GETRAG Getriebe- und Zahnradfabrik Hermann Hagenmeyer GmbH & Cie KG, one of the largest system suppliers for transmission and drive train systems worldwide, implements the visualization solution SpinFire Publisher and SpinFire Professional in its headquarters in Untergruppenbach, Germany, making 3D Engineering data accessible to all its employees.

As 3D models carry a lot more information than 2D drawings, the SpinFire solution was implemented with the aim to make 3D Engineering data accessible throughout the entire engineering process, using the companywide Digital Document Archive solution from GETRAG. Currently, approximately 180 designers have direct access to a CAD system – compared to 1,800 employees from other departments that are also involved in the engineering process and therefore also need access to the 3D Engineering data., which is now possible with the Actify solution..

Infotech Enterprises GmbH, a leading provider of digital design communication solutions and one of Actify’s leading reseller partners has supported GETRAG in the execution of this project. The implementation consists of a fully automated process to export data from the CAD system ProEngineer™, used by GETRAG, then converting the native CAD data into Actify’s visualization .3D format using SpinFire Publisher, and then exporting the data to GETRAG’s Digital Document Archive solution. This way, all employees in Untergruppenbach can now access intelligent 3D data without the need of having a CAD system installed on their computer by using SpinFire Professional as the viewing and review tool.

This considerably enhances collaboration within the GETRAG Corporate Group as well as with customers and suppliers. Using SpinFire’s 3D data can easily be communicated and used in a multi-CAD, multi-format environment without requiring a CAD system, or CAD knowledge. The Actify .3D format significantly contributes to the protection of the intellectual property as native CAD files are no longer provided in their original format. Thus, they are protected against inadvertent or unauthorized changes.
SpinFire Professional is used in all departments at GETRAG, from design, development, prototyping and purchasing to manufacturing, supervising and sales.

Hartmut Rebmann, Project Leader at GETRAG says, “right from the beginning, the project found great acceptance among all parties involved. Through this, the Engineering process will change considerably, be more secure and much faster.”

The quotes of some SpinFire Professional users at GETRAG illustrate the success:
“The project creates considerable improvements because now, all colleagues can use and compare 3D data and monitor changes more easily – without the need of a CAD system or respective CAD know-how.” “Through 3D assembly comparison of SpinFire Professional, it is now possible to give fact-based statements for revision requests or variant designs within one hour, for which we used to take more than a week.” “SpinFire Professional provides significant and professional documentation in no time – and not only for CAD users. Finally, native files from other CAD systems can be processed. Time-consuming and expensive conversion of foreign data through external service providers is no longer necessary.”

Currently, SpinFire is installed on all computers in Untergruppenbach, Germany. In the upcoming year, with the assistance of Infotech Enterprises, the project will be rolled out throughout Europe to standardize the data visualization process at GETRAG.


About GETRAG
GETRAG Corporate Group is the largest independent automotive transmission manufacturer worldwide with approximately 13,600 employees at 25 locations. The company's headquarters is in Untergruppenbach, Germany. The Group develops technical solutions for the automotive industry, featuring a wide product range of transmission systems and power train components for passenger cars, SUVs, motorbikes and light commercial vehicles. In 2007 the Group reached a turnover of around 2.6 billion euros.


About Infotech Enterprises GmbH
Infotech Enterprises is a leading provider of Engineering Services and offers CAD visualization and digital design communication solutions. Infotech Enterprises is the largest partner of the leading software producer Actify Inc. worldwide. Actify SpinFire suite of products is a highly functional and intuitive data visualization and communication solution to view CAD data. It offers highest scalability at lowest investment costs for companies in the automotive, technology, automation and manufacturing industry, as well as their suppliers worldwide.
www.infotechsw.de