Archive notice: This article was originally published on June 4, 2009. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Ulysse Nardin, one of the leading manufacturers of fine mechanical wristwatches, usually required up to four years to develop the complex inner workings of a new watch, comprising no fewer than 400 moving parts. Autodesk Inventor has now reduced this process by half. In May 2009, Ulysse Nardin was named Inventor of the Month for its innovative watches.
Few products contain such complex mechanics in such a small space as fine luxury wristwatches. Using a 3D model in Autodesk Inventor, Ulysse Nardin’s designers can visualise during development how gears and springs fit with the watch’s other parts. Interference can therefore be identified and eliminated early in the development process. Designers can also optimise the positions of mechanical parts initially created in 2D by a concept designer and integrate them into other components such as the case or strap.
Autodesk’s Inventor of the Month programme recognises the most innovative development and engineering advances achieved using Autodesk Inventor, the foundation for digital prototyping. A digital prototype is a 3D model of the finished product used to analyse and optimise it virtually before manufacturing, minimising the need to build physical prototypes.
“Having an accurate 3D view of the product is a major advance for us,” says Loic Pellaton, Technical Director at Ulysse Nardin. “Autodesk Inventor lets us place parts and try different options very quickly. This solution has enormously accelerated the complex aspects of watch design.”
Digital Prototyping Accelerates New Product Development
Working with Swiss Autodesk sales and training partner HURNI ENGINEERING SARL, Ulysse Nardin now analyses and refines its digital prototypes with Autodesk Inventor, minimising several previously necessary physical prototypes. Because watch movements can now be refined largely during development, the company produces only one physical prototype instead of the original three. This streamlining allows Ulysse Nardin to realise its vision for developing and launching new product lines twice as quickly.
Ulysse Nardin’s designers also use Autodesk Showcase to refine watch-case designs. It enables precise, photorealistic images of digital prototypes and greatly simplifies decision-making, because design teams can present a broad range of decorative variants and strap options without producing a single physical prototype.
“Digital prototyping helps us design everything from the beautiful case to the movement in a way that creates a special watch people want to own,” says Pierre Gygax, Executive Vice President of Production at Ulysse Nardin.
“Ulysse Nardin is successfully using Autodesk Inventor to go beyond 3D modelling to digital prototyping and continue its tradition of innovation in the art of mechanical watchmaking,” explains Robert “Buzz” Kross, Senior Vice President of Autodesk’s Manufacturing Industry Group.
About Autodesk’s Inventor of the Month Programme
Each month, Autodesk selects an Inventor of the Month from among Autodesk Inventor users. The criteria are technical excellence and outstanding innovation. Further information about the programme can be requested by email at IOM@autodesk.com.