SOLIDWORKS: Cornelius Creative’s Secret To Design Success

Cornelius Creative, a leading product design and marketing consultancy, has been using SOLIDWORKS since day one to deliver high-quality designs across various industries. Founded in 2020 in Kent, UK, Cornelius Creative has grown from a spare bedroom desk into a thriving business with a team of 12 experts working with clients ranging from global brands like Shark Ninja to SMEs and start-ups.

Their expertise in SOLIDWORKS design and rendering allows them to manage the entire product lifecycle from concept to market launch with precision and efficiency.

We sat down with Simon Cornelius, Managing Director and founder of Cornelius Creative, to find out how they’ve integrated SOLIDWORKS into their design process, how it helps them overcome complex challenges, and why it’s been a genuine game-changer for their business.

SOLIDWORKS Implementation

Simon: “Before setting up the business, I’d worked at several companies including Aqualisa, The Helping Hand Company, and (Visiativ customer) Dyson, so I’ve got first hand experience with a number of CAD systems, including SOLIDWORKS. I’d definitely say that SOLIDWORKS was the pick of the bunch, though!

Visiativ are a recommended UK reseller on the SOLIDWORKS website, so I got in touch with them and received a call back within minutes, which was a great start! After sharing our plans for the business, they suggested several implementation options, including the SOLIDWORKS for Start-Ups and Entrepreneurs Program. At the time, we were developing our own product range, so this was the perfect fit for us, because it allowed us to start using SOLIDWORKS with zero upfront investment, aside from a new CAD Workstation. A real “No-Brainer”, to be honest.

The business quickly evolved and we decided to switch our focus to consultancy, which meant upgrading to paid commercial licences, which was another easy decision. SOLIDWORKS is one of the most widely used CAD platforms, and we knew many of our target clients were already using it. For clients without CAD systems, SOLIDWORKS would give us the ability to deliver both 3D and 2D work at a high standard. It’s one of the best all-round CAD solutions available at a reasonable price, and it allows us to work quickly and efficiently, from industrial design through to detailed engineering.”

Simon in the Cornelius Creative studio

Which SOLIDWORKS products do you use?

Simon: “We started with SOLIDWORKS Premium, which was free with the Start-up scheme, then switched to Standard to save costs as the business grew. Recently, we’ve upgraded to Professional to match our clients’ toolkits, which makes collaboration easier. We also rely heavily on the Design for Manufacture (DFM) tools to ensure our designs are ready for production.”

Design Process at Cornelius Creative

Simon: “Our projects start with a client meeting to gather the brief and technical requirements. We create initial sketches to clarify the concept and any mechanical elements. Then we move to SOLIDWORKS to build rough models, checking for fit, wall thickness, and overall design intent.

SOLIDWORKS is great for working with assemblies for multi-part designs, and we often present live models to clients so they can make real-time decisions. Once we’ve refined the design, we generate photorealistic renders and prototypes using SOLIDWORKS’ STL export. Finally, we create detailed 2D and 3D manufacturing drawings for production.”

Challenging Projects Made Easier with SOLIDWORKS

Simon: “Visiativ introduced us to a company called Motorised Air Products UK , who asked us to reverse-engineer products originally designed in AutoCAD to create technical data sheets. These were critical for securing a major client. The biggest challenge was switching between sheet metal and solid modelling, but SOLIDWORKS made this easier than we could have hoped. The built-in sheet metal tools allowed us to handle complex shapes without needing separate software. The ability to generate photorealistic renderings and detailed 2D drawings within the same environment saved time and improved accuracy.

We’ve worked with Barton Marine, a British manufacturer of marine components, for several years. SOLIDWORKS has been essential for building their assemblies and visualising how components work together.

Some of Barton’s products involve motion, so we used assembly constraints in SOLIDWORKS to accurately display the range of movement before building physical prototypes. The design verification tools also helped us optimise the designs for their in-house injection moulding, reducing the need for expensive adjustments.”

Has SOLIDWORKS helped you get to market quicker?

Simon: “Definitely. It’s had a massive impact. SOLIDWORKS lets us work faster by combining surface and solid modelling in one platform. It streamlines the entire process from concept to production.

For Barton Marine, we use parametric modelling to scale product variations quickly. Instead of remodelling every part, we adjust a single parameter and SOLIDWORKS updates the whole model. This is brilliant because it saves time and reduces costs.”

How has SOLIDWORKS improved your product development processes?

Simon: “We use SOLIDWORKS to calculate material costs and estimate moulding press tonnage. For instance, we’ve designed aluminium extrusions for clients and provided accurate costs based on weight and volume.

We also use SOLIDWORKS to create patent drawings, technical data sheets, and marketing CGI. Rendering is more cost-effective than photography and allows us to show internal details, which is especially useful for technical products like those from Motorised Air Products. SOLIDWORKS allows us to deliver high-quality designs quickly, which is a big advantage in a competitive market. The software’s flexibility and wide adoption in the industry also make it easy to collaborate with clients and scale up for larger projects when needed.”

About Visiativ

Simon: “Visiativ has been a brilliant partner over the years. They were really helpful when we first started investigating SOLIDWORKS and have even introduced us to potential clients. Their ongoing Technical Support, Training and expert advice have been a big part of our growth, too. We couldn’t be happier!”

Would You Recommend SOLIDWORKS?

Simon: “Absolutely. It’s the most powerful and user-friendly CAD platform we’ve used. The support from Visiativ has also been fantastic. They’ve helped us tackle difficult projects and connected us with new clients.”

Future Plans

Simon: “We’ve seen steady growth and expect that to continue, so SOLIDWORKS will remain central to our business. We’re excited about the shift to cloud-based CAD and future AI developments. Features like algorithmic modelling for surface detailing could make the design process even faster!”

Wrapping Up

Cornelius Creative’s success story demonstrates how SOLIDWORKS helps companies to streamline product design, accelerate time to market, and improve efficiency. From handling complex sheet metal projects to creating high-quality marketing renders, SOLIDWORKS remains at the heart of their operation.

Ready to see how SOLIDWORKS can transform your business?