NKK Switches Increases Sales by Adding PARTsolutions’ 3D Part Catalogs to Distributor Websites

Milford, OH – July 28, 2011 – PARTsolutions, LLC, a global provider of 3D part catalogs for manufacturers and enterprises, and NKK Switches, the world’s leading designer and manufacturer of electromechanical switches, today announce that NKK has made single-click 3D CAD model links of its switches available on the websites of top electronic components distributors Digi-Key and Mouser Electronics, in order to make 3D CAD more accessible to the engineering community.

“At NKK we are committed to providing user-friendly tools to engineers to help facilitate the selection of NKK’s quality and innovative switches,” said Mark Wuolle, marketing manager, NKK Switches. “Offering a 3D part catalog with single-click 3D CAD models on leading distributor websites ensures our customers have the tools they need to be both efficient and effective. What’s more, we have more than doubled our CAD downloads in the past six months and continue to deliver more than 65 percent of these downloads in native CAD and graphics formats, confirming the need for native CAD data and the selection of
PARTsolutions as our strategic partner.”

Powered by PARTsolutions since 2007, NKK’s library of 3D CAD models is one of the industry’s largest, containing more than 500,000 switch models, including the popular, programmable OLED switches and displays. Now, engineers can download part number-specific models directly from corresponding Digi-Key and Mouser product web pages — with only the click of a mouse. The integration makes obtaining part number-specific 3D models of NKK switches as simple as downloading a data sheet, saving engineers
substantial resources.

“Digi-Key is pleased to promote NKK Switches’ 3D CAD models on our global websites,” said Jeff Shafer, Vice President of Global Interconnect, Passives, and Plectromechanical Products. “Offering the vast selection of models that NKK has to offer in this innovative way exemplifies how Digi-Key does business in an increasingly Internet-based world.”

“Partnering with NKK to offer single-click 3D CAD model links is another way Mouser is helping engineers get the technical information they need to push their designs to market faster,” said Kevin Hess, vice president of Technical Marketing at Mouser Electronics,. “Mouser is dedicated to supplying our customers with the most complete product information, and we see 3D modeling as a valuable resource for engineers sourcing our expansive line of NKK products.”

Digi-Key and Mouser Electronics offer 3D CAD models for the majority of NKK’s full product line, including the popular, programmable OLED switches and displays. Other switch types include pushbuttons, toggle switches, rocker switches, tactiles, slides, rotaries, keylocks, tilt, and surface mount devices. Both current and prospective customers can graphically configure components with the sizes, features, and colors they need. Once configuration is complete, the system creates high-quality, native CAD data — including accurate NKK part numbers — which can be downloaded in 3D native CAD and instantly inserted into designs. These capabilities eliminate the need to manually draw standard parts and greatly increase design productivity.

NKK 3D CAD models are available in over 150 native and neutral CAD and graphics formats, versions, and revisions, including all popular native CAD file formats such as CATIA®, Autodesk Inventor®, Pro/ENGINEER®, SolidWorks® and UGNX®, as well as universal file formats such as STEP, IGES, SAT and others. More than 90 percent of the company’s pushbuttons, toggle switches, rocker switches, tactiles, slides, rotaries, keylocks, tilt, surface mount, and SmartSwitch product lines are available as 3D CAD models in the catalog.

“As the first manufacturer of switches and pushbuttons to provide 3D native CAD models to its customers and distributors, NKK is further proving why it has been the leader in the manufacturing of miniature and illuminated switches for over half a century,” said Jay Hopper, president of PARTsolutions. “Their collaboration with PARTsolutions is yet another example of NKK’s commitment to innovation and customer experience.”