NEFAB Packaging

World leader in packaging

NEFAB operates globally in some 40 countries and currently has over 4,700 employees and over 300 users of IRONCAD!

NEFAB offers packaging and related services and logistics. They develop complete solutions optimized to reduce both total cost and environmental impact. They design and manufacture customized solutions for companies in the telecom, energy, automotive, healthcare and aerospace industries. Many different types of products must be transported, which means that the CAD solution must be able to create a variety of packaging variants. This places high demands on the breadth and flexibility of the CAD system. Therefore, for a long time, standardization has been done on IRONCAD with great success because the program combines the possibilities of working both flexibly in 3D or parametrically.

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Solidmakarna AB delivers software (CAD, FEM and PDM) with associated competent support and training to all NEFAB globally.

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Only IRONCAD has the breadth to meet all the different needs of NEFAB.

One example where IRONCAD has saved a lot of time and money is import. To create a solution customized for the customer's product, NEFAB often needs to import 3D CAD files exported from the customer's CAD solution. This can be, for example, a STEP file consisting of a large compilation with 100s, sometimes many, many 1,000s of details. These come in as separate parties in a single 3D file in IRONCAD. The program can handle entire compilations in a single file. We have seen examples with 1 000 000 parts in a single file in IRONCAD!

One of the problems with traditional 3D solutions is that all parties have to be saved as separate files. Compilations also have a different file format. This problem does not exist in IRONCAD. Instead of 10,000 files, the user has only 1 file to manage. The user still gets the complete compilation structure on import. But Compilations and Parties can be linked out to their own files if and when desired. This is a great advantage for NEFAB as the work is greatly simplified and the user can focus on the packaging solution instead of the CAD solution.

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Thermoformed plastic trays

NEFAB creates thermoformed plastic trays with IRONCAD. These can sometimes have complex shapes with lots of releases and radii. Here the IRONCAD user can solve the need with parametric design.

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IRONCAD can switch methodologies easily for different needs, flexibly or parametrically. Moreover, this can be combined with Drag & Drop from Catalogs.

Using IRONCAD's handles and dynamic modeling capabilities, NEFAB can drag-and-drop their packaging design from IRONCAD's catalogs allowing them to customize the packaging uniquely for the customer's purpose and moreover with a high level of precision. Not only will the packaging be right with IRONCAD, it will also only take hours to create - rather than weeks.

The catalogs are bidirectional so that Parts and Assemblies can just as easily be dragged and dropped to a catalog to be reused later by Drag and Drop. NEFAB has built a large number of customized catalogs with customized details that make work really efficient, like building with Lego. The parts in IRONCAD are intelligent and can be adapted to behave in different ways when used. For example, when dragging and dropping from a catalog, they find their position automatically and also know how to fit together and behave when changing. An example of how NEFAB benefits from IRONCAD can be seen in the movie below.

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Packaging and interior decoration in with wooden pallet and frame

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There are usually two different needs with packaging, first the pallet itself with railing or box with fittings. There it is not construction but dimensional variant management that is needed. IRONCAD solves this gallantly by having parameterized compilations that are changed to the right dimensions by simply pulling the handle and the entire compilation is updated at once to the desired dimensions.

The second need is to create customized fittings that will hold and protect what is to be transported. This is where IRONCAD's flexible modeling is perfect. It is faster and more flexible than parametric methods that are not suitable for developing new solutions quickly and easily.

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Being able to switch between Parametric and Flexible 3D in the same file, compilation or part is a huge advantage for anyone running IRONCAD!

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Packaging with pallet and plywood boxes with metal fittings and fittings in various materials.

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Packaging: corrugated cardboard boxes with customized interior

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Well packaging: Most of the boxes are fully parametric and use sheet-metal functions in IRONCAD. Some boxes are built without parameters. NEFAB has a large number of parametric interiors available. Interiors are sometimes built without parameters. NEFAB creates boxes according to FEFCO standard.
See more info here: LINK

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Packaging: steel structures handled cost-effectively with low weight and volume

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Packaging: cut-to-size cellular plastic interiors

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Packaging: cost and weight optimized eco-friendly solution with Fiberflute

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Good experiences of Solidmakarna

"NEFAB has over 300 IRONCADusers spread all over the world. IRONCAD solves our various design needs that no other 3D system can do. We use the fast, free flexible method for design and the more rigid Parametric method for dimensional variant management; IRONCAD can switch freely when needed. We find that IronCAD LLC in the US is responsive to requests. We also have good experience with Solidmakarna as our CAD & PDM supplier, they both train and provide support for NEFAB globally."

Urban Olars, CAD Manager, NEFAB.
www.nefab.se