Axium Process: Custom Engineering at Full Speed
Axium Process Ltd. is a leading hygienic engineering company in the UK, specializing in process equipment for the food and pharmaceutical industries. From cleaning-in-place (CIP) systems to custom filtration skids, Axium built its reputation on bespoke solutions and rapid project turnaround. One client alone required 39 unique processing rigs – a testament to Axium’s innovation and the relentless pace of its workflow. Mark Lewis, a senior engineer at Axium Process, describes their mission simply: “to engineer effective, innovative & sustainable process solutions… [and] be relentless in solving the toughest engineering challenges.”
Delivering on that mission wasn’t easy with traditional CAD tools. In a fast-paced environment where designs change constantly, Axium’s small engineering team wasn’t just looking for a CAD system; they needed a partner that could keep up with their constant innovation, rapid iterations, and uncompromising quality standards. They sought a design platform that could truly accelerate their engineering agility and handle complex, one-off projects quickly and flexibly without slowing the team down. That’s where IronCAD entered the picture.
Meeting Complex Customer Demands Without Slowdowns
Axium’s core challenge was speed and agility. The company faced high demand for custom-engineered systems, each with unique specifications and tight deadlines. Designing custom CIP units, dosing skids, and filtration systems often meant starting from scratch and then modifying designs on the fly as client needs evolved. Their existing mix of CAD tools struggled to accommodate these rapid changes – every adjustment risked delays or costly rework.
For a small-to-medium enterprise (SME) like Axium, even minor slowdowns have big impacts. Downtime or design bottlenecks could erode client confidence and throw off delivery schedules.
“When a designer is unavailable, it can create a real problem for us as an SME,” said Michael Bowen, Drawing Office Manager at Axium Process. Every delay meant lost time, eroded trust, and strained resources. Their CAD system needed to:
- Enable real-time client collaboration
- Be easy to learn and use across a small team
- Reduce turnaround on design changes and iterations
Axium needed a way to iterate designs in real time and respond to customer feedback instantly, all while maintaining the accuracy and quality they were known for. In short, they required a more agile engineering workflow to keep pace with constant change.
Embracing Agile Design with IronCAD
Axium Process found its answer in IronCAD. Michael Bowen recognized IronCAD’s potential over 15 years ago, and about five years ago, it became an integral part of their workflow.
So, what made IronCAD the perfect fit?
“IronCAD quite simply is so easy to use,” explains Michael. “As a drawing office manager, having a design team constantly on the phone with a company’s help and support team is not a good use of their time… IronCAD’s use of catalogs and the ability to drag and drop component parts makes designing quick and easy, and it’s a game changer.“
IronCAD delivered a solution that not only simplified their design process but also enabled crucial capabilities:
- Drag-and-Drop Catalogs: Empowering rapid assembly of complex components like tanks, pipes, and filtration units.
- TriBall: Described by Michael as the “Swiss Army Knife of the CAD industry,” this unique feature allows for quick and effortless manipulation of designs, saving “hours, if not days.”
- Real-time Design Modifications: The ability to make changes on the fly, without cascading errors, facilitating immediate feedback and collaboration, even with clients present.
- Accurate BOM Generation: Leveraging “add-on properties” for precise material lists, crucial for rapid prototyping.
- Legacy Data Translator: Ensuring seamless integration with older models, preserving valuable historical data.
- Simplified Assemblies and Scene Management: Streamlining the creation and organization of complex projects within a single, intuitive environment.
From Weeks to Hours: Results That Matter
The impact of IronCAD on Axium Process has been nothing short of transformative. Implementing IronCAD has dramatically boosted Axium’s productivity and removed friction from their process. Design iterations that once took weeks now happen in mere hours. The immediate, measurable results speak for themselves:
- Design Time Reduced from Weeks to Hours: This dramatic acceleration allows Axium to take on more projects, iterate faster, and deliver bespoke solutions with unprecedented speed.
- New Users Onboarded in Days, Not Weeks: Mark Lewis of Axium Process experienced this firsthand, going from a brand-new user to leading a large project within days, eliminating costly training delays.
- Enhanced Customer Confidence: “Real-time changes in front of the customer give them confidence that we can respond quickly and accurately and on time,” states Michael. This direct responsiveness builds trust and strengthens client relationships.
- Maximized Efficiency for SMEs: As a small to medium enterprise, downtime due to an unavailable designer is a significant risk. IronCAD’s intuitive workflow minimizes this, ensuring continuous productivity and rapid turnaround.
- Seamless Collaboration: Project engineers and CAD designers can now collaborate in real-time, making updates on the spot and producing drawings with ease.
Equally important are the qualitative results. Axium’s engineers feel more confident tackling complex projects now that their CAD system won’t hold them back. Morale is higher because the frustration of wrestling with rigid software constraints is gone. And management has peace of mind knowing that adopting IronCAD yielded a fast return on investment – the software paid for itself quickly by freeing the team to deliver more value to clients.
Read an example of how Axium Process uses IronCAD to accelerate complex design projects and deliver precision-engineered solutions here.
Your Turn: Why Delaying the Switch is Costing You
Axium Process proves that in a world of complex engineering, the most powerful tool is often the simplest to use. By replacing a rigid process with IronCAD’s flexible and intuitive environment, they didn’t just buy software; they invested in agility, efficiency, and customer satisfaction.
Mark Lewis offers a final piece of advice for any engineering firm feeling the pressure of today’s market:
“If you are a small company needing to maximize your efficiency with a small team, IronCAD will be quicker to integrate and learn than any other CAD system… If you are a large company… the benefits will be multifold and will more than pay for itself in a very short time. Delaying changing to IronCAD is costing you.”
For Axium Process, IronCAD is the engine that allows them to solve the toughest engineering challenges and deliver faster for their clients than ever before.