TEI Rock Drills: Drilling Technology Experts Digitalize Their Sales

The Challenge: Make Complex Drilling Machines Easy to Understand

In the past, when William Aller, Vice President of Sales at TEI Rock Drills, wanted to visit a customer, he had a dilemma: the hydraulic drilling equipment of the company is complex, needs explanation and, most of all, is heavy. To transport machines that weigh several tons to customer visits or trade shows was expensive. It was also a large logistics effort and bad for the environment.

"Our challenge was to present our technically sophisticated products without having them physically on site," explains Aller. "Traditional methods such as brochures or product videos simply could not show correctly how our machines work and what advantages they have."

TEI Rock Drills already had detailed CAD models from product development. But until then, the company could not use this data efficiently for sales and marketing. The company needed a solution that:

• Could use the existing CAD data without complex rework
• Would run on standard devices such as tablets
• Would also work at the customer site without an internet connection
• Could visualize the complex functions of the drilling equipment clearly

The Solution: The Digital Twin in Sales

After an evaluation of different options, TEI Rock Drills chose the Vuframe digital platform. "What convinced us was the combination of easy operation and the option to use our existing CAD data directly," says Aller.

From CAD Model to Interactive 3D Experience

The implementation process started with the conversion of the existing CAD data into optimized 3D models. Because of automated processes, this took only a few days. This is much faster than conventional manual methods, which often take weeks.

The Vuframe digital platform converted the complex CAD data into lightweight, interactive 3D models that run on standard tablets and smartphones. The integrated know-how protection was important for TEI: you cannot reverse the 3D models into the source data. So there is no risk that technical details get into the wrong hands.

Augmented Reality Brings the Machine to the Customer

The core of the solution for TEI Rock Drills is the option to present its products with augmented reality at the customer site.

The AR function is a real game changer

With the Vuframe Copilot App, the sales representative can place the "TEI hydraulic drifter" virtually on the construction site and show it at full size.

"The AR function is a real game changer," says a sales representative from daily practice. "When I can put the drill attachment virtually next to the customer's excavator, and the customer sees directly how the equipment fits together, this gives a completely different understanding than any brochure or video."

The reactions of the customers are positive throughout. Many are surprised when they can suddenly "see the machine in front of them", complete with all details and functions. You must not underestimate the wow effect, confirms Aller: "We have customers who call in colleagues when we show our AR presentation."

The Result: More Efficient Sales

After the introduction of the Vuframe solution, TEI Rock Drills saw measurable improvements in different areas:

Lower Transport and Logistics Costs

The most obvious advantage is the saved cost for the transport of heavy machines. At trade shows, the company could only present a few selected products in the past. Now TEI shows its complete portfolio, on a much smaller area and at a fraction of the costs.

Better Customer Conversations

The better product presentation has noticeably shortened the sales cycles. Because of the intuitive 3D visualization and the interactive function displays, customers understand faster how the products work and what value they add.

"In the past, we often needed several conversations to explain the advantages of our products," says Aller. "Today, the customer has the 'aha moment' already at the first meeting. This saves time and increases our success rate."

More Areas of Use

What started as a sales solution now has more fields of application. The "TEI-SmartVu®", as the company calls its digital product presentation, is now also used in other areas:

• Technical training: maintenance and service technicians get training with the interactive 3D models. This reduces the training costs.
• Customer service: when there are technical problems, service employees can demonstrate the solution on the 3D model.
• Product development: the team can collect customer feedback directly on the 3D model and use it in the development of new products.

Digitalization in Mechanical Engineering: More Than Just Nice Pictures

The TEI Rock Drills case is a clear example of how digitalization in mechanical engineering can bring concrete economic advantages. Especially for products that need explanation, the combination of interactive 3D models and augmented reality gives new options for product communication.

Roman Grow, project manager at Vuframe, summarizes it like this:

"What makes us especially happy about the TEI project is the seamless integration into daily sales work. The team actually uses the solution every day. For us, that is the true measure of success."

More and more mobile devices have AR capabilities. This makes such solutions attractive for more and more companies in mechanical engineering. At the same time, automated CAD-to-3D conversion processes lower the entry barriers, because you no longer need expensive 3D specialists.

Long-Term Strategy: The Digital Twin as a Company Asset

For TEI Rock Drills, the implementation of the Vuframe solution is part of a long-term digitalization strategy. The company maintains the digital twins of its products continuously and uses them for more and more new use cases.

"Today, we see our 3D models as a strategic company asset," explains Aller. "They are no longer only marketing material. They are the basis for many different digital applications, from product presentation and training to service and support."

In the future, the company plans to also use the solution to integrate live sensor data. Then customers could not only see the machine in 3D, but also monitor its operating data in real time. This is one more step toward a comprehensive digital twin.

Conclusion: Proven Digitalization in Mechanical Engineering

The TEI Rock Drills case shows how machine builders can get a large effect with relatively little effort. Instead of complex IT projects, the company chose a proven platform solution. It was quick to implement and added value immediately.

The core advantages at a glance:

• Cost savings because fewer heavy machines must be transported
• More efficient sales through better product presentation
• More areas of use in training, service and development
• Fast implementation without complex IT projects
• Future-proof through continuous platform updates

For mid-sized machine builders such as TEI Rock Drills, this type of practical digitalization is especially attractive: a manageable investment, fast results and concrete competitive advantages. The cost-benefit ratio is right.

About TEI Rock Drills
TEI Rock Drills is a leading manufacturer of excavator attachments, rock drill components and drilling equipment for locations that are difficult to access. The company has its headquarters in the USA and supplies customers in the construction, mining and exploration industries worldwide.

About Vuframe
Vuframe is a leading system provider for 3D solutions in mechanical engineering. Since 2011, we have digitalized product communication with state-of-the-art 3D technology. As a full-service partner, we offer everything from single projects to company-wide solutions with a cloud-based platform for marketing, sales and technical documentation.

Summary

TEI Rock Drills, a leading manufacturer of excavator attachments and drilling equipment, had a classic challenge in mechanical engineering: how can you present products that need explanation convincingly, without transporting them physically to the customer? With the Vuframe digital platform for mechanical engineering, TEI could convert its CAD planning data into interactive 3D models and AR experiences. The result: significantly lower transport and presentation costs, and at the same time better customer consultation.