Irrigation To Order

By Sara Ferris

Instead of months, Fresno Valves and Castings (Selma, CA) make brass valves and vents in hours, thanks to its adoption of 3D design and CNC systems. Previously, the company had to hand-craft casting patterns for its brass parts.  Built-to-order fabricated gates and lifts now take half a day to make. Before, it took two weeks to complete the gates using 2D CAD software.

Fresno Valves uses SolidWorks to design its irrigation fittings.

Fresno Valves manufactures an extensive line of irrigation products, ranging from garden hose faucets to gates for hydroelectric dams. Founded in 1952 (as Showalter’s Irrigation Appliance), the company has expanded to three major divisions. The Pierce Fittings division manufactures a comprehensive line of irrigation fittings. The Flow-Guard Filtration division manufactures stainless steel filters for use in agriculture and, increasingly, in other applications. Fresno Valves also owns and operates a brass foundry designed for high-quality, high-production output of molded parts and devices.

“When we worked in 2D, drawings had to go back and forth with the customer for weeks,” said engineering manager Sukhbir Singh. “It’s just difficult for a farmer or irrigation district manager to comprehend the finer points of 2D drawings and come up with a vivid picture in his or her mind. With SolidWorks models, customers understand what we propose, and we can design better products for them faster.”

Key to Fresno’s accelerated product delivery is the integration of SolidWorks (SolidWorks Corp., Concord, MA) and RuleStream design automation software from RuleStream Corp. (Wakefield, MA). This combination automates Fresno’s RFQ (request for quote) and engineering documentation processes. Fresno salespeople visit customer sites and fill out easy-to-use online forms to configure new designs in SolidWorks. Ninety percent of the design work is done for engineers, who then detail the drawings, a process that has been reduced from a week to less than 36 hours. Custom rules enforce Fresno’s standards and best practices.

Design of irrigation gates is automated by Fresno’s integration of RuleStream with SolidWorks.

Although the company’s irrigation line is standard, each customer’s unique requirements introduce varying needs for engineered-to-order parts. “There are variances in every case,” says Jim Brown, project manager at Fresno Valves. “The depth of an irrigation ditch, its width, and other factors all affect finished product design. The initial quote requires detailed engineering drawings, and those form the basis for the final manufacturing drawings.”

Because virtually every order for irrigation equipment included some engineered-to-order work, it could take Fresno five or six weeks of revisions before an engineering drawing for a quote was finished. Many parts and materials couldn’t be ordered until the drawings were done.

Fresno Valves saw immediate benefits when it adopted the SolidWorks/RuleStream combination. “We can now respond to engineering changes via email, with new drawings delivered to the customer within a couple of hours, instead of taking days, or even weeks,” says Jeff Showalter, chief engineer and manager at Fresno Valves. “In fact, within days of beginning to use RuleStream, our customers were calling to tell us they’re actually shocked at the new drawing turnaround time.” An added bonus is that engineers now have more time to develop new products, standardize existing products, and design more innovative features.