Swedish company SMS Smart Media Solutions has been developing accessories for multimedia devices for indoor and outdoor use since the 1970s. With a focus on functionality, quality, and Scandinavian design, the company is now one of the world’s leading suppliers of high-quality tripods, attachments, and cases for monitor screens, projectors, and other media devices. In addition to its 15 in-house employees, the company works with external businesses so it can remain flexible and adapt quickly to customer needs. Manufacturing takes place with partners in Sweden, Croatia, and China, and global sales are carried out by distributors and resellers. Market segments include education, office and conference, shops and display, events, media, hotels, residential, and public areas like train stations.

“It all started when we hired a couple of new engineers in the Design Department that had had a good experience with SolidWorks® design software. They suggested we should bench test SolidWorks and compare it to our existing CAD system,” explains Richard Svahn, head of products and projects at SMS. The comparison revealed that collaboration both internally and externally would be much easier with SolidWorks software and that they should use the document-handling features of SolidWorks Enterprise PDM that their existing CAD solutions couldn’t offer. “The decision to change to SolidWorks was an easy one to make,” concludes Svahn. Today the company has licenses for SolidWorks design software, SolidWorks Enterprise PDM, and SolidWorks Composer.

C A S E S T U D Y

SMS SMART MEDIA SOLUTIONS Making collaboration easier with SolidWorks

Challenge:Find better tools for collaboration between engineers in the Product Department and with external experts. Implement an effective document-handling system to keep track of all the design details in the document bank.

Solution:Switch to SolidWorks design software, SolidWorks Enterprise PDM, and SolidWorks Composer.

Results:• Increasedefficiencyandproductivityboth

internally and externally • Enhancedcollaborationwithoutsidepartners• Reducedtimespentlookingfordrawings• Eliminatedbottlenecksandincreased

document quality with SolidWorks Composer

The SMS Touch VeriTable is a bracket that makes presentations more interactive by providing new flexibility for touch-sensitive screens.

Reaping the benefits of widespread useAnother advantage with SolidWorks is that it is so widely used, which means it’s easy to find external partners. “We often collaborate with outside industrial designers and engineers, and it becomes so much easier if all of us use the same CAD software. When it comes to manufacturing, it is a big advantage to be able to give them 3D models as inputs. Even internally in the Product Development Department we appreciate how easy it is to share files with each other. It makes us more efficient, and more people can work on the same project simultaneously if needed. That makes the whole department more productive and profitable,” Svahn continues.

Four hundred articles in the document bankFor development, the company often uses existing design details that are adapted and assembled according to the customer’s demands, but it’s not unusual for new products to be designed from scratch. When it’s possible to use existing designs, the company finds SolidWorks Enterprise PDM is very useful for keeping track of and finding the right detail in the document bank, along with getting an overview of the history of every detail, when and how it has been modified, and by whom. SolidWorks Enterprise PDM has had a big impact on shortening the total design process.

Producing manuals and instructions with SolidWorks ComposerPreviously, manuals and assembly instructions were produced by an external expert using the company’s SolidWorks Composer software. SMS used to send its 3D CAD models to the graphic designer as input for technical documentation.

“From now on we can produce our documentation in-house and we will take back our SolidWorks Composer license from the company. It also means we can increase our use of the software and produce animated sequences for our website,” says Svahn.

Overall, Svahn says that the new CAD system has worked seamlessly and has significantly increased effectiveness and productivity in the Design Department. Reseller SolidEngineer quickly resolved any initial problems that cropped up.

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“Thanks To The ease of sharing files boTh inTernally and exTernally, more engineers can work on The same design projecT simulTaneously if needed. ThaT makes The whole deparTmenT more effecTive and profiTable.”Richard Svahn Head of Products and Projects

SMS Smart Media Solutions ABHästholmsvägen 32131 30 Nacka SWEDENEmail: info@smartmediasolutions.sewww.smartmediasolutions.se

The SMS Media Cabinet indoor totem can be used to display messages in a user-selectable orientation.

Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation175 Wyman StreetWaltham, MA 02451 USAPhone: 1 800 693 9000Outside the US: +1 781 810 5011Email: generalinfo@solidworks.comwww.solidworks.com