OPTAR TECHNOLOGIES LTD.

GROWING AIR INTAKE FILTER HOUSING CONSULTANCYWITH SOLIDWORKS SOLUTIONS

By adding SOLIDWORKS Simulation analysis
and SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation fluid flow
analysis software to its SOLIDWORKS Premium
design solution, Optar has reduced the timeand costs of design simulation and validation,
while improving the performance of its air
intake filter housing designs, running studies
like the fluid flow analysis shown here.

Challenge:

Acquire tools for developing innovative,
cost-effective solutions to the many designand engineering challenges associated withthe development of air intake filter housing
systems for a variety of applications.

Solution:

Implement SOLIDWORKS Premium design,SOLIDWORKS Simulation (FEA) analysis, SOLIDWORKS
Flow Simulation (CFD) analysis, and SOLIDWORKSEnterprise PDM product data management solutions.

Beneﬁts:• Saved a customer four weeks and £5 to 10K
with flow simulations• Reduced time and costs required
to perform simulations• Achieved ISO 9001 certification renewal• Grew its engineering services business

Optar Technologies Limited specializes in the design andmanufacture of air intake filter housings and systems forrotating machinery, compressors, and turbines. Founded in theUnited Kingdom in 2005 to supply and install gas turbine air
intake filters for international energy companies, the designand engineering consultancy leverages its traditional strengths
in large power station projects to also work on air intake
systems for a variety of smaller applications.
In order to offer a complete set of engineering services,
including design, engineering, validation, project management,
and manufacturing services, the firm needed to utilize advanced
design, simulation, and product data management (PDM) tools,
according to Managing Director Andrew Thomson. Optar
acquired SOLIDWORKS® Premium design software in 2008, andwhile the software enabled the consultancy to perform designmodelling, Optar had to rely on outside partners to perform thestructural and fluid flow analyses that are frequently required
for air intake filter housing projects.

a natural thing for us to go from using SOLIDWORKS design
to using the SOLIDWORKS Simulation and PDM packages,”
Thomson says.

SAVING TIME AND MONEY THROUGH
IN-HOUSE SIMULATIONS
Since adding SOLIDWORKS Simulation and SOLIDWORKS Flow
Simulation software, Optar has reduced the time and costs ofdesign simulation and validation by bringing the processes
in-house, as well as improved the performance of its air intake
designs. For example, on a 720 MW power station project,simulations proved that an Optar design increased 0.1-micronparticulate filtering efficiency for unburnt hydrocarbons from15 percent to 90 percent.
In addition to eliminating unnecessary delays and costs atOptar, bringing simulation capabilities in-house is saving thefirm’s clients money. “We supplied an inertia separator to aclient,” Thomson recounts. “They issued the order and thencame back with some further information on the anti-icing
system. We were able to run a thermal and fluid flow analysis
with SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation within 24 hours to confirm
that the product supplied would work and that the anti-icing
would have no hot or cold spots on the separator vanes. This
saved us and the customer up to four weeks in external review
and £5 to 10K in assessment costs, and kept the projecton-time and on-budget.”“SOLIDWORKS is absolutely fantastic.
Not only are we controlling the designof the products but we are also
controlling the manufacture.”— Andrew Thomson, Managing Director

Although using external resources to perform design simulationand validation was adequate, the practice added unnecessary
delays and costs to the process and negatively affected thefirm’s pricing and competitiveness. To eliminate these additionalcosts and delays, Optar decided to bring design simulationand validation in-house, and began evaluating both structuraland fluid flow phenomena with computational fluid dynamics(CFD) and finite element analysis (FEA) software solutions. Theconsultancy also needed an automated PDM system to satisfy
the requirements of its ISO 9001 certification renewal.

EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF PROJECT DATA

Because of the positive experience that Optar had withSOLIDWORKS Premium design software, the firm chose toadd SOLIDWORKS Simulation analysis and SOLIDWORKS
Flow Simulation analysis software in 2012, and SOLIDWORKSEnterprise PDM (EPDM) software in 2013. Optar selected
SOLIDWORKS solutions because they are easy to use, provide
all required capabilities, and are completely integrated. “It was“The training opened my mind as to what SOLIDWORKS EPDM
could do,” Thomson recalls. “The capabilities of the system
exceeded all our expectations. In addition to controlling theSOLIDWORKS documents, it completely controlled MicrosoftOffice documents too. SOLIDWORKS is absolutely fantastic.
Not only are we controlling the design of the products but weare also controlling the manufacture.”

Optar has realized similar benefits from its implementationof the SOLIDWORKS EPDM system. The firm had formerly
managed files using only Microsoft® Windows® Explorertools, an approach that was inadequate for renewing its ISO
9001 certification. SOLIDWORKS EPDM has proven to be a
powerful and flexible tool by managing everything from design
documents to holiday request forms. It has also helped cut
down on administration time to release staff for manufacturing
or customer-facing duties.

To renew its ISO 9001 certification, Optar needed to have
implemented a document management system with strict
file-naming conventions, version and revision controls, andformal workflows for handling design and engineering change
requests. As part of its renewal of its ISO 9001 certification,Optar rewrote all of its procedures and quickly realized thatan easy-to-use automated PDM system was essential for
supporting quality management.
Following Optar’s implementation of the SOLIDWORKS EPDM
system, the firm easily achieved its ISO 9001 certification
renewal. In fact, the official ISO assessment group commented,“Of particular note is the development and utilization of theSOLIDWORKS [EPDM] software package for the document
control and approval processes. The system demonstrated a solid
foundation to manage the company documentation efficiently.”

Headquarters:
Unit 12 and 13 Springfield Business CentreBrunel Way, Stonehouse
Gloucestershire, GL10 3SXU.K.
Phone: +44 (0)1453 824887
For more informationwww.optar.co.uk

With SOLIDWORKS Premium designsoftware, Optar has improved design
visualization of its systems, and theaddition of the SOLIDWORKS Enterprise
PDM product data management systemenabled Optar to more effectively manage
design data and more easily renew its ISO
9001 certification.

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ACHIEVING ISO 9001 CERTIFICATION RENEWAL

Focus on Optar Technologies Ltd.
VAR: Cadtek Systems Limited, Bristol, U.K.