RV supplier Patrick Industries, Inc. unveiled its new design tool, “The Experience,” earlier this week at its headquarters in Elkhart, Indiana.
The company calls the first-of-its-kind space a collaborative digital design studio that enables customers to craft a custom RV in real time, prototype at full scale, and make faster, more efficient decisions.
Patrick Vice President of Sales Sarah Williams said, at the heart of The Experience, is a 50-by-14-foot LED virtual reality screen, designed and installed by one of Patrick’s independent brands.
The screen is large enough to display full-size RVs at 1:1 scale, features an aspect ratio of 10:3 and 1.2-millimeter pixel pitch.
“It’s more than just the screen. The screen is one aspect of it, but The Experience is everything,” Williams said. “That is why we call it The Experience. If you had to sum up this whole thing into one word, it is an experience.”
Patrick said the screen is optimized for brightness, color accuracy, and heat control, mirroring real-world detail while enabling teams to collaborate in a comfortable, cinematic environment.
“Designers and customers can instantly adjust materials, colors, finishes, floorplans and lighting,” the company said, “then capture high-quality renders, cutaways and 360-degree walkthroughs in real time, enabling faster decision-making and improving time to market.”
Patrick CEO Andy Nemeth said the virtual process reduces costs by reducing physical prototyping.
“The Experience reflects our commitment to enhancing customer service, value and our partnership through innovation and forward-thinking excellence,” Nemeth said. “This immersive and collaborative environment represents an exciting advancement in how we showcase Patrick’s products and capabilities.”
The Experience also marks the debut of Patrick’s Digital Twin process which involves Patrick’s design team digitally scanning physical materials and products.
Using large format 2D color scanners, HP Captis material scanners and blue laser surface scanners, the Digital Twin process captures texture, finish, color and dimension.
It then creates highly accurate three-dimensional virtual replicas that behave exactly like their real-world counterparts.
Patrick President Jeff Rodino said the result is a digital environment where every surface, material and product delivers the same precision customers expect from the manufacturing floor.
“We recognize that our industries are evolving beyond traditional design methods,” Rodino said, “and we have set out to create a smarter, more efficient and cost-effective way to develop and design for today’s customer.”
