ASCO Valve Adds CDS Configurators to Facilitate Design
18 Oct, 2007Users can create models based on ASCO components and check constraints, then import those models directly into CAD designs.
ASCO Valve has implemented Condensate Drain Valves and Redundant Control Systems tools for online system configuration and 3D CAD modeling. Now available on the ASCO Web site, the tools are powered by Catalog Data Solutions and include the Visual Constraint Feedback configurator.
"We wanted an 'expert system' that integrates deep knowledge of the product and makes an advanced user experience readily available, online 24x7, to the designer. The objective is to save the designer time in selecting the right product and by directly downloading the CAD model into their CAD design so they don't have to draw it," said Craig Patterson, engineering IT manager, ASCO Valve. "We chose CDS for rapid delivery, price competitiveness, the 'wow factor' of its Visual Constraint Feedback configurator, and its CAD download capability."
Catalog Data Solutions CEO John Major added, "In a complex product, users usually don't know the constraints, and they almost certainly don't know the interdependence of those constraints (i.e., if you select x you are giving up option y in selection z). The Visual Constraint Feedback makes you aware of what effects any selection has on future choices."
ASCO, a division of Emerson Industrial Automation, manufactures solenoid valves. Catalog Data Systems is a provider of online product-selection tools for industrial suppliers and distributors.
