In this case study, we will show you how Europlacer, the world's largest independent supplier of SMT pick-and-place machines, uses 3D simulation software, Visual Components to design and sell assembly solutions to international customers of the electronics industry.
Key benefits:
- Proposal response flow efficiency increased
- Improved sales results
- High quality graphics and video of the solutions
A global supplier of SMT machines, looking to scale
Europlacer is the world's largest independent supplier of surface mount component (SMT) pick and place machines . Their product portfolio includes a variety of SMT pick and place machines .
Europlacer sells its solutions directly and through a global network of distributors and supports both channels in the creation of commercial propositions . For a global company that produces a high volume of sales proposals each year, this represents a considerable workload. Before starting with 3D simulation software, Visual Components in 2018, Europlacer's proposal workflow was slow and needed improvement.
“We used PowerPoint to create 2D drawings. It took at least a day to create these and even then there was a high percentage of inaccuracy. So they went through several rounds of changes internally before sharing them with customers. »
They realized the need to improve the efficiency of their proposal response workflow and set out to find a tool that could support this. They also wanted a tool that could produce quality graphics and videos of the solutions they were designing.
“The cost of a new product line exceeds hundreds of thousands of euros,” explained Pierre. “So the customer expects to have beautiful images of what they are buying. »
Europlacer selected the simulation software, Visual Components for its ease of use and high quality graphics.
“It was quite easy to create models of the machines that we produce here in the French factory. Now that the models are in our library, it is very easy to create new layouts and configurations, as well as generate drawings. »
“As a bonus, we can also share videos of our simulations with customers. »
The Project: US-based PCB manufacturer wants to increase capacity
“We recently completed a project with a US-based PCB (printed circuit board) manufacturer who wanted to increase their production capacity ,” Pierre said. “They wanted to add another SMT assembly line into their existing floor space. »
The assembly line included a PCB printer, two SMT pick-and-place machines and a reflow oven: with a grid conveyor connecting all the machines together.
“The challenge was to design a solution that met the client’s production requirements and fit into limited floor space ,” Pierre said. “Space constraints made this project particularly difficult. »
Europlacer's commercial proposal team used Visual Components' 3D simulation to design different layouts and present them to the client. After evaluating several options, they concluded that a U-shaped configuration was the optimal configuration to meet space and production requirements, and Europlacer won the project.
“Using Visual Components helped us win the project. The 3D simulation was very convincing to the client and gave them confidence that our solution would meet the project requirements. »
Considerable time savings with 3D simulation software
Just one year after implementing the 3D simulation software, Europlacer is already seeing results. They have responded to dozens of implementation requests and are seeing improvements in their response time and sales results .
“We have made significant improvements in our sales process, both in terms of efficiency and win rate. The response time for a proposal went from one day to less than an hour. It's quite important. »
Looking to the future, Europlacer plans to extend its use of 3D simulation to other applications.
“This tool perfectly matches our request and we have discovered some very interesting additional features that we hope to implement as soon as possible,” said Pierre.
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