![]() “Our manufacturing partners use SOLIDWORKS more than any other CAD package, which greatly simplifies collaboration,” Green explains. The transition to SOLIDWORKS software has improved CFHT’s ability to complete design work on site as well as support a higher degree of compatibility with vendors. PORTABILITY, COMPATIBILITY, AND PERFORMANCE “With fully dimensioned, intelligent SOLIDWORKS models, I can open a design for something that already exists, make some changes-such as taking existing structural steel beams out and putting new beams in-and complete the project more quickly and easily.” ![]() “Whether I’m opening an existing 3D model or drawing and extruding a sketch, SOLIDWORKS allows me to work faster and smarter,” Green adds. “With the comfort level that I have with the SOLIDWORKS platform, we’re at least twice as fast as we used to be,” Green says. One recent example is a dome venting project that required the installation of large, garage-type doors. Since moving to SOLIDWORKS software, CFHT has cut its design cycles for instrument and facility upgrades in half. “My boss was amazed with how fast I can model a new design in SOLIDWORKS, which is the main reason that we made the switch.” “I’m so much more productive using SOLIDWORKS software,” Green stresses. “I gave Inventor an honest try, but I found the software to be cumbersome to use and I needed a tremendously powerful workstation to run it, which prevented me from using the software on a laptop up at the observatory.”Īfter initially working with Inventor, Green persuaded management to standardize on SOLIDWORKS® Research Edition 3D design software to boost design productivity, improve design visualization, and support greater portability. “With the myriad of projects and constant upgrades that we face, the more efficiently we can access and adapt existing designs to support new requirements, the better,” Green explains. However, he soon found himself seeking a new 3D solution. ![]() Green, who has used several CAD packages in the past, attempted to use the Inventor package to support new instrument and facility upgrade design. “My predecessor remodeled all of the old drawings in 3D using Autodesk® Inventor® software 10 years ago.” “We’re constantly upgrading the design of the facility,” Green notes. According to Instrument Designer/Machinist Greg Green, new instrument development, observatory maintenance, and facility upgrades require frequent access to legacy data. Stacks of vellum were stored at the observatory’s headquarters in Waimea, located in the saddle between Maunakea and the Kohala Mountains. When the CFHT Observatory was built in the 1970s, design work was done through drawings. CFHT provides the research community with a versatile, state-of-the-art astronomical observing facility that not only helps users consistently achieve their scientific goals but also fully exploits the research potential of the Maunakea site. The Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) Corporation operates a world-class, 3.6-meter optical/infrared telescope from an observatory atop the summit of Maunakea, a 4,200-meter dormant volcano located on the big island of Hawaii.
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