Customer Stories
Clean Tech
Vigor Wave Energy AB: Energy Conversion
e-Wolf: Electric Cars and Utility Vehicles
BioLite, Inc.: Biomass Stoves
Freiezo, LLC: Wind Turbines
ElectronVault, Inc.: Innovative EV Battery Systems
Kjellgren Kaminsky: Gothenburg, Sweden, Architect Firm
Novacem: Autodesk Clean Tech Partner
enbreeze GmbH: Low-Wind Turbines
IT Power Ltd
Vehiconomics
ecoduna produktions-GmbH: Autodesk Clean Tech Partner
TimberTower GmbH: Wind Turbines (Germany)
Hexicon breathes life into renewable electricity plant with Autodesk Inventor.
Novoflow GmbH
Tembra GmbH: German Wind Turbine Engineering Firm
Green Structures: Autodesk Clean Tech Partner
SunPods: Modular Solar Arrays
General Compression
Green Lite Motors: Hybrid Cars
Enventix: Clean Energy Company
Tesla Motors: Electric Cars
PearlLED: LED Lightbulbs
General Biodiesel: Energy Recycler
Marine Innovation & Technology: Offshore Platforms
Pi Mobility: Electric Bicycle Maker
APTwater, Inc.: Advanced Water Treatment Processes
Fiberforge: Lighter, Stronger Materials
Utility Scale Solar, Inc.
Micromidas: Microbial-Based Wastewater Treatment
Springboard Biodiesel: Vegetable Oil Processors
Green Ocean Energy
Syncromatics
Vindby
Building
AECOM: Roseisle Distillery
Shanghai Tower Construction & Development Co. Ltd.:
Building Design, Construction and Management
SERA Architects
Aedas Interiors
Stephenson&Turner: New Zealand Government Building
New Complex at USC School of Cinematic Arts
NASA Sustainability Base
NOAA Research Facility
Taco Inc./Vanderweil Engineers: HVAC for MEP
KLH Engineers: Hebrew Union College Klau Library
el dorado inc.
China Construction Design International (CCDI)
SHP Leading Design
Stevens & Wilkinson/Beck Group: Courthouse Annex
HNTB/Turner Universal: Human Resources Center
Grange Insurance Audubon Center
ARBA Studios
Glumac
KlingStubbins & Tocci Building Companies
West Hills Construction: Green Energy Management
Infrastructure
4Site, Inc.: Improved Productivity
China Construction Design International (CCDI)
CISPDR: Water Reclamation Project (China)
Snohomish County Public Works
Plant
Environmental intellect: Environmental Compliance Software
Consumer Products
Stanford University: ME 310 Project
Fiberforge: Lighter, Stronger Materials
Indesit Company: Appliance Manufacturer
Industrial Machinery
Fiberforge: Lighter, Stronger Materials
Unverferth
Agricon Pelleting Machines
HTC
Automotive & Transportation
Green Lite Motors: Hybrid Cars
Tesla Motors: Electric Cars
ADEPT Airmotive
Autodesk Case Study
Autodesk: Data Center Upgrade
West Hills Construction: Green Energy Management
West Hills Construction, Inc., meets sustainable building challenges with the Autodesk solution for Digital Prototyping. |
Project Summary
West Hills Construction, Inc., is a company with a fast-growing energy division that specializes in green energy management solutions, including photovoltaic arrays, wind turbines, hybrid air conditioning, advanced energy storage, and cogeneration. For existing buildings, the California-based company surveys customers’ total energy needs by analyzing the last 12 months’ worth of electric bills, gas bills, and electric demand data. It uses this summary to design a correctly sized solar system for each site, as well as provide a detailed financial analysis that outlines the cost savings and benefits. In both retrofit and new construction, West Hills Construction uses Autodesk® Inventor®, AutoCAD® Mechanical, AutoCAD® Electrical, AutoCAD®, Autodesk® Vault Manufacturing, Autodesk® Showcase®, Autodesk® 3ds Max®, and Autodesk® Maya® software to:
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The Challenge
According to Rusty Wood, vice president of West Hills Construction’s energy division, the company was contracted to design a one-of-a-kind sustainable structure that would make maximum use of photovoltaic panels—something it was able to do while still in training with Autodesk provider KETIV Technologies. “When we adopt a software program, we adopt the training,” says Wood. “It’s one of the most important reasons we were able to step up and implement so quickly.”
The Solution
West Hills Construction used Digital Prototyping to improve every aspect of the design and construction of the new 37-foot-tall, 86,000-square-foot building. A 2D diagram with the site layout was prepared using AutoCAD, AutoCAD Electrical, and AutoCAD Mechanical software—then imported into Inventor software to deploy piping, electrical conduits, and control panels. “A big advantage of the Autodesk solution is its ability to show shadows in 3D based on coordinates of latitude and longitude,” says Wood. “This helped us to easily achieve optimized spacing between rows of ground-mounted photovoltaic arrays.” To seamlessly manage the data throughout the design workflow, West Hills Construction implemented Vault Manufacturing—and to win the business, it used Showcase, 3ds Max, and Maya for creating client presentations with superior visual fidelity. |
The Result
The benefits of Digital Prototyping couldn’t be clearer for Wood. “Inventor enables us to quickly generate accurate production-ready models, and Vault Manufacturing helps us capture immediate feedback, preventing costly change orders later in the development cycle,” he says. “On a job of this nature, Autodesk software may save us from misquoting by $200,000 in net profit.”
Doing design work in-house also means not farming work out to an architect, saving additional costs, and keeping West Hills Construction’s ideas proprietary. “With Autodesk software and the ongoing support and expertise of KETIV Technologies, we are now light-years ahead of anything our competitors are going to produce,” says Wood. “In short, it’s creating a strong business for us—exactly what we hoped it would do.”
Download the Story
 | West Hills Construction Customer Story (pdf - 59Kb) |
