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Pedal power: digital tools give the Xootr scooter an added push in the marketplace. (cad/cam).
To nearly everyone's amazement, the two-wheeled scooter re-emerged last year after a decades-long absence from suburban yards and driveways, and in just a few months, surpassed in-line skates as the mode of personal transportation.
Even scooter maker Nova Cruz Products in Dover, New Hampshire, was surprised by this newfound popularity. By taking advantage of its digital design-driven manufacturing process, though, the company has positioned itself on the crest of this new-rave wave.
Today's sleek, lightweight, high-performance scooters bear little resemblance to their big, clunky toy relatives from yesteryear, making them as popular among adults as youngsters. In fact, just before the scooter craze hit, Nova Cruz got a head start on the competition by creating the Xootr, a high-end, portable foot-powered "kick" scooter that the company positioned as a "transportation alternative."
According to Nathan Ulrich, a founder of Nova Cruz, the Xootr concept originated during an e-mail exchange with his brother, Karl, a fellow mechanical engineer. In just a few days, Nathan had transformed their concept into a 3D solid model using CAD software from SolidWorks. The brothers then formed their company and six months later shipped its first scooter model.
"In our original business plan, we envisioned manufacturing a fairly modest volume--around a few hundred per month," says Ulrich. "Then the scooter craze hit in early 2000, and we had to ramp up in-house production to respond to the demand. So in a very short period, our company grew from just the two of us to 50 employees, and we were producing about 1500 scooters a week."
During this time, the company began developing its eX3 electric scooter and an expanded Xootr line. Timing was critical, as the company had to create, test, and produce its new offerings while the demand for scooters remained high.
The company accomplished this rollout largely because it was able to re-purpose a significant portion of the Xootr's digital design data ...