From separate programs
to one central place:
this is how we build it.
A conversation with Bram Zijlstra, project engineer at Tooker, about engineering in existing factories, the move from Vault Basic to Vault Professional, and why keeping it simple makes it better.
Understand first, then build.
Tooker is a Frisian engineering firm for factories and production environments, founded in 2017 and based in Joure. With a team of eleven, the firm helps companies in the food, pharma and process industries, among others, with technical challenges around existing installations, production processes and new machines.
First understand, then build: Tooker looks beyond what needs to be built, focusing above all on the question behind it. By first properly mapping the factory, the installation and the process, solutions emerge that are technically sound, practical to execute and fit within the existing production environment.
- 01Engineering firm for factories and production environments. Active in the food, pharma and process industries, among others.
- 02From challenge to realisation. From the first survey and engineering through to guidance during execution.
- 03Specialist in existing factories. With attention to safety, manufacturability, accessibility and as little disruption of production as possible.
- 04Work that must match exactly. There is no room for a design that “roughly” fits.
Bram Zijlstra is a project engineer at Tooker. At previous employers in machine building he already worked with Vault Professional, and bringing it to Tooker had been on his wish list for a while. No surprise, then, that he calls himself “a bit of the driving force” behind this step.
You often see something standing in the factory after just a few months. I always love that: eventually seeing your own work back in real life.
Multiple disciplines, not enough grip.
Tooker works with several disciplines at once: the mechanical work in Inventor (Autodesk's 3D CAD package) and piping in Plant 3D (Autodesk's software for designing pipework). The Plant 3D environment ran partly through Autodesk Construction Cloud, alongside files on network drives. The CAD data was managed in Vault Basic, the entry version of Autodesk's PDM system (product data management: the central environment for managing CAD files).
The pain point was not lost files, but grip. An engineer must be able to release work cleanly, especially when several people are working on the same plant at once. That was exactly what did not work well.
- 01Several disciplines side by side. Mechanical work in Inventor, piping in Plant 3D.
- 02Data spread across several places. Plant 3D ran through Autodesk Construction Cloud, alongside network drives.
- 03Everything on Vault Basic. Without proper version control.
- 04Files that could not be revised properly. Locking and releasing never worked cleanly.
- 05Several people on the same plant at once. Releasing work cleanly became difficult.
With Vault Basic you can manage files, but proper version and revision control is missing. You cannot revise files and lock them down for good.
One shared base model for the entire design.
In large plants, piping, mechanical work and automation constantly touch each other. One shared base model where all designers come together was therefore the logical dot on the horizon: no more separate programs and storage locations, but one environment where the whole design comes together.
The mechanical work and Plant 3D. We really wanted that in one single system.
Keep it small, move fast.
Through an acquaintance, Tooker ended up with Arnold at Cadkunde. What appealed: not a big supplier, but a small party with short lines that quickly saw what Tooker minimally needed.
If we keep it simple, we make it better. The great thing about Arnold is that he quickly saw what we minimally needed.
The rollout went smoothly. Cadkunde set up the base structure; Tooker then continued with the configuration itself, so everything was arranged to its own taste. Finally, Cadkunde specialist Kevin came by for a day to fine-tune the environment and solve the last small issues.
The most delicate part was the integration of Plant 3D with Vault: one small deviation during installation is enough to stop the connection from working. That is exactly where Cadkunde's CAD experience made the difference.
Set up by Kevin.
Kevin Vuijst, CAD specialist at Cadkunde, was the man behind the solution. He fine-tuned the environment, solved the last small issues and got the delicate integration of Plant 3D with Vault working, the part that demanded the most precision.
Without Kevin we would never have got round to that ourselves.
The specialist behind this project at Tooker.
Grip restored, standard in place.
It is early days for hard numbers, but the grip is already there. Tooker can standardise its way of working far better: no more thinking about drawing numbers, the review and revision steps are back, and the CAD data sits centrally in one place: one single source of truth for the whole team.
Yes, I would recommend Cadkunde, because you can do a lot of custom work without making it unnecessarily big.
The review and revision steps are back; files can neatly be revised, locked and released again.
No more manual work on drawing numbers and structure; less puzzling, more engineering.
All CAD data centrally in one place, with one shared base model for large plants.
Standard first, then customisation.
First the team wants to get as much as possible out of the standard functionality. After that, custom work comes into view, such as a small tool that collects PDFs based on drawing packages. An honest order of play: first use the basics to the full, then build the extras.
We first try to use as much as possible within the standard functionality. But the wishes are certainly there.
Then let's start a conversation.
Cadkunde helps manufacturing companies standardise, automate and connect their CAD environment to ERP. Even when that means the standard route is not the right one.