Dave has always wanted to create products. From a portable wheelchair elevator to a new variant of a mountain bike chainring, his ideas are innovative and varied. As Dave puts it, he was \u201cone of these kids that just, if it was broke, I\u2019d would take it apart and try and fix it. And if it wasn’t broke, I\u2019d probably take it apart and break it. I was just really curious and interested in how stuff works.\u201d<\/P><\/p>\n Dave Gaffney, the founder of 2Pi Design<\/A>, works as a freelance mechanical design engineer. Recently, 2Pi Design worked on a drinking water treatment plant project. The plant was being installed in Scotland, and 2Pi Design served as the middleman between a sheet metal fabrication company in southwest Ireland charged with building some of the equipment for the plant, and, on the other hand, a company that actually specializes in installing water treatment plants (this company actually design and build equipment too, they just needed extra capacity) that would actually complete the plant installation. 2Pi Design got started with the Solid Edge for Startups<\/A> program after having worked with SolidWorks previously. At the outset, Dave was looking for learning resources to get started up with Solid Edge. According to Dave, \u201cOthers simply don\u2019t provide that level of support. To be honest, when I was using other software, the vibe I had was excellent – there were great resources, but the service provided is not much at all, you know? We asked Dave about his goals for the company in terms of growth, products, and generally what he\u2019s like to accomplish the next few years. Here\u2019s what he shared with us: Today, I …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30919,"featured_media":2981,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spanish_translation":"","french_translation":"","german_translation":"","italian_translation":"","polish_translation":"","japanese_translation":"","chinese_translation":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[179,1],"tags":[7,225,9],"industry":[],"product":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-2974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-customer-success-story","category-news","tag-manufacturing","tag-sheet-metal-design","tag-startup"],"featured_image_url":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2019\/09\/Dave-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/solidedge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/solidedge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/solidedge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/solidedge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30919"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/solidedge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2974"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/solidedge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2974\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2982,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/solidedge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2974\/revisions\/2982"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/solidedge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/solidedge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/solidedge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/solidedge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2974"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/solidedge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=2974"},{"taxonomy":"product","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/solidedge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product?post=2974"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/solidedge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=2974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"2Pi](\"http:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2019\/09\/2Pi-Banner-2.jpg\" "\\"2Pi")
<\/span><\/P><\/p>\nMeet Dave Gaffney: The Brains Behind 2Pi Design<\/H2><\/p>\n
![\"Dave.jpg\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2019\/09\/Dave-1.jpg\" "\\"Dave.jpg\\"")
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What was missing, you might ask? Design. That\u2019s where Dave and 2Pi Design filled in the gap.
Both companies involved on the project needed extra design capacity for the project, so 2Pi Design was able to provide the kind of design for manufacturing and assembly they needed. 2Pi Design was in between trying to make it work \u2014 a style of working \u201cvery different,\u201d Dave told us, \u201ccompared to past projects.\u201d But that\u2019s the business of freelancing and working in a startup setting. You have to be able to adapt and innovate quickly to delivery what your customers demand from project to project.<\/P><\/p>\nWhy Solid Edge?<\/H2><\/p>\n
Dave told us he began using the Solid Edge Forum after we met up to interview him, and he found it to be an excellent resource, where users of all levels were more than willing to help, and that \u201cit was also a surprisingly fast way to find solutions to problems.\u201d
Solid Edge users like Dave, who operate in a dynamic startup environment, depend on our free resources to hit the ground running. That\u2019s why we work extremely hard to make sure there are ample resources and support mechanisms available to our users<\/A> from the start.
When asked how he found out about the Solid Edge for Startups program in the first place, here\u2019s what Dave had to say:
\u201cI was searching high and dry, and heard that Solid Edge is actually better than other software that\u2019s out there, but I hadn’t looked into it. There\u2019s this old, unspoken rule that you have to use the same system your employer does. You usually don’t have a whole lot of say in it. So, when I was spending my own money, I thought long and hard about which software to pick, but realized I couldn’t evaluate all the different pros and cons of various packages even if tried. I could spend three or four months evaluating just one package. So, I read through web forums and it was very hard to find anything negative about Solid Edge, even from Solid Edge users. It just seemed really good\u2026 if there are an awful lot of happy customers, that\u2019s good enough for me. I rely on word of mouth more than actually comparing.\u201d
Unlike other software that has great marketing to lure users in, only to provide a low-performing product, Solid Edge really delivers on the promises. We pride ourselves on that level of quality.
I\u2019ve learned to my own delight that Dave is a pretty funny guy. Here\u2019s what he had to say about useability of Solid Edge for a synchronous design<\/A> edit at assembly level:
\u201cIt took me a while to get it the first time, but to do it again then was literally seconds, and the edit would have taken days in other programs. I was absolutely blown away. It was so powerful. So, yeah, mind blowing. It really is. And then you kind of wonder\u2026 people should be shouting about it from the rooftops because it\u2019s so impressive.\u201d<\/P><\/p>\nLooking Ahead: What\u2019s Next for 2Pi Design?<\/H2><\/p>\n
\u201cWith the freelance business, the aim is to finance product development. So, what I am excited for is to do some products. Long term, I’m hoping in the future the wheelchair elevator product would be something that could serve a need for people. That\u2019s the kind of business I\u2019d like to work for – one where you’re making a difference and improving people’s lives.\u201d
When asked if there\u2019s anything else the Solid Edge team could do to support 2Pi, here\u2019s all Dave had to say (this really made me very proud):
\u201cWow. Honestly, I can’t believe what I’m getting already, to be honest with you. I do hope that I can make this business work and that I can become a long term Solid Edge customer. And I can’t actually think of anything. Honestly, I’m very happy with what I’ve already gotten.\u201d
Like so many Solid Edge users in the startup space, 2Pi Design is a work in progress. But we know the company is in great hands with Dave at the helm. We\u2019re excited to see what\u2019s next from Dave and wish him nothing but the best on the journey that lies ahead.
If you haven\u2019t already, check out our Solid Edge for Startups<\/A> program today!<\/P><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\n Solid Edge helps many people and companies design and build amazing things. But some of the most interesting, innovative stuff comes from our community of startup users. <\/p>\n