Case Study
Direct modeling helps crane manufacturer
push complex products to market quickly
Direct Modification of Geometry Lifts Success of Special Cr ane Systems at Voith
Voith-Werke Ing. A. Fritz Voith Gesellschaft m.b.H. &
Co.KG., Traun, Austria
Founded more than 60 years ago, Voith-Werke has estab-
lished itself as a key manufacturer of automatic and customized
crane systems. The company provides a complete portfolio
of solutions, including development, design, planning, and
manufacturing, primarily within its home offices and facility,
covering more than 17,400 square meters.
The challenge: no two products alike
Each crane system developed at the Voith plant looks nearly
the same, but a closer examination shows that each design
has its own customer specifications. That customization can
lead to expensive inefficiencies for any manufacturing com-
pany. So, to keep projects on target, Voith originally deployed
SolidWorks® 3D CAD software along with a product data
management (PDM) system. However, the PDM system failed
to provide the flexibility Voith needed for its custom projects.
Plus, every time designers needed to make changes using
SolidWorks, productivity slowed. And, if larger models need-
ed to be adapted, engineers had to load the design the night
before if they wanted to make revisions the next morning.
Something had to change.
The solution: a faster, easier modeling method
Voith turned to the direct modeling approach offered by
Creo™ Elements/Direct™ Modeling from PTC, because it
offered the ease, speed and flexibility Voith needed to turn
around new designs faster. Created specifically for com-
panies that develop customized solutions, Creo Elements/
Direct Modeling provides a 3D development environment
that makes it easy to modify and reuse existing models. To
manage its Creo Elements/Direct design data, Voith added
Creo Elements/Direct Model Manager, a tightly integrated
PDM solution for Creo Elements/Direct Modeling.
Page 1 of 3 | Creo Elements / Direct – Voith/Werke
Formerly CoCreate ®
The result: using existing designs to build new products
Creo Elements/Direct Modeling and Model Manager proved
to be the best solution for Voith because Creo Elements/
Direct enables designers to directly modify existing geometry
for new projects. As well, Creo Elements/Direct enables de-
signers to instantly pick up a design where other designers
left off, which enables teams to achieve maximum productivity.
Gerhard Hörtenhuber, Design Director, Voith-Werke Ing. A.
Fritz Voith Gesellschaft m.b.H. & Co. KG says, “having the
flexibility to use existing modules and components is key
for us, mostly because it boosts the efficiency of our design
processes. Sometimes we can use up to 75% of an existing
crane to build a new system. But that wasn’t always easy. In
the past, we’ve had to start from scratch to accommodate
changes in a design, even if we were nearly finished with the
original design. Obviously, it’s important to integrate avail-
able models effectively in new projects, and since the Creo
Elements/Direct Modeling design approach is based on di-
rect modeling, it lets us adapt existing components through
direct modification of the geometry.”
Gerhard Hörtenhuber
Design Director
Voith - Werke Ing.
A. Fritz Voith
Gesellschaft m.b.H. &
Co. KG
PTC.com
 Case Study

Building bridges – and new customers

When Voith receives inquiries from prospective customers, it

typically tries to match the customer’s requirements with pre-
vious designs, using elements such as hall dimensions, layout
of the production machines, and storage location as the ba-
sis for selecting a crane system.

During the sales process, Voith then uses existing 3D models

and conceptual drawings, taken from simplified crane depic-
tions from older projects, to illustrate to customers the effec-
tiveness and use of their product.

If Voith wins the contract, it then uses the framework from

the bid as the starting point. Next, the company divides jobs
into subprojects, such as the crane bridge, the lift rig for the Trolley for Voith 75 tonne casting crane.
load suspension, and the trolley for changing the position of
the lifting cable. Each subproject is then implemented by
specialized staff. Easy modification and alteration of existing components

Change orders are inevitable in any industry, and industri-

alized crane construction is no exception. That’s why Voith’s
engineering and design teams take advantage of direct mod-
eling in Creo Elements/Direct. With Creo Elements/Direct
Modeling, the company can modify modules and compo-
nents without digging through reams of old files, or tracking
down the original designer’s notes. In turn, this lets the cur-
rent design engineer work off a colleague’s previous job for a
new project more effectively and quickly.

That’s important to Gerhard Hörtenhuber, Voith’s design

director. “Design work can take anywhere from 40 to 1,500
hours,” he says. “So if we can help minimize that in any way,
we will.”

Voith 75 tonne casting crane for transferring molten materials. Design, alteration, and modification of projects now takes
much less time, plus projects now run more smoothly. Creo
Elements/Direct Modeling’s simple design approach gives
the company more flexibility than ever before.

“Employees can take the existing design and radically modify

it by moving or stretching surfaces, adapting dimensions, or
cutting and pasting geometric elements,” says Hörtenhuber.
“The new model is then completely customized and modified
from the original design.”

Of course, last-minute changes, late in the development cycle

during production, are seamless since designers can flexibly
make changes without slowing down production on the project.

Page 2 of 3 | Creo Elements / Direct – Voith/Werke PTC.com

 Case Study

Creo Elements/Direct Model Manager: keeping team

members on the same page

No project for Voith is the same; each project differs not

only in length and size, but in the type of crane system being
built, and the number of parts being used to build a crane. In
fact, the number of parts can range anywhere from 5,000
to 50,000. Throw in performance issues, change orders, and
complex project management steps, and you risk missed
deadlines and late deliveries.

However, since the company started using Creo Elements/

Direct Model Manager, performance problems have
dropped and workflow has increased. Creo Elements/Di-
rect Model Manager’s release and version processes and ad-
vanced search functions are proving invaluable for Voith, says
Hörtenhuber.

“Since the latest version of a component is always loaded, no

problems come up with the interfaces,” he says. “If there is a
change at one interface, the system automatically notifies us,
so everyone can load the updated component.

“Creo Elements/Direct Model Manager complements our

original PDM system, and direct modeling has proven to
be exactly the right approach for our custom projects,” con-
cludes Hörtenhuber.

© 2010, Parametric Technology Corporation (PTC). All rights reserved. Information con-
cerning the benefits and results obtained by customers using PTC solutions is based upon
the particular user’s experience and testimonial, is furnished for informational use only,
and should not be construed as a guarantee or commitment by PTC. Due to the varying
degree of complexity of our customers’ products and/or their design processes, typical or
generally expected results are not available. PTC, the PTC Logo, Creo, Elements/ Direct,
and all PTC product names and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of PTC
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4812B – Creo Elements/Direct–Voith Werke –CS –EN–1010

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