EWAKE, a visionary company in watersports, has made waves with its groundbreaking three-jet electric jet boards. With Solid Edge as a key ally, these innovative electric personal watercraft (PWCs) have swiftly become industry game-changers.
Founded by watersports enthusiast and CEO Peter Ruwe, EWAKE emerged from Peter’s passion for sailing, surfing, wakeboarding, and white-water kayaking. The company’s inception traces back to Peter’s purchase of a jet board in 2020, sparking the idea of electrifying watersports. Since then, EWAKE has evolved into an industrial production powerhouse, maintaining top-level quality standards through collaborations with industry leaders like Siemens.
The Jet Board Revolution
According to Ruwe, a jet board is a high-tech electric PWC that demands meticulous engineering and design. In contrast to traditional gasoline-fueled boards, EWAKE’s boards feature efficient batteries and brushless electric motors. Ruwe states, “What makes our boards special is that they are fully made of carbon; they are very light and the smallest and fastest boards on the market.” Notably, they stand out as the only manufacturer with boards equipped with three parallel jets, providing not just raw power but superior balance and handling. This design philosophy aligns with EWAKE’s motto, “greed for speed,” acknowledging that shorter boards often translate to faster rides.
Designing for Performance with the help of Solid Edge & Teamcenter Share
EWAKE faced challenges in designing boards that could withstand harsh saltwater conditions and meet high market standards. “In the beginning, we made the boards the traditional way by hand,” Ruwe explains. “But with the requirements of electric motors, development of batteries, and increased customer demand related to our carbon boards, professional tools became necessary for product development and production. We decided to use Solid Edge from Siemens.”
Solid Edge played a pivotal role in streamlining the entire development process, reducing the time to market from three months to just six weeks. The first step was to reverse-engineer the handcrafted board into a digital model. For that reason, Ruwe and his team generated a polygon model with a 3D scanner. “This so-called facet body needed to be transferred into a solid model. Solid Edge offers a whole set of tools to do this efficiently,” says Ruwe. Furthermore, Solid Edge provides a comprehensive solution for CAD modeling, wiring, flow simulation, and CAM.
Faserschmiede, a supplier supporting EWAKE in CAD design and production, produces the carbon fiber raw parts of the EWAKE boards. “For production and manufacturing, we used the Solid Edge CAD data provided directly in our own CAD and CAM software,” says Markus, owner of Faserschmiede. “With the help of Teamcenter Share, the team can coordinate and implement design changes with the customer at short notice.”
To ensure the boards’ performance before market release, EWAKE utilized Solid Edge’s FLOEFD for simulation. This allowed them to optimize their jet propulsion system, resulting in a 15% reduction in energy consumption. The ability to define rotation for each jet power box and simulate water flow contributed to a redesigned prop nozzle, enhancing speed and balance.
“A water sports product naturally benefits from being able to quickly pass on the experience gained from test runs to the development team. Especially when you’re working remotely on-site at the lake, Teamcenter Share is an ideal way to share your results,” adds Ruwe. “With the help of Solid Edge and Teamcenter Share, we realized customer requirements faster and reduced production times by 35%.”
The Future of EWAKE
EWAKE envisions a future filled with jet boards featuring noble designs incorporating real wood, maintaining high-tech standards. As clients seek unique, high-tech devices that stand out on and off the water, EWAKE continues to lead the way in innovative and sophisticated watersports.
In conclusion, EWAKE’s collaboration with Solid Edge has brought revolutionary electric jet boards to the market and showcased the power of technology in transforming watersports. As the industry continues to evolve, EWAKE stands as a testament to the success achievable through visionary design, innovative technology, and strategic partnerships.