CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
19 March 2007
Implementation Investments
SolidWorks Helps Trek Bicycle Invent the 'Lime'
Remember the bike you had as a kid? Remember the color? And how you felt riding it?
Of course, and it's those rapturous feelings that Trek Bicycle Corp ., with the help of SolidWorks® 3D CAD software, is recreating with the launch of the Trek Lime. It's a new kind of bike for a different type of bicycle consumer - those who long ago abandoned cycling but just might want to ride again.
The Trek Lime is an "everybike" with a coaster brake, fully automatic shifting (like in your car), no cables, ultra-simple lines, a comfortable seat and - for the cool factor - swappable chain guards and handgrips in six different colors. You've heard of the mood ring? Call it a mood bike. And it's maintenance-free.
SolidWorks software was instrumental in the design of the breakthrough machine, which underwent myriad iterations based on research with an entirely different cohort from the company's usual target market of die-hard cyclists. As Trek industrial designers blazed through concept after concept, they were able to sketch directly on SolidWorks models by employing pressure-sensitive monitors that served as drawing tablets. These were powered by powerful Opteron® 64 processors provided by Trek partner AMD.
"The combination of SolidWorks software and the pressure-sensitive monitors enabled our industrial designers to try many different concepts quickly and easily," said Michael Sagan, Trek product development technology lead. "You completely preserve design intent when you combine sketching and CAD modeling together, then save the ideas as a SolidWorks file. Working this way allows our designers to be more creative and is a huge advantage for us."
Despite the high number of iterations, complete data compatibility across applications served to shorten time to market, according to senior industrial designer Hans Eckholm. "With SolidWorks software, we can use eDrawings® files for internal reviews, send STL files to vendors to create rapid prototypes, and work with our engineering team to resolve any fit or clearance issues," he said.
Although Trek is probably best known for the bikes Lance Armstrong rode to seven Tour de France victories, it's also the company that wants to get you out of your family van and back on two wheels.
"Lime brings back the joy of bikes for millions of soon-to-be born-again cyclists without the complicated gadgetry that captivates the competitive end of the bicycle market," said SolidWorks Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Rainer Gawlick. "Quite fittingly, Trek used SolidWorks software to reinvent the bicycle design process, enabling designers to work smarter and faster and design a better product."
Trek works with authorized SolidWorks reseller Graphics Systems Corporation for ongoing software training, implementation, and support.
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