siemens plm blue bird cs z3

8/13/2019 Siemens PLM Blue Bird Cs Z3

1/5

Product

NX

Business challenges

Improve product ergonomics

and design

Interact effectively with

external suppliers

Safeguard product heritage

Keys to success

Develop complete 3D models

for mechanical and surfacedesign

Collaborate with partner to

implement software

Utilize synchronous technolo-

gy to repurpose huge archive

of 3D models

Results

Developed a complete digital

workow from sketch to

working prototype

Established direct model

exchange with suppliers and

mold makers

Signicantly improved

knowledge re-use

Improved quality through

increased utilization of FEA

Increased product styling

while delivering enhanced

product functionality

Starting from a simple sketchon paper, Blue Bird developsworking prototypes using NX

Globally established brand

Blue Bird Industries Fabbrica Motori Srl.

(Blue Bird) has implemented a complete

workow, from paper sketch to working

prototype, leveraging unique 3D models

designed using NX software from prod-

uct lifecycle management (PLM) specialist

Siemens PLM Software. NX is the industrys

most integrated, exible and efcient solu-

tion for product design, engineering and

manufacturing.

Industrial machinery and equipment

www.siemens.com/nx

Blue BirdUse of 3D CAD helps garden equipment maker produce better, more stylish products

Blue Bird is a well-known, globally estab-

lished brand, manufacturing gardening

equipment and two-stroke internal com-

bustion engines. The company offers a

high-quality product portfolio, efcient

post-sales service and a solid and exible

sales organization. These attributes haveenabled Blue Bird to expand across Europe

and into Asia and Latin America.

Based in Zan, near Vicenza, Italy, Blue

Bird was founded in 1978 to manufacture

brush cutters and hedge trimmers pow-

ered by internal combustion engines. Over

the years, production has expanded to

meet market demand. In 2005, through an
http://www.siemens.com/nxhttp://www.siemens.com/nx


2/5

acquisition, the company added the capac-

ity to produce wheeled brush cutters for

professional and semi-professional uses.

Today, the Blue Bird catalog includes brushcutters, hedge trimmers, motor pumps,

earth augers, olive pickers, chain saws,

shredders, lawn mowers, lawn tractors,

vacuum blowers, transporters and a full

range of accessories. The company is also

continuing its tradition of producing

high-performance two-stroke engines for

gardening applications, go-karts and

mini-motorbikes.

Blue Bird operates on all continents, with

65 percent of its revenue from Italy and

the remaining 35 percent coming from therest of the world. Our agship product is

certainly the brush cutter, says Fabio

Ferroni, manager of Blue Birds engines

and power products department.

However, our two-stroke engine is the

core element around which we have

developed a full program, with

power ratings from 27 to 58 cubic

centimeters (cc) to cover multi-

ple applications and differ-

ent customer

categories, from

wholesalers to retail

chains and singlestores.

To preserve product quality

and market leadership, Blue Bird

has consistently invested in human

and technological resources. New prod-

ucts are developed starting with marketing

considerations or to comply with new

engine standards and regulations. The

As we were moving to

NX, we needed to updatea few components of our

products. Thanks to the

softwares ease of use and

versatility, we became

immediately familiar with

NX, working on ergonomics

and aesthetics to make our

products more attractive

and captivating, in line

with market expectations.

Fabio Ferroni

Manager of the Engines and

Power Products DepartmentBlue Bird Industries

development of the latest two-stroke

engine program was driven by the enact-

ment of the Euro 2 standard for off-road

mobile equipment, says Ferroni. Ourdesign cycle starts with the engine, the

core of the product. Once the functional

geometric parameters are dened, we

move on to the design of the external

envelope.

Styling is crucial, because consumer buy-

ing decisions are inuenced by visual

impact as well as performance and safety.

The products must also be compact and

lightweight for easy handling and maneu-

verability. When the design is complete,

we build the rst rapid prototypes and themolds, says Ferroni. Having designed a

full 3D model, we produce the rst sam-

ples. After optimization in the laboratory,

we launch the production of molds and

tooling and, after further enhancements,

we introduce the product to the market.

Thanks to the softwares easeof use and versatility, webecame immediately familiarwith NX...


3/5

The way to better design

The subcontractors that collaborate with

Blue Birds engineering department

exchange drawings and models on a regu-

lar basis, but use different software pack-

ages. In 2010, Blue Bird started searching

for an alternative computer-aided design

(CAD) software system. We wanted to

have direct interaction with our partners,

Ferroni says. We tested different software

packages and ultimately realized that a

mid-range CAD software was no longer

suitable. Increasingly sophisticated design

required a product with wider functional-

ity, so we turned to an advanced solution.The market offered a limited number of

advanced products, including NX, that had

already been adopted successfully by

many of our third-party suppliers.

Relying on the reputation of the Siemens

PLM Software brand, Blue Birds managers

leveraged the support of a qualied part-

ner, undertaking direct collaboration with

Team3D to adopt NX. Team3D, an autho-

rized reseller of the Siemens PLM Software

product portfolio, initially offered consult-

ing partnership service to Blue Bird. In

addition to software, Team3D also pro-

vided technical support for nite element

analysis (FEA), an essential tool to help

develop Blue Birds products.

Team3D has specic FEA expertise and

data management skills, notes Ferroni.

This approach ensured that we did not

have just a supplier, but a real consultant.

Our activity is focused on the mass

production of consumer goods, with

signicant costs for the construction of

molds and tooling. This requires an

accurate study of both functionality andvisual impact. We must virtualize the

design and model it accurately before it

gets to manufacturing, so we can reduce

the number of physical prototypes.

To do this, we obviously need

adequate tools.

Blue Bird designers also need to work not

only on mechanical details, such as themotor shaft, pistons and cylinders, but

also on style. As we were moving to

NX, we needed to update a few com-

ponents of our products, says Ferroni.

Thanks to the softwares ease of use

and versatility, we became immediately

familiar with NX, working on ergonomics

and aesthetics to make our products more

attractive and captivating, in line with

market expectations.

Safeguarding heritage/investment

When Team3D presented the SiemensPLM Software proposal to Blue Bird, it

stressed the added value of synchronous

technology. Blue Bird had a huge archive

of 3D models, says Antonio Martinelli of

Team3D. The company immediately rec-

ognized the benets of leveraging the

advanced features of NX, and we high-

lighted the possibility of repurposing leg-

acy 3D models and archives, protecting

their investment of many years of hard

work and safeguarding a valuable heri-

tage. NX helps Blue Bird re-use and repur-

pose models without any parameters or

history. This helped us prove the great

exibility of a tool that perfectly embodies

the concept of explicit design, while pre-

serving all necessary parametric features.

NX helps Blue Bird re-useand repurpose modelswithout any parameters or

history.Antonio Martinelli

Team3D


4/5

We appreciated this exible approach,

adds Ferroni. Our style designer starts

with a hand-drawn sketch and, by using

NX, we can import this drawing as the

starting point for developing a 3D model.

After transforming the 3D sketch, we vali-

date the products visual impact with our

marketing people, then we move on to

mechanical design and the study of com-

ponents. At that point, we make the rst

physical prototype to build a reliable sam-

ple. So, using NX, we can develop a work-ing prototype directly from the solid

model, starting from a sketch on paper.

As evidence of the ease of use for opera-

tors with basic CAD expertise, Team3D

provided limited training on the software.

Blue Bird engineers appreciate the prod-

ucts exibility, computing power and

advanced features, says Martinelli.

Another benet is the possibility to diver-

sify the approach to the same project,

leveraging the master model concept. This

allows Blue Bird to improve design cycle

time, because you can execute processesin parallel and collaborate concurrently on

the same design.

The importance of FEA

An internal combustion engine is an intri-

cate combination of mechanical elements

and thermal-uid dynamics. Complex cal-

culations are required to develop a reliable

product with optimal performance and

heat exchange to ensure excellent engine

operation. Calculations made in the pre-

liminary design stage focus on distribu-

tion, displacement, stroke and bore size.Other aspects, including heat exchange,

pressure inside the combustion chamber

Our style designer starts

with a hand-drawn sketchand, by using NX, we can

import this drawing as the

starting point for developing

a 3D model. After transform-

ing the 3D sketch, we vali-

date the products visual

impact with our marketing

people, then we move on to

mechanical design and the

study of components. At

that point, we make the frst

physical prototype to build a

reliable sample. So, usingNX, we can develop a work-

ing prototype directly from

the solid model, starting

from a sketch on paper.

Fabio Ferroni


Power Products Department

Blue Bird Industries

...using NX we can develop aworking prototype directly fromthe solid model, starting from a

sketch on paper.Fabio Ferroni

Manager of the Engines and Power Products Department



5/5

Solutions/Services

NX

www.siemens.com/nx

Customers primary business

Blue Bird Industries is an inter-

nationally renowned brand,

specializing the design and

manufacture of brush cutters

and garden machinery.

www.bluebirdind.com

Customer locationZan, Vicenza

Italy

Partner

Team3D

www.team3d.it

We tested different software

packages and ultimately

realized that a mid-range

CAD software was no longer

suitable. Increasingly sophis-ticated design required a

product with broader func-

tionality, so we turned to an

advanced solution. The mar-

ket offered a limited number

of advanced products,

including NX, which had

already been adopted suc-

cessfully by many of our

third-party suppliers.

Fabio Ferroni


Power Products DepartmentBlue Bird Industries

2013 Siemens Product Lifecycle Management Software Inc. Siemens and the Siemens logo are registered trademarks of

Siemens AG. D-Cubed, Femap, Geolus, GO PLM, I-deas, Insight, JT, NX, Parasolid, Solid Edge, Teamcenter, Tecnomatix and

Velocity Series are trademarks or registered trademarks of Siemens Product Lifecycle Management Software Inc. or its

subsidiaries in the United States and in other countries. Nastran is a registered trademark of the National Aeronautics and

Space Administration. All other logos, trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks used herein are the property of

their respective holders.

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and optimization of suction and exhaust

pipes, require thermodynamic FEA. We

have always entrusted such analysis to

external ofces, says Ferroni.

He explains, The uid dynamics of an

internal combustion engine cannot be

analyzed with a spreadsheet. You need

dedicated analysis tools and, most of all,

solid expertise to interpret the results cor-

rectly. For the future evolution of our

products, FEA will provide useful sugges-

tions to make further signicant quality

leaps forward.

Looking ahead, Blue Bird plans to extend

prototyping to FEA. For the time

being, Team3D is providing the

company with on-demand

FEA, until Blue Bird engineers complete

their evaluation of NX Nastran software

and its functionality. Once implemented,

the solution will help Blue

Bird deploy a complete

workow, from paper

sketch to nished

product.

Increasingly sophisticated designrequired a product with broaderfunctionality, so we turned to anadvanced solution.Fabio Ferroni

Manager of the Engines and Power Products Department

http://www.siemens.com/nxhttp://www.siemens.com/nxhttp://www.bluebirdind.com/http://www.bluebirdind.com/http://www.team3d.it/http://www.team3d.it/http://www.siemens.com/plmhttp://www.siemens.com/nxhttp://www.bluebirdind.com/http://www.team3d.it/http://www.siemens.com/plm

siemens plm blue bird cs z3

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