Suffolk company Amarinth has =
much to=20
celebrate: company revenue has grown 500% in 5 years; =
and it=20
has been profitable from year two onwards. Amarinth is =
respected worldwide for its ability to deliver =
sophisticated=20
heavy-duty pumping equipment to the oil and chemical=20
industries. Much of its success it attributes to the=20
application of technology, in particular a 3D =
modelling=20
technology called SolidWorks, which is supplied by =
Cambridge=20
based Innova Systems.=20
Amarinth pumps can cost over =A3100,000 each =
because of the=20
high grade materials used in their construction and =
the=20
requirement to be manufactured to stringent safety =
critical=20
standards similar to those seen in the aviation =
industry.=20
Amarinth has customers all around the world including =
AMEC, BP=20
and Shell, and has recently shipped a pump into China =
for the=20
first time.=20
"The materials we use and the process of building =
each pump=20
can be extremely costly," said Oliver Brigginshaw, =
Managing=20
Director of Amarinth. "With SolidWorks we are able to =
create a=20
3D virtual model of each pump design to ensure =
everything fits=20
and that everything will work prior to production. In =
addition=20
to this, the SolidWorks tools generate the files, the =
drawings=20
and reports that we need for both manufacture and =
safety=20
certification and have also enabled us to create more =
complex=20
and more refined parts, enabling us to produce more =
efficient,=20
more reliable and better performing pumps."=20
SolidWorks's company Innova Systems has also played =
an=20
important role in Amarinth's adoption of this =
technology.=20
Innova has provided extensive training, technical =
support and=20
consultancy, ensuring that Amarinth=92s engineers can =
exploit=20
the software to the full. Innova has also supplied =
related=20
software called Cosmos that enables engineers to =
analyse the=20
physical properties of a design, such as weight and =
strength.=20
"With the massive hikes in metal prices such as =
nickel, the=20
Cosmos tool has been a very important addition to the=20
SolidWorks package," said Oliver. "Cosmos enables us =
to=20
analyse the materials of design and has allowed us to =
reduce=20
the metal content of some pumps without compromising =
on the=20
performance or safety. It also helps us to understand =
how much=20
a pump will weigh prior to production. This is an =
important=20
issue when the pump is destined for an oil rig at =
sea."=20
Although Amarinth is essentially a mechanical =
engineering=20
led company, it has no doubts that it is the =
application of=20
the latest computer technology that has put it ahead =
of the=20
competition. This provides its customers with =
sophisticated=20
on-line ordering and tracking systems and Amarinth is =
now=20
aiming to create a link from its web page to the =
SolidWorks=20
database so that customers can view 3D models of pumps =
and=20
parts.=20
"Once we started to understand the business =
advantage that=20
SolidWorks provided us, we decided to invest more =
heavily in=20
this technology," said Oliver. "Each year, we take on =
an=20
engineering student on a graduate scheme and we get =
them=20
started on SolidWorks training from day one. We have =
now built=20
a database of over 20,000 pump components, reducing =
our=20
response time for a drawing with a new enquiry on a =
vertical=20
pump from 5 days to 3 hours and with a considerable=20
improvement in design accuracy and consistency. In the =
oil=20
industry, time really is money - so being able to =
build and=20
deliver pumps faster than the competition puts us in a =
stronger position to command a good price and build a =
stronger=20
business."=20
The team at Innova Systems have been experts in 3D=20
modelling technology for over 15 years and work with=20
engineering and technology companies across the UK. =
One of=20
Innova's strengths is in the training of engineers in=20
SolidWorks and Cosmos. Innova runs courses at its =
office near=20
Cambridge and on-site for many of its clients.=20
"We've run several on-site training courses at =
Amarinth,"=20
said Mark Bradford, Managing Director of Innova =
Systems. "The=20
truth is that SolidWorks is very easy to use and is =
very=20
intuitive, however, as the work gets more complex, =
then some=20
specialist training can be required. Amarinth is =
constantly=20
stretching the capabilities of the technology, so we =
have been=20
working them to introduce new aspects of the =
technology such=20
as Cosmos."=20
SolidWorks is so much a part of Amarinth that the =
company's=20
future strategy involves further SolidWorks =
investment, with=20
the possibility of being able to provide animated 3D =
models=20
that will help maintenance engineers understand how to =
disassemble parts and how each pump works. It also =
wants to be=20
able to provide 3D models for customers to include in =
their=20
own designs, so that the customer can accurately model =
a=20
complete installation.=20
=93We have really valued Innova=92s support,=94 =
said Oliver.=20
=93They have always been very responsive and have =
always=20
invested the time to understand our issues and to help =
us=20
achieve our goals. Their engineers also have =
real-world=20
engineering experience, this has been an important =
factor in=20
helping them to understand what we have been trying to =
achieve.
![](3D"http://www.tctmagazine.com/img/spacer.gif"=20){kind=spacer}
![](3D"http://www.tctmagazine.com/img/spacer.gif"){kind=spacer}
=
![](3D"http://www.tctmagazine.com/img/adverts/goodfellow"=20)
![](3D"http://www.tctmagazine.com/img/adverts/l1056.jpg"=20)
![](3D"http://www.tctmagazine.com/img/articles/art10558.jpg"=20)
![](3D"http://www.tctmagazine.com/icons/print.gif" "3Dprint=20"){kind=icon}
![](3D"http://www.tctmagazine.com/content/96631/TCTaboutus.png"=20)
![](3D"http://www.tctmagazine.com/content/96631/TCTcommunity.png"=20)
![](3D"http://www.tctmagazine.com/content/96631/white-divider.gif"=20)