SOLIDWORKS CASE STUDY
DEFYING LIMITATIONS WITH BOWHEAD CORPORATION
Adaptive mobility firm uses SOLIDWORKS and the 3DEXPERIENCE platform to streamline data management.
Christian Bagg, co-founder of Bowhead Corporation, is an admitted adrenaline junkie and outdoor enthusiast. After a snowboarding accident left him paralyzed from the waist down, all Bagg could think about was returning to his “normal” activities.
His passion drove him to invent a mountain bike that accommodated the inability to use his legs. With SOLIDWORKS® 3D CAD, Bowhead Corp. introduced its innovative hybrid ATV/mountain bike a year ahead of schedule.
SOLIDWORKS® 3D CAD
Designs Evolve as Company Grows
Reduced need for prototypes. Lower costs.
SOLIDWORKS Has a Role Everywhere
The first Bowhead Reach bike was delivered in November 2018. The company quickly learned that some riders were jumping over obstacles while sailing the bike up to eight feet in the air.
This prompted Bowhead to modify the base design by beefing up the shock absorber. It also replaced the throttle and braking controls with forearm paddles and built helmet-mounted bite throttles for use by quadriplegics.
“Now we have three bikes. We [also] have customer service, operations, engineering, and inventory management,” says Bagg. “SOLIDWORKS plays a role in every piece of our company.” The growing company needed a data management and collaboration solution to continue working as an efficient and unified team.
Everyone on the Same Page
With 800 to 900 parts, Bowhead bikes are complex. “The [cloud-based] 3DEXPERIENCE® platform became a way to manage an engineering company, not just to engineer the parts,” notes Bagg. “It was a funny moment realising … that SOLIDWORKS and the 3DEXPERIENCE platform were more than just engineering tools,” he recalls. “They became this sort of marriage counselor between operations and customer service and engineering. It was a way for everyone to look at a problem in a focused manner and then deal with it as a team.”
Challenge
Manage and track engineering parts and other data for complex bicycles for people with disabilities to better collaborate throughout the company, not just engineering.
Solution
Add 3DEXPERIENCE® Works design and collaboration tools, including Product Release Engineer, Collaborative Business Innovator and Collaborative Industry Innovator to efficiently work with people inside and outside their company, including customers, suppliers, and manufacturers.
Results
- Efficiently and securely manage 800 to 900 parts on the cloud
- Easily collaborate throughout entire organisation on one seamless platform
- Manage all product data, parts, inventory, and bills of materials on one platform
- Keep track of all variations from any location.
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