Sponsorship helps DFZ startups soar
Clockwise from left: Helium’s rendering of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, Helium team, Genecis Bioindustries team.
Dassault Systèmes (DS) SolidWorks is sponsoring the Design Fabrication Zone (DFZ) with a suite of floating licenses to the company’s industry-leading advanced 3D modelling software. The licenses, valued at over $1 million, enable students and entrepreneurs to use the software and a variety of powerful add-ons to create, simulate, publish and manage their data, and bring projects from ideation to prototype, all the way to market.
“Our goal is to democratize innovation, wherever startups call home,” says Jillian Friot, program manager, SolidWorks for Entrepreneurs. “We invest in the startup community with tools, resources, and mentoring, rather than a monetary investment,” she adds. “With entrepreneurship being the catalyst for world-changing innovation, the notion of supporting organizations like Ryerson University’s Design Fabrication Zone aligns wonderfully with the vision and goals of Dassault Systemes.”
Through DS SolidWorks, designs can be validated for assembly, durability, and final manufacture. Detailed drawings, animations, assembly, and manufacturing instructions can also be generated.
“SolidWorks will save our members a crucial amount of time and costs,” says Darcie Watson, director, Design Fabrication Zone. “Early stage companies often do not have the same resources as established companies and typically could not afford this software,” she adds. “With DS SolidWorks, large teams can be divided and organized into multiple subgroups that allow them to work on multiple facets of a project or assembly simultaneously. The software dynamically adapts and updates each change during design modifications, allowing our members to meet crucial deadlines and bring their projects or products to market faster and more efficiently than would otherwise be possible.”
Access to DS SolidWorks has allowed Helium — a Toronto-based student run team developing the future of personal Aerial Transportation — to create 3D models, conduct numerical analysis relating to engineering and mathematical physics, and to complete final product assembly.
“Without the help of SolidWorks, our project would simply not be possible,” says Kevin Kasa, a third-year aerospace engineering student at Ryerson University and current team lead at Helium.
Luna Yu, co-founder of Genecis Bioindustries Inc. notes that DS SolidWorks has played an instrumental role in the company’s ability to grow. The software has helped the bio-cleantech company “simulate process conditions in order to design and improve systems capabilities, and validate industrial processes for commercialization.”
To learn more about the Design Fabrication Zone, please visit ryerson.ca/dfz.