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/ The company / News / Zimmer Group: Automated drawing creation with Adobe Illustrator

Automated drawing creation at the Zimmer Group

The Zimmer Group solves a demanding challenge: just as many drawings have to be created for 150,000 product variants. Thanks to automation with crossbase, this process is drastically accelerated and makes it easier for users to work with dimensionally accurate drawings.

Initial situation

The Zimmer Group produces clamping and braking elements that are used in combination with rail and carriage solutions from other manufacturers. These dependencies result in around 150,000 possible variants that require specific technical drawings.


Previously, drawings were displayed without dimensional entries, while dimensional data was provided in tabular form. For users, this meant a great deal of manual effort, as abbreviations in the drawing had to be constantly compared with tables. Creating these drawings manually would have taken at least 20 minutes per drawing - an enormous amount of time and effort.


Procedure

In order to automate the drawing creation process, the Zimmer Group decided to use the crossbase application module "Parameterized Adobe Illustrator graphics". In the first step, corresponding drawing templates were created once for each product series. Placeholders were inserted into these templates, such as "ZIM_G" for the thread diameter, which create a link to the dimensional attributes in the crossbase database.


The technical dimensions of the products were already available in the database, as they are also used for the online configurator. This data is transferred daily from the CAD system to the crossbase.pim system via an automated interface in order to keep it constantly up to date.


For the actual drawing creation, the technical dimensions of the respective clamping and braking elements as well as the associated rail and carriage combinations are transferred to the drawing templates in batches. The drawings are then created fully automatically in SVG and Illustrator format and imported directly into the database. From there, they are available to users in completeness via the online catalog.


Result

Thanks to the automation, the Zimmer Group was able to create all 150,000 drawings within two days - instead of 50,000 hours of manual work. The time saving is a factor of 1,200, while users now have access to clear and precise drawings.

The advantages of the solution

  • High time savings due to automatic creation
  • Elimination of manual input errors
  • Better user experience thanks to complete dimensional drawings
  • Seamless connection between CAD system, PIM system and Illustrator
  • Effortless integration of new variants

Left: Drawing template of a product group with placeholders. Right: Automated creation of a drawing with inserted values.

About Zimmer Group

The Zimmer Group was founded in 1980 by brothers Martin and Günther Zimmer in Rheinau. The company has bundled its expertise, which has grown over decades, into six powerful technology divisions: Handling Technology, Damping Technology, Linear Technology, Process Technology, Tool Technology and Machine Technology. These technology areas create products with a claim to technological leadership. The Zimmer Group operates globally with subsidiaries and sales partners in 28 countries.


Find out more about how the Zimmer Group uses the opportunities offered by crossbase: