American Fluorescent
Fluorescent Lighting Products

As a privately owned company, American Fluorescent Corporation has been an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) of fluorescent lighting products since 1938. Currently one of the leading lighting manufacturers for Energy Star certified fixtures, American Fluorescent offers a vast assortment of products spanning the spectrum from standard strips and troffers to innovative decorative fixtures for commercial, light industrial and residential applications. They serve markets such as do-it-yourself stores, contractors, hotels, hospitals and lighting showrooms. The company presently employs approximately 150 people.

American Fluorescent once used 2D CAD only. Maggie DeJong, Project Engineer and Certified SolidWorks Professional, found that SolidWorks made the transition from 2D to 3D very simple. “SolidWorks has enabled us to bridge the gap from 2D into the 3D environment with easy-to-use, intelligent, economical software,” she says. “SolidWorks is user-friendly and less complicated than some software available, with all the power and functionality we need.” Because the company still has a large AutoCAD database of archived drawings, 2D geometry is converted to SolidWorks sketches and then turned into 3D models. “The step-by-step directions included with the software have been invaluable,” she attests.

SolidWorks is used for all of American Fluorescent’s product development, manufacturing, and detail drawings as well as in-house communications via eDrawings. They have a growing in-house database of eDrawings located on their server which can be accessed from computers throughout the facility. This enables purchasing, customer service, manufacturing, fabrication, quality control and production to have instant access to the latest prints, which has greatly reduced down time and errors. “eDrawings has enabled us to communicate easier with our suppliers around the world,” states DeJong. American Fluorescent found yet another use for its SolidWorks designs when it recently acquired a Dimension 3D Printer that quickly and easily converts the designs into SLA models. “Our in-house Rapid Prototype machine is a great asset for our sales force,” DeJong declares.

DeJong has found that there are very few things that SolidWorks can’t do. However, if she does find anything to improve upon, she requests it as an update in the next release and it’s taken care of. Speaking of SolidWorks Corporation, DeJong affirms, “They are the only software manufacturer that I can say actually listens to its users.”

American Fluorescent has worked with Graphic Systems since their introduction to SolidWorks back in August 1996. “They have always gone above and beyond what is necessary to make sure I have what I need when I need it,” DeJong asserts. She finds a low-stress learning environment when attending the “informative and interactive” training classes and workout sessions. She also praises the technical support for being “highly knowledgeable, prompt and friendly.” In giving DeJong “just the right balance of service,” the sales staff has been supportive and eager to help, without being pushy.

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