A division of BIA, an international engineering group, develops unique test benches for the automotive, aerospace, energy, and railway industries worldwide and has always prioritized technological independence and efficiency. Instead of copying international IT solutions, the company opted for the best-suited digital tool for its core business — engineering design. That tool was the KOMPAS-3D CAD system.
Company Profile
The BIA Group's Engineering and Manufacturing Center designs and delivers turnkey high-tech testing systems: from climate chambers and crash test rigs to complex automotive and aircraft test benches. BIA serves customers worldwide, meeting the highest standards of design accuracy and documentation quality. The company has supplied test benches to France, Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Poland, China, the USA, South Africa, and India.
Challenge
When launching a new production facility, BIA faced a classic yet complicated question: which software would the designers use? The company needed a solution that could match global counterparts in advanced mechanical engineering functionality while remaining cost-effective and easy to integrate. The system was also intended to become an integral part of international business processes, enabling seamless data exchange with headquarters in France and adapting documentation to global customer standards. A reliable digital partner capable of supporting ambitious growth plans was needed.
Solution
The company chose KOMPAS-3D from ASCON for its perfect balance of functionality, convenience, and cost-effectiveness. BIA especially appreciated the KOMPAS-3D addons, such as Equipment: Metal Structures and Equipment: Pipelines, used to design complicated frameworks and utilities for test benches. The company also uses the APM FEM module for structural analysis.
Irina Arapova, CEO, BIA:
"We first purchased ASCON products at the end of 2015. The key factors behind this were the functional capabilities our engineers needed, an affordable price, and efficient technical support."
Results, Business Values
The adoption of KOMPAS-3D served as the starting point for building a comprehensive digital workflow at BIA. The system has proven itself in real-world projects, bringing tangible benefits to the company:
- Design speed and quality: With the industry-specific addons, the designers quickly create and edit complex equipment models, minimizing routine tasks.
- Global compatibility: KOMPAS-3D has been easily integrated into the international supply chain. The STEP format is used for seamless data exchange with colleagues working in other CAD systems (e.g., CATIA).
- A digitalization pillar: Successful deployment of the engineering CAD has laid the groundwork for the digitalization of other business processes. Experience with KOMPAS-3D convinced management of the reliability of ASCON's solutions, leading to the deployment of the Pilot-ECM corporate e-document management system, which is now also used at the French office.
Irina Arapova, CEO, BIA:
"KOMPAS-3D offers the following advantages: technological independence, a flexible user experience, support for various design approaches, engineering analysis capabilities, compliance with international standards, data exchange with other CAD systems, technical support, and an affordable price."
