CentraSep Technologies

Accelerating centrifuge quoting, Sales, and Development processes with DraftSight Professional

Challenge

Find a more cost-effective 2D drawing solution than AutoCAD for creating DWG files to support the drawing needs of sales, engineering, manufacturing, and documentation functions.

Summary

Replace AutoCAD software with DraftSight Professional 2D design software.

Results

Shortened proposal/quoting/sales process
Reduced engineering effort required to support sales
Accelerated development of electrical schematics
Saved time on printing drawings

Why CentraSep Technologies chose DraftSight

CentraSep chose DraftSight because it’s easy to learn and use, especially for AutoCAD users; works well alongside SOLIDWORKS 3D design software; and provides a more cost-effective 2D solution.

CentraSep Technologies, a Trucent Company, is a leading manufacturer of industrial centrifuges; separation and filtration systems; environmental products; and fluid management services. For nearly 40 years, the company has delivered proven results in the most demanding situations throughout a wide range of industrial, commercial, and institutional applications.Today, CentraSep’s patented liquid-solid centrifuge technology is considered the gold standard for industrial centrifuges and separators, as well as many other types of filtration systems. CentraSep’s centrifuges have revolutionized fluid filtration and separation in applications requiring clarified process fluid and/or recycled fluid, and offer a unique design, efficiency features, and patented technology.

Although CentraSep engineers have used SOLIDWORKS® 3D design software for sophisticated centrifuge design since 2010, the company continues to utilize 2D drawing tools to support sales, manufacturing, and documentation functions. Until recently, CentraSep used old seats of AutoCAD® software to support its 2D drawing needs. However, because the company’s installed seats of AutoCAD were getting out-of-date and Autodesk no longer offers perpetual software upgrades—only more costly monthly leasing—CentraSep began looking for a more cost-effective 2D solution, according to Senior Design Engineer Bob Russell.

“For years, I didn’t have AutoCAD and relied on SOLIDWORKS software,” Russell explains. “When DraftSight® 2D design software became available, I downloaded it and began using it immediately. I suggested that the engineers at CentraSep might want to try DraftSight, which a few of them did, because I believed it would help them communicate design ideas more efficiently.”

When CentraSep’s engineers reached the point at which they needed a more cost-effective 2D solution, the company purchased five seats of DraftSight Professional software.

With DraftSight Professional software, we can do so much more than interface with our customers in DWG format. Because DraftSight and SOLIDWORKS are part of the same product family and are compatible, we can go back and forth between both systems. This is hugely important and enables us to optimize the use of 2D and 3D design tools.”

— Bob Russell, Senior Design Engineer

Optimizing the use of 2D and 3D design

Although CentraSep uses SOLIDWORKS 3D design software for all of its critical, fine-tolerance systems design, its engineers rely on DraftSight Professional software to satisfy a host of other 2D needs. These range from leveraging legacy and customer plant layout data in DWG format to more efficiently developing proposals for prospective customers and electrical schematics. “With DraftSight Professional software, we can do so much more than interface with our customers in DWG format,” Russell stresses. “Because DraftSight and SOLIDWORKS are part of the same product family and are compatible, we can go back and forth between both systems. This is hugely important and enables us to optimize the use of 2D and 3D design tools. For example, I can pull sketches created in DraftSight into SOLIDWORKS and vice versa, which not only allows us to use the most efficient tool for the task at-hand, but also creates the potential for other productivity improvements in manufacturing, research and development, and sales.”

Compressing the centrifuge sales process

Since implementing DraftSight Professional software, CentraSep has compressed its sales process substantially while simultaneously reducing the engineering effort required to support quoting, proposal development, and sales. “DraftSight [Professional] enables us to shorten the design distance between initial customer contact and the delivery of a proposal by shortening the quoting, proposal development, and sales processes,” Russell notes. “We can create detailed 3D models in SOLIDWORKS and export the models as block data in DWG format,” Russell continues. “Our sales representatives can then drop the block
“With DraftSight Professional software, we can do so much more than interface with our customers in DWG format. Because DraftSight and SOLIDWORKS are part of the same product family and are compatible, we can go back and forth between both systems. This is hugely important and enables us to optimize the use of 2D and 3D design tools.” — Bob Russell, Senior Design Engineer

Electrical schematics development, batch printing

In addition to streamlining sales and improving customer communications, DraftSight Professional has helped CentraSep engineers save additional time during the development of electrical schematics and printing of drawings. “Aside from making our sales processes more efficient and accessing/ manipulating legacy data, which had been very time consuming, the primary benefits that we realize from using DraftSight [Professional] are the fast development of electrical schematics and batch-printing of drawings,” Russell points out. “The ability to quickly create electrical schematics in DraftSight was certainly an attraction,” Russell adds. “We decided to buy DraftSight Professional software; however, because of the time it saves us in batch-printing drawings to support manufacturing and systems integration. For instance, one electrical schematics package can contain up to 40 sheets and being able to print them all as one batch instead of as individual pages saves additional time.”
Using