Ben Loosli, our Windchill Community Spotlight this month, is no stranger to PTC solutions.
He first started working with Pro/ENGINEER 2000i in 2001 and then moved on to Windchill in late 2003 when PDMLink was first released. Pro/ENGINEER, along with CoCreate and ProductView, were the foundational elements of the Creo vision, delivering proven performance in 2D and 3D CAD, CAE, CAM, CAID and visualization.
After many years of working on a number of systems like Unigraphics and NX as an NC programmer, tool designer, and product designer, Ben went into system administration prior to working in Pro/Intralink and then Windchill.
Ben’s interest in online help forums spans even further back than this, starting in 1986 with a private Unigraphics messaging (BBS) system built on DEC Notes. From there, once the internet was widely available, Ben moved to MCAD and then PTC/User Group forums.
“I like to answer questions and use what knowledge I have to help others,” said Ben. “I also find that the Community provides different insights into an issue, so you can take multiple answers and choose the best one to help solve any issues you are trying to fix.”
In his current role as Application Specialist for Centrus Energy, Ben works in their manufacturing division. Centrus Energy supplies nuclear fuel and services for the nuclear power industry. Centrus Energy has designed, manufactured, and successfully operated the world’s most advanced gas centrifuge enrichment technology, the American Centrifuge, which has undergone rigorous testing by the Department of Energy and is available for national security deployment.
Ben currently maintains three Windchill systems and two installs of Creo at Centrus Energy.
“We use Creo as our primary design tool, so it naturally works well with Windchill for the storage of the vast data that is designed in Creo,” said Ben.
The Windchill systems Ben manages have around 3M files in them – which include centrifuge design data, reports of centrifuge performance and testing, and plant layout design data. All of the support structure for the centrifuge cascade, steel frames, air and water pipes, and electrical work are all modelled in Creo and stored in Creo. Windchill and CreoView allow the teams across the enterprise at Centrus Energy to see drawings that are on Windchill servers.
Since he has expertise with both Creo and Windchill, Ben enjoys the interaction of both of the Communities, stating, “I like sharing my knowledge with others in the hope that something I enter is beneficial to them. I have gained a lot of knowledge from being in the Community.”
When Ben isn’t imparting wisdom on the Windchill Community or maintaining PLM and CAD systems, he can be found traveling with his wife to visit eight children and 14 grandchildren, following Formula 1 and Indy Car Racing, or enjoying college football (Go Cougars!).
