CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
19 March 2007
Implementation Investments
Autodesk Announces BigToys, Inc. as Inventor of the Month for March 2007
Autodesk, Inc. announced that BigToys, Inc. (BigToys), a manufacturer of environmentally friendly commercial playground equipment, has been named as the Autodesk Inventor of the Month for March 2007. The Inventor of the Month program recognizes the most innovative design and engineering advancements made by the extensive community of customers using Autodesk Inventor software, which provides manufacturing companies with the power of 3D design without compromising investments in 2D processes.
For nearly 35 years, BigToys has earned a reputation as a manufacturer of high-quality commercial playground equipment for children. With an emphasis on caring for the environment as much as on children, BigToys continues its role as a leader in the playground equipment industry by promoting environmental awareness and responsible stewardship of natural resources.
BigToys makes significant use of recycled, recyclable and renewable materials for its commercial playground equipment. BigToys' sturdy and durable steel and plastic structural system contains 100% U.S. made recycled materials. This gives BigToys one of the highest percentages of recycled content available in playground equipment today, and their use of post-consumer, high-density polyethylene plastic in its decks, roofs and enclosures helps keep hundreds of thousands of milk jugs out of landfills every year.
Autodesk Inventor software plays a vital role in helping BigToys design these environmentally friendly play structures. The world's best-selling 3D mechanical design software, Autodesk Inventor creates 3D digital prototypes that help companies experience their ideas before they're real. As a result, companies can optimize and improve their designs early in the design process, saving time, money and valuable resources.
BigToys has used Inventor software exclusively for design and development since 2004, having previously used Autodesk Mechanical Desktop with great success. During the transition period, Big Toys' staff relied on IMAGINiT Technologies , a leading provider of Autodesk software solutions, for support of the design and engineering functions and the use of Inventor.
The flexibility and faster iterative capability that BigToys has realized through the use of Inventor has led to more innovative product design and a more efficient design process.
"Designing with Inventor software is seamless," said Brian Lovgren, Engineering Manager at BigToys. "We can go from a crazy initial idea to a finished part with very little redesigning or duplicated effort. We also have the added benefit of sophisticated rendering and animation which helps us better communicate our design intent to others, and eliminate potential manufacturing errors."
"BigToys is using digital prototyping to be more efficient in its manufacturing operations and to create a safer, more environmentally friendly play space for our children," said Robert "Buzz" Kross, vice president of Autodesk Manufacturing Solutions. "We are pleased at the role Inventor is playing in this endeavor, and happy to name BigToys as our Inventor of the Month for March."
Each month, Autodesk selects an Inventor of the Month from the more than 600,000 users of Autodesk Inventor software. For more information on Autodesk Inventor of the Month, contact IOM@autodesk.com or visit the manufacturing community at http://mfgcommunity.autodesk.com/ .
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