The Hindu Business Line : At the stroke of a mouse

If the headline makes you think of `at the stroke of twelve and Cinderella,' what's happening in the world of technology is no less magical. For instance, using software to draw designs to build steel plants...

WHAT does an engineering company involved in steel have to do with software? Everything, if one goes by what Vijay Kulkarni, Senior Engineer of the Pune-based Concast Standard Engineering (India) Pvt Ltd, has to say.

Setting up steel complexes of global standard is no easy task. The process involves a lot of plan drafting and actual drawings. Usually, these drawings are done on paper. But come construction time, invariably, some errors creep in as the design is being translated into a concrete structure. This is especially the case when huge structures are to be raised.

Concast, says Kulkarni, uses the Autocad Mechanical software to offer clients steel plant designs so the plants can be set up with advantages such as fewer errors, and also savings in terms of cost and time. Software helps Concast to draft designs of two-three dimensional feel so the client can visualise what the steel plant would look like when it is actually raised. Concast has done such designs for Tisco, Jamshedpur, and Guiyang Special Steel Company of China, says Kulkarni. Companies that went in for Concast's designs have been able to cut down on their engineering production time by up to 25 per cent. Errors have been reduced by up to 50 per cent, and technology has also helped improve the quality of the drawings, he says.

Concast's customers only have to follow the design to a T, according to Kulkarni. The use of software has helped Concast at every stage. The software has features such as: A standard part library, which is a collection of basic mechanical components used in day-to-day activities; Multiple windows, which means the function of allowing the user to open multiple windows while designing; Beam calculation, which is a decision-support tool to analyse a beam in a scientific manner in a 2-D space to find out whether it is deformed, how much load it can support, etc; Stress analysis, which is all about calculating how much stress accrues on a beam.

Concast's use of AutoCAD Mechanical Power Pack and AutoCAD Mechanical Desktop has enriched its designs, which, in turn, helps companies do a better job. Concast has been using 15 seats of AutoCAD Mechanical since June 2001 now and has seen a marked improvement in its design process, he says.

Concast is a subsidiary of Concast Standard AG, headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. It also specialises in continuous casting of steel. Its product line includes workhorse electric arc furnaces, ladle furnaces with advanced secondary metallurgy systems and continuous casters.

Some of Concast's recent projects in India have been at Tisco, Jamshedpur, Jindal Steels and Power Ltd, Raigarh, Kalyani Carpenter Special Steels Ltd and Kalyani Mukand Ltd, Hospet. The company's competitors include global players such as VAI Pomini, Danieli, and TPE Russia.

rsavitha@hotmail.com

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