Desktop Systems

SAAB Automobile

Thomas Andersson
IT Manager for Technical Development

Saab Automobile completely changed its environment for mechanical CAD, converting from IBM to Sun workstations to host Unigraphics from EDS. Due to the strength of the Sun platform and excellent help from local Sun reseller Semcon, the conversion went smoothly. Now Saab's designers have the increased computing capacity and graphics quality necessary to manage today's larger, more elaborate CAD models helping the company become even more competitive in the automobile market.

Over 300 Sun workstations are deployed to run mechanical CAD and product data management. When spare cycles are available, they are now being employed to run a third application, fluid dynamic analysis. This new use has produced very promising results to date, allowing Saab to save the costs of additional computing resources dedicated to the analysis application.

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Collaborative agreement with GM drives conversion to Sun and Unigraphics

Saab Automobile of Sweden is one of the world's premier automobile manufacturers. Saab builds dynamic cars which offer superior driver control. Saab automobiles combine high performance with outstanding safety and distinctive design.

In the past, Saab employed Catia running on IBM workstations for its mechanical design purposes. In 1997, Saab and General Motors struck an agreement to collaborate closely in their design activities. Since Unigraphics was the established standard at GM, it was important that Saab become compatible by switching to the EDS solution as its core mechanical CAD system. It was equally important that Saab achieve hardware compatibility with GM by changing workstation vendors, since IBM workstations are not employed for mechanical CAD at GM.

"Although GM uses both Sun and HP, we wanted just one platform for MCAD, so we examined both companies to determine which would become our new workstation standard for mechanical design and product data management. Sun was our choice due to its overall excellent reputation and the superior price/performance exhibited in Sun's proposal."

Thomas Andersson
IT Manager for Technical Development

With Sun and Unigraphics in place, Saab knew it could count on full support from GM.

Since Saab Automobile is located in Trollhattan, Sweden, quite a distance from the nearest Sun office, it was important that a competent ally with a local presence be involved. Saab found that partner in Semcon, a small consultant/system integrator who is also a Sun reseller. Semcon delivers and installs Sun workstations for Saab, installs and integrates Unigraphics software, and makes sure the product combination is working properly. Semcon also set up a Help Desk to answer questions and provide systems management for users. "Semcon does a very good job," said Andersson. "The contribution they make, especially assuring that our CAD workstations are fully operational before turning them over to engineers, is an important factor in our success."

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Smooth migration results in highly productive and reliable Sun workstation network

Saab chose 30 Ultra™ workstations to begin the migration to Sun and Unigraphics. "The conversion went very smoothly," said Andersson. "There were very few issues with starting up the new system, considering the magnitude of our undertaking - completely changing both our hardware and our software."

During 1998 and 1999, with the new CAD solution well established, Saab substantially increased its investment in Sun workstations. Now over 300 units are installed, including 200 Ultra 60 and 100 Ultra 30 workstations. Approximately 100 of the Ultra 60 workstations are equipped with Elite3D graphics, the new graphics standard at Saab. In the summer of 1999, Saab extended its commitment to Sun into the realm of servers. Several Sun Enterprise servers have now been installed to manage PDM databases and as web servers.

"Our experience with Sun equipment has been very good," said Andersson. "From the viewpoints of performance, reliability, and service, we are very satisfied." Saab employs SunSpectrum Silver support on its Sun workstation contingent and SunSpectrum Gold support with four-hour response to calls for servers.

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Taking advantage of spare workstation cycles to further leverage Sun investment

In the spring of 1999, Saab began saving costs by using its Sun workstations in an entirely new way, taking advantage of unused machine cycles to run the Star3D fluid dynamic analysis software that required dedicated SGI workstations in the past. Saab acquired the Codine resource management software product from Genias, a German company. Codine allows a number of Sun workstations to be treated as a cluster for calculation purposes. At night, when the workstations are not needed for design purposes, they are now busy performing fluid dynamic calculations. Codine even watches for unused cycle availability during the day, helping Saab leverage its Sun workstation investment even more. Based on the firm's early success with a 100 workstation cluster, the use of Codine and Star3D on Sun may be expanded into larger clusters in the future, according to Andersson.

"Sun is a real industry leader, continually advancing the state of technology, " said Andersson. "One thing we really appreciate is that Sun continually keeps us informed about their directions and future plans. That helps us make our plans properly, so that we're in position to take advantage of Sun's most recent advances when they become available. Engineers are never satisfied, and demands for larger and more detailed CAD models continue to grow without limit. To meet these demands as completely as possible, it's very comforting to know what's coming and Sun provides us with that visibility."

"The combination of Sun and Semcon has worked out really well for us. To anyone in a similar situation to ours, I would recommend Sun workstations. If a Sun office is not close at hand, I'd also recommend identifying a local source of Sun integration expertise with the competence of Semcon, we definitely made the right decision with Sun."

Thomas Andersson
IT Manager for Technical Development