exploration lab module, a full scale space shuttle simulator and a Mars room which gives students the chance to manipulate robotic systems. The children recently had the opportunity to design and assemble a space shuttle flashlight using PTC software in a Design and Stratasys Dimension 3D Printers for Manufacturing class. 

"This is a great example of how students can apply math and science skills to develop something that can be used by consumers," said Barbara Koscak, Co-founder of STARBASE.  "Engineering is an important part of our country's hopeful future, and I'm glad to part of this incredible program."

"PTC is proud to be part of a technology movement that seeks to bridge the gap between school and industry in order to encourage more STEM-related careers," said Adam Haas, STARBASE program manager, PTC.  "Together with our customers like Michigan-based General Dynamics, we will continue to develop a new generation of students that will have the technical knowledge and skills to work for companies like it across all industries around the globe."  General Dynamics continues to support the Michigan programs by providing laptops for computer activities.

STARBASE Minnesota, Minnesota Air National Guard Base, St. Paul, Minnesota. "PTC has been a long time advocate of STEM programs through its support of initiatives like the FIRST robotics programs and now STARBASE," said Kevin Tanner, vice president North America technical sales, PTC.  "We have a large, state-of-the-art research and development center in Blaine, Minnesota with hundreds of the brightest and most innovative software developers. We are proud to host students from all over Minnesota for training and mentoring, and the opportunity to build stronger STEM programs in the communities across our state."

About STARBASE
STARBASE is a Department of Defense program that serves young people in communities across the country by offering students an opportunity to participate in a variety of hands-on learning experiences designed to increase interest in and knowledge of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). You can visit their website at www.dodstarbase.org.  

Additional Resources

• PTC's Academic Program (web site)
• PTC and Real World Design Challenge (web site)
• PTC's Community Relations Programs (web site)
• PTC and FIRST (web site)

PTC Named Winner of 2011 Frost & Sullivan Global Green Excellence in Product Innovation Award

Recognized for the Key Industry Challenges Addressed by PTC’s Windchill Product Analytics

NEEDHAM, MA. -  December 20, 2011 - PTC® (Nasdaq: PMTC), The Product Development Company^®, today announced that it is the 2011 recipient of Frost & Sullivan's Global Green Excellence in Product Innovation Award for Product Lifecycle Management. After being ranked against other leading PLM vendors in categories such as product profile, business commitment and environmental accountability, the company's Windchill^® Product Analytics suite came out on top for its ability to enable the manufacturing industry to create more sustainable, and competitive products while reducing overall environmental impact. 

According to Frost & Sullivan best practices research, the drive among manufacturers to improve the environmental performance of their products is gaining momentum every day. Not only have business-to-business customers and consumers demonstrated a clear preference for more sustainable products and "greener" brands, but investors are now pressuring manufacturers as well. Additionally, manufacturers need to design and develop products in compliance with an ever increasing number of environmental regulations in order to avoid blocked sales, production stops, fines and even criminal prosecution. 

PTC's Windchill Product Analytics is a suite of component and bill-of-material analysis solutions that enable manufacturers to assess product compliance, performance and risk beginning early in the innovation process and continuing throughout the product lifecycle. The solutions complement existing PLM and ERP systems to make product performance analytics an integral part of the product development process. Armed with this knowledge, manufacturers will be able to develop greener products. 

"Windchill Product Analytics provides an ideal platform for manufacturers interested in realizing profitable sustainability," said Karthik Sundaram, Senior Research Analyst, Frost & Sullivan. "In evaluating leading vendors, PTC stood out in all criteria. Its holistic approach to sustainability - from its product solutions to its overall worldwide company initiatives - made PTC the clear winner of this year's Global Green Excellence Award." 

"PTC has a rich history of enabling manufacturing customers to create more sustainable, optimized - and simultaneously more competitive and profitable - products," said Howard Heppelmann, Senior General Manager, Product Analytics Business Unit and Executive Sponsor of the PTC Internal Sustainability Program. "We are pleased that Frost & Sullivan has recognized our strategic commitment and the positive impact Windchill Product Analytics enables leading global manufacturers to make."

Mitsubishi Aircraft Selects PTC to Ensure New Regional Jet Meets Aircraft Reliability and Maintainability Goals

PTC to Support Reliability and Maintainability Processes for Next-Generation Aircraft

NEEDHAM, MA - February 7, 2012 - PTC^® (Nasdaq: PMTC) today announced that Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation has selected PTC as its strategic partner for developing a reliability and maintainability management platform for its Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) next-generation aircraft program. 

The MRJ leverages leading-edge aerodynamic engineering and noise analysis technologies to deliver competitive economics and outstanding cabin comfort. With production planned for 2012, the MRJ is a compelling new offering in the global regional jet market, and the first new airliner produced in Japan in nearly 50 years. 

To ensure its customers achieve maximum operational efficiency with each purchase, Mitsubishi Aircraft sought an advanced solution to support its reliability and maintainability management activities. This required a solution that centrally manages product improvements and enhancements (including a detailed product history), gathers and analyzes field data, and communicates necessary improvements to internal organizations and external partners. 

After a thorough review of competitive solutions, Mitsubishi Aircraft selected PTC's Windchill^® Quality Solutions (formerly known as Relex^®) and PTC's Arbortext^® Service Information Solutions. The company will implement the PTC solutions in its customer support organization, with the system expected to go live before the first aircraft delivery. 

"Today, PTC is proud to have achieved preferred partner status with some of the biggest and most innovative brands in the aerospace and defense industry," said Jim Heppelmann, president and CEO, PTC. "With its next-generation MRJ, Mitsubishi Aircraft is challenging the status quo of the regional jet market. We are confident that together we can help the MRJ meet the company's high standards for quality, meet the industry's requirements for safety, and meet their future customers' need for reliability." 

Once deployed, the PTC solutions will enable greater collaboration across the MRJ project teams focused on ensuring the quality, reliability, and maintainability of the aircraft. PTC's quality and reliability management solutions are used today to help companies identify potential failure modes of a system, control or prevent their occurrence or effects, and track the compliance of parts and products against a wide range of commonly-used industry standards. 

PTC solutions that support the needs of the aerospace and defense industry are designed to support product design and lifecycle management activities of aircraft manufacturers and suppliers, as well as of airlines and government/military organizations. PTC is a leading provider of reliability and maintainability solutions for the A&D industry, delivering solutions to 18 out of the top 20 companies, such as Boeing, Airbus, and other leading organizations. 

Additional Resources

• PTC solutions for aircraft manufacturers and airlines
• PTC solutions for aerospace and defense
• PTC's Windchill Quality Solution overview
• PTC's Arbortext solution overview
• MRJ Media Center
• Images and Captions