Parker Hannifin Corporation introduces the free Parker T-Slot Aluminum Design Architect Tool
Parker Electromechanical and Drives Division North America is pleased to announce the release of Parker T-Slot Aluminum Design Architect, which enables users of all experience levels to quickly and easily design products using Parker T-Slot aluminum framing components.
The software makes the challenging task of designing products from T-Slot aluminum as easy as building with interlocking blocks. The software, available as a free download from the Parker website, has been praised by Parker design centers, professional users and do-it-yourselfers for its simple, easy-to-use interface, on-the-fly bill of materials generation and instant quoting capability.
Parker's T-slot aluminum profile is the material of choice for assembling an unlimited variety of bases, frames, linear guide systems, guards, enclosures, work tables, material handling systems and other structures. The modular T-slot aluminum profile system offers so much flexibility and cost savings in design, fabrication and assembly that it has become the material of choice for a wide variety of applications.
To design a product with T-slot aluminum, engineers used to have to create the various profiles, connectors, fasteners and accessories in their CAD system. They then created their design by manipulating the individual components. Once completed, they would manually create a bill of materials and send it to Parker to get a quote. If the user did not have CAD access, they would often send Parker a "napkin sketch" for Parker's engineering team to interpret, design and quote. This often required three to five iterations, which meant a significant amount of time and effort for both the customer and the Parker team.
"It's so simple that anyone can do it," says Mario Mitchell, Product Manager for T-Slot Aluminum Frames at Parker. "The entire process has been streamlined and simplified to assist the end user. This simple, stand-alone system requires no CAD access or prior technical knowledge; they can download it and start creating in minutes. The designs are more accurate the first time and are much quicker to repeat. One of my favorite features is that all fasteners and connectors are automatically generated for the design and added to the bill of materials. When the user is done with the design, they can email the bill of materials to us and we can give them a quote right away."
No CAD knowledge is required to use the tool, but there are advanced features and outputs of interest to professional engineers and system integrators, including .stp files and native CAD outputs for Dassault SolidWorks®, Autodesk Inventor® and PTC CREO®.
"This tool is not just for the home user," adds Jay Hopper, COO of CADENAS USA. "It has some powerful features that will appeal to professionals as well. Engineers integrating their Parker T-Slot Aluminum assembly into a larger design can instantly export their projects from T-Slot Aluminum Design Architect into their CAD application. If they want to share the design with a purchasing department, they can instantly generate a 3D PDF cut sheet with all the details for their specific design. Anyone who has ever used T-slot aluminum profiles will love this tool.
Parker Hannifin T-Slot Aluminum Design Architect Features:
- Free Download
- Easy to use
- Stand-alone tool - no CAD required
- System is pre-loaded with Parker components and guidelines
- On-the-fly BOM (Bill of Materials) with quick quote feature
- Instantly fulfills required connections and fasteners
- Native CAD output to Dassault SolidWorks®, Autodesk Inventor® and PTC CREO®
- Customized 3D PDF data sheets for each project
- 2D cut sheets for manufacturing
Learn how your company can provide CAD data through your website and much more
About Parker Electromechanical and Drives Division
The Electromechanical Automation Division, part of Parker Hannifin Corporation's Motion Systems Group since 1987, is a pioneer, designer and manufacturer of computerized motion controls, AC/DC/servo/stepper motor drives, servo motors and human-machine interfaces, positioning systems, gearheads and gearmotors. These products automate the production of a large proportion of the world's goods and services. Electromechanical Automation products are distributed through independent, authorized Automation Technology Centers - a group of nearly 100 professional, highly qualified organizations with more than 135 offices around the world. An informative and up-to-date website with downloadable libraries, tutorials and background information on motion control and automation can be found at www.parker.com/emn.
About Parker Hannifin
Parker Hannifin is a Fortune 250 global leader in motion and control technologies. For 100 years, the company has contributed to the success of its customers in a broad range of industrial and aerospace markets.
