User report: Kroeplin Längenmesstechnik

How GAIN Collaboration supports the manufacturing of length measurement devices

When Heinrich Carl Kröplin set up his own business as a master watchmaker in 1883, he probably had no idea that he would be laying the foundation for a highly specialized company with global renown: over 125 years later, Kroeplin measuring probes are the right solution wherever conventional measuring instruments such as calipers or internal micrometers cannot be used due to their geometry. Numerous industries such as the metalworking industry or wood construction rely on the mechanical and electronic lever measuring instruments from the experts in Schlüchtern, Hesse.

PDM alternative sought

For many years, the specialists have relied on the PDM system Autodesk Productstream Professional (PSP) for product data management (PDM). Since this PDM solution was replaced in October 2017 and is no longer supported, users have to switch to an alternative system. Alexander Schirmer, Head of Product Design / Construction: "We postponed the decision on a PSP successor as long as possible so that we could make full use of the time with PSP. Parallel to a presentation of the successor product Autodesk Vault recommended by Autodesk, we looked at other PDM software. We liked GAIN Collaboration very much from the start. It is very similar to PSP. Firstly, in terms of its visual appearance - but also in terms of how the system works and adapts. The differences to other products that are not as flexible seemed much greater to us. So we saw GAIN Collaboration as the greatest overlap."

The CAD PDM infrastructure at Kroeplin

When developing and designing their measuring devices, Kroeplin's six designers work with AutoCAD, AutoCAD Mechanical and Autodesk Inventor. The assembly of a mechanical measuring probe comprises an average of 100 - 120 parts. Around 60,000 CAD documents are currently managed in Gain Collaboration. To manage drawing and design data, the designers now use GAIN Collaboration Professional for full access to the PDM system. Quality management and production work with the GAIN Collaboration View research variant in order to view or print out one thing or another for checking purposes via the PDM system.

PDM Migration: Well Prepared

Schirmer: “Together with GAIN Software, we first analyzed our data to see whether any problems could arise that would have hindered the introduction of PDM.
We prepared one or two cases accordingly. As a result, the actual PDM migration or conversion went almost smoothly. We started on Friday afternoon and reached our destination on Sunday. GAIN Software was very involved and monitored the migration in detail over the weekend. We also found the attention paid to our shift work to be very accommodating: GAIN Software adapted perfectly to our times. Because some things could only be configured and updated when everyone was logged out of the system."

Training: Introduction in just one day

"On the Monday after the migration, GAIN Software gave us an introduction to the system at our company. The training for the variants of GAIN Collaboration that we use was completed in one day. So we were able to work with it completely during the week. And that really wasn't difficult for any of us because of the similarity between GAIN Collaboration and PSP. Of course, we already knew a little about the new system. What's more, GAIN Collaboration is very intuitive to use," notes Schirmer.

Remained: Status management

Schirmer: "One of the main reasons for GAIN Collaboration is the design of the status management. This is very similar to that of PSP.
With other PDM products, we would have had to adapt a lot more."

Good news: Job server included

The measurement specialists were also extremely positive about the job server integrated in GAIN Collaboration, which they use relatively often. Schirmer: "For example, when we release a document, the inspection date and the inspector must be entered in the title block of the drawing. The GAIN Collaboration job server now takes care of this automatically at the appropriate moment. Or the printing of 100 - 200 drawings: simply mark and send them off for printing. Of course, other PDM systems also offer a job server. But with GAIN Collaboration it is included. When you start your computer in the morning, the job server also starts in the background. With other systems you would have had to buy it separately. Or you would have needed a separate computer. Possibly with an additional license. And another CAD license that we would have had to buy just for the job server.
With GAIN Collaboration we have all of this included. This great advantage is of course also reflected financially and in terms of effort in general. You don't have to pay for and maintain separate licenses."

CAD PDM handling today: safer, faster and always up to date

"With GAIN Collaboration, our work on and with the PDM system has improved in many ways," says Schirmer proudly.
"For example, GAIN Collaboration works with the check-in check-out procedure, which makes our work more secure. This is a big difference to PSP, where some overlaps caused us problems from time to time. With check-out, on the other hand, I can see straight away that a colleague is working on the document. This way I know that I cannot work on it at the moment and need to consult with them or perhaps request an interim status. It is also helpful that the desired file is first copied to your own computer when checking out. Local editing makes changes and saving much faster. The check-in after editing transfers the file back to the archive securely. A real improvement over PSP. Here you always had to work over the network, which could take longer depending on the data line," says Schirmer.
PDM system updates are announced to the probe manufacturers directly in GAIN Collaboration. Schirmer: "You can see straight away that updates are available for installation on the server. If we were to switch to Inventor 2018, for example, we would always have the latest interfaces on board with GAIN Collaboration. Very convenient."

Adapted: Notification of new CAM data

For many years, the Schlüchtern-based company has relied on a familiar warning system. When orders are sent to production, the drawing for the order is printed out and checked to see if it still corresponds to the status of the last programming. To do this, production accesses original Inventor files that are linked to a folder in GAIN Collaboration. Schirmer: "So if a drawing is changed in design, this change is automatically saved as a file in a specific directory. Production, on the other hand, accesses the same directory. If a production employee opens the corresponding CAM data for a drawing, they automatically receive a warning from our Edgecam if something has changed in the model. The colleague in production can then look in the "Changes" section in GAIN Collaboration to see what exactly has been changed.
The NC program is then created on the basis of this drawing model status and the link between GAIN Collaboration and our Edgecam programming system."

GAIN Software: Pleasant collaboration

"We are sure that we made the best possible decision. Communication and cooperation with GAIN Software were also very good and pleasant from day one. Starting with the presentation, where no question was left unanswered, through the personal contact to communication by phone and email. We always receive good, detailed answers or reactions to our questions or suggestions from GAIN Software in a timely manner."