So many welds, so little time… and that’s how long it takes to create them using NX Weld Assistant… very little time.

In addition to the weld types shown in the image above, you have the option to create custom weld types giving you the ability to model any type of weld possible.

One type of custom weld is an extension weld. This type of weld is started and stopped beyond the limits of the parts being welded as seen in the image below.

To create this weld, we will simply create a line weld in the usual way (see image below) and then use synchronous modeling + move face to grab and extend the face that makes up each end of the weld.

Key benefits to modeling welds in Cad include:

• Provides a key piece of information necessary for a complete Digital Twin.
• Mass properties inclusion (Weight and Volume).
• Easy to visualize.
• Easy to validate for correct location using Weld Advisor.
• Easy to convey information via a Drawing or PMI
• Available for inclusion into CAE analysis
• Available for process planning
• Available for robot programming
• Significant time savings compared to manual application of welds
• Having the ability to create and validate the welds in CAD ensures quality data is being sent to manufacturing thereby reducing the amount of rework.

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There is so much more to this command than welding. Not only is there a full range of weld types, but you can also model beads of adhesives, glue, and mastic as well as fasteners like rivets for example. Basically there are three categories in Weld Assistant for joining parts, they are: discrete welds, line welds, and adhesives. Normally a rivet is a type of fastener, but they are included as a custom weld in Weld Assistant.

In this post, let’s take a look at how to model rivets. We will create a custom spot weld to mimic a rivet. We will start by configuring a custom weld spot under File + Utilities + Customer Defaults.

• From the Customer Defaults window, select Weld Assistant + Point Locator and then select one of the Custom tabs.
• Set the Solid Display to Cylinder and give the custom Point Locator a name… Rivet for example.
• Set the other attributes accordingly, and then select OK to finish the configuration.

Now create a Rivet the same way you would create a Resistance Weld Spot.

• From the Weld Assistance command select Weld Point Wizard.
• From the Weld Point Wizard block:
  • Select your Method
  • Set the Type to the new custom Point Locator you just created (i.e. Rivet)
  • Select Next.

• Select the Face Sets and then select Next

• Select the points you want to create Rivets at and then select Next.

• Select Finish to place the Rivets.

If the Rivets don’t show up at first, then select the Solid Weld Point Display option.

Key benefits to modeling welds in Cad include:

• Provides a key piece of information necessary for a complete Digital Twin.
• Mass properties inclusion (Weight and Volume).
• Easy to visualize.
• Easy to validate for correct location using Weld Advisor.
• Easy to convey information via a Drawing or PMI
• Available for inclusion into CAE analysis
• Available for process planning
• Available for robot programming
• Significant time savings compared to manual application of welds
• Having the ability to create and validate the Rivets in CAD ensures quality data is being sent to manufacturing thereby reducing the amount of rework.

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Product and Manufacturing Information (PMI) consists of non-geometric data, that is attached directly to a 3D CAD model to define geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T), engineering and manufacturing specifications, dimensions, and text.  PMI is part of Model Based Definition (MBD) and together these two elements are a part of a Digital Twin.

Applying PMI to a 3D model can reduce or eliminate the use of 2D drawings and can be used downstream to perform tolerance analytics and coordinate-measuring machine (CMM) inspection.

PMI is a command within NX that gives you the ability to create/attach dimensions and annotations to define the 3D model, and requires model views similar to the views on a drawing.  These dimensions and annotations are associative to the 3D geometry, and if it is decided that a 2D drawing is required, then the PMI can be inherited from the 3D model and automatically applied to the drawing views.

We think of MBD and PMI as new technologies and 2D drawings as “old school,” but there are valid uses for a 2D drawing.  Given the ability in NX to quickly create 2D drawings with associative dimensions inherited from the 3D PMI… this gives you the best of both worlds.

The image below demonstrates what PMI looks like in a 3D model view, and the next image down demonstrates the inherited PMI in a 2D drawing view:

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NX Realize Shape is a powerful and intuitive subdivision design tool that makes use of primitive shapes to create concept design models.  In the image below you can see a sphere has been chosen, but there are a number of other shapes to select from such as cylinder or block to name a few.

These primitive shapes can be placed over top of background data like sketches or even art work similar to what you see in the image above.  When a primitive shape is created, a cage is automatically created that surrounds the shape.  The shape can be morphed into designs by transforming that cage.  By selecting on, and dragging the cage elements (lines or points), you can mold the shape to fit the background image.

 

As seen in the image above, you can split a face into smaller faces (subdivide) in order to create more cage elements. This gives you greater control of the cage anytime more detail is required in a given area of your design.

By selecting cage elements (lines or points) and dragging them up or down, left or right, the concept designer is able to morph a simple shape into a complex form in a relatively shorter period of time versus having to work with .

Why do we promote the use of Realize shape?

Simple, this model represents the birth of the digital twin.  This digital twin is then used for detailed design, documentation, validation, simulation, and all the way to traditional or additive manufacturing… all within a single unified environment like NX… means you are going to use trusted data from concept to manufacturing… without requiring conversion or translation, and this is going to shorten your innovation lifecycle, getting you from concept to market faster!

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What is ORTEMS? It is a production scheduling and planning technology that allows for optimized production of complex products

Does your engineering organization struggle with the following challenges?

1. Crucial engineering data in several different systems resulting in disconnected information
2. Manual processes that rely on human intervention
3. Multi CAD environment requiring translations and inefficient transactions
4. Lack of visibility of data for downstream consumers

If these challenges are something you face everyday, then you probably have considered a Product Data Management (PDM) system. This will store all your data in a single repository and help with automating workflows. But buying and implementing a PDM system seems costly and time consuming; how are you going to get started?

Teamcenter Rapid Start is the answer to all these questions. It is a preconfigured installation of Teamcenter with the following features:

1. By using preconfigured templates, the system is simple and fast to deploy
2. Best in class industry configurations to support engineering processes
3. Included training allowing users to quickly become familiar with the system
4. An implementation can be up and running to full productivity in two weeks

Lets have a look at all the components that make up a Teamcenter Rapid Start installation:

Multi-CAD and ECAD data management – Find, reuse and share data across a multi-CAD design chain

Teamcenter Rapid Start Multi-CAD data management capabilities enables you to effectively and efficiently manage, control and share MCAD data across the entire design and supply chain. Regardless of the CAD tools used, this environment provides you with a single view of product data as well as engineering processes and status. Teamcenter visualization extends this into an even more collaborative environment. Teamcenter handles all major CAD systems including NX, Solidworks, CATIA V5 and Autodesk Inventor.

Document management – Create and manage documents in conjunction with product development

Teamcenter Rapid Start includes standardized document management features so you can create and manage documents in conjunction with PDM processes and data.

Related documents are associated with products, and you can synchronize the attributes between documents and PDM.

Teamcenter Rapid Start delivers a standard integration with Microsoft Office to extend the scope and coverage to the desktops of numerous professionals and users outside of the Engineering department. This includes the managed creation and update of Technical Publications, process sheets, Customer Requirements, manufacturing set-ups, test specifications, and many other Document Management applications.

Simple process management – Preconfigured processes like design release and change, based on PDM best practices

Teamcenter Rapid Start provides you with basic workflow capabilities to streamline product development by automating and synchronizing processes. You can:

1. – Review, comment and approve/reject parts and documents
2. – Capture and audit date and timestamp information
3. – Manage cross-functional review teams (notifications, quorums, etc.)
4. – Automate vital business processes and reduce manual intervention

Preconfigured roles and functionality – Start quickly with best practices to automate everyday tasks across the business

Teamcenter Rapid Start offers preconfigured groups and roles with appropriate access permissions to simplify common tasks.

1. – The standard set of roles support the tasks done every day in an organization
2. – For example — start a new project, issue an ECO or review a design
3. – These tasks are easily started using a number of shortcut links in the “I Want to” area of the user interface.

Further, the tasks are automated by ‘Wizards’ to make them smooth and natural, and consistently repeatable in operation for reliable, efficient processes.

Teamcenter Rapid Start can get you up and running with PDM quickly by offering:

1. A single installation process for server and client results in in a fully configured environment ready to use
2. Standard organization and roles, preconfigured database, workflows, reports, security model, … so you have the capabilities you need as soon as you complete the installation
3. Ongoing updates and support are simple, fast and effective

The other huge advantage of Teamcenter Rapid Start is that it offers a seamless path to complete PLM – supported by Teamcenter, the industry leader in PLM systems.

Contact us today to learn more about Teamcenter Rapid Start and get started with improved data management.

Do any of the questions below apply to your organization:

• Do you own existing Dassault Systemes software products and are up to date with maintenance?
• Do you need to transform your digital engineering processes?
• Are you interested in implementing the true Digital Twin concept?
• Is the technology that you are using for Digital Product Definition out of date?
• Does your company have strategic initiatives like Lean Manufacturing, Flawless Launch, Model Based Engineering or similar?
• Is your company expanding or looking to put new products on the market?

If the answer to any of these questions is Yes, then you should be looking at the Customer Transformation Program (CTP) from Dassault Systemes.

Dassault Systemes  launched a Customer Transformation Program for 2019 which is designed to transform the businesses of all their existing customers. This is a limited-time sales initiative program starting January 21, 2019 and ending December 31, 2019.

The program offers existing customers a voucher that makes them eligible for a discount on qualified new purchases of software from Dassault Systemes extensive range of productivity enhancing solutions. Customers can earn up to 35% off purchase of qualified new software – an exciting incentive to get up to date with the latest technology.

The future focus of Dassault Systèmes is on the innovative 3DEXPERIENCE platform, a disruptive technology that can completely transform your business. As a result, the largest discounts are for platform products, on premise or in the cloud.

As an example, a customer may have an existing Dassault Systemes CATIA V5 software and his installed base entitles them to a voucher good for 35% discount on a new product up to an amount 0f $35,000. Assume a new opportunity arises and the customer requires SIMULIA to run advanced simulations. If the list price of what is required is $100,000, then this can be purchased for $65,000 by applying the voucher.

As a trusted advisor, Tata Technologies can help navigate through the CTP program. Dassault Systemes has been investing billions into innovative technologies and helping organizations face business challenges. Please engage us to discover how your business can be transformed.

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In the previous posts regarding PLM ROI ( Part 1, and Part 2, we introduced the hierarchy of strategic objectives, business targets and business costs. Examples were provided of all these categories.

In this post, lets look at some examples of how to calculate business costs and how savings can be derived from these. We will look at two examples: time searching for documents and manufacturing rework. The first example represents an efficiency gain and the second is a cost saving.

Time searching for documents or information

Assumptions:

• Burden rate for engineer = $70/hr
• Number of engineers = 120
• Hours per week = 40
• Weeks per year = 48
• Time spent looking for documents (before PLM) = 2 hrs/week
• Time spent looking for documents (after PLM) = 1.5 hrs/week

Cost:

• Before PLM – $806,400 (this is obtained by multiplying the first five quantities together)
• After PLM – $604,800 (this is obtained by multiplying the first four and the last quantities together)

Savings:

$201,600

Manufacturing Rework

Assumptions:

• Manufacturing Costs = $2,290,000,000
• Rework as a % of manufacturing costs = 1%
• % of rework costs resulting from engineering (before PLM) = 25%
• % of rework costs resulting from engineering (after PLM) = 20%

Cost:

• Before PLM – $5,725,000
• After PLM – $4,580,000

Savings:

$1,145,000

A few comments on these example calculations:

1. The majority of the business costs can be calculated using addition or multiplication
2. Efficiency gains are normally smaller than cost savings because of the nature of production centered businesses
3. Calculation of ROI for PLM can easily be handled in a spreadsheet; this can also be used to produce graphs

Of course, anyone looking at these calculations will immediately have two questions: what is the source of the raw data and how do you arrive at the savings?

Here are some suggestions for deriving the data required:

1. In the case of the time spent looking for documents, one can conduct interviews and ask participants to estimate the quantity
2. A more efficient way of doing this is by sending out a online survey to selected individuals
3. It is possible that IT have logs of various systems and can derive data on time spent in these systems
4. Manufacturing rework is often recorded in the official accounts of the organization and can be derived form this source
5. Alternatively, rework may be tracked on the shop floor to measure efficiency
6. In the case of savings, there are industry benchmarks available from research firms who track this information
7. Often, participants will be able to give ranges of what they think the savings will be
8. If an organization has an issue or quality tracking system, then this can be a useful source of data

Once all the savings are calculated, it is a matter of spreadsheet manipulation to produce results and graphs. Below is an example of a cash flow projection:

Tata Technologies has a complete suite of tools that can help with ROI calculations. Consult any of your contacts in our organization or email

info.americas@tatatechnology.com

In our previous blog post Does PLM Pay? Part 1, we set the stage for calculating PLM return on investment and defined the hierarchy of Strategic Objectives, Business Targets and Business Costs.

Lets look at an example of this hierarchy:

The strategic objective is reducing time to market. The example shows two ways this can be done:

1. Improving your bid response process will allow you to get back to potential customers quicker and speed up the overall time of enquiry to delivered product. PLM can certainly help with the bid response process by automating approval workflows, having all documents in one place and producing accurate BOM’s.
2. Once a customer order is received, the delivery of product will have to be managed by some sort of project management team. PLM can help here by providing a inclusive project management environment that coordinates a large team. Poor project management will result in overruns and increase time to market.

Given these business targets, we need to put actual costs against them. The example gives four savings to which we can attach costs:

1. Effort to process bids – it takes a time to respond to a bid request or query. In organizations that are dealing with complex products, this effort can be spread across multiple people (engineering, finance, manufacturing etc.) and can take a large amount of cumulative time. A cost can be attached to this. Any reduction in this cost as a result of implementing a PLM system will be a saving. Note this is an example of a efficiency gain (see Part 1).
2. Profit from additional bids – Assuming that a PLM system allows bids to be turned around more quickly and with greater accuracy, the organization can expect to be more successful with winning business. More bids can translate into additional revenue and profits. Profits can be viewed as negative costs and would contribute to an ROI as a subtraction from costs. Note that this is an example of cost savings (see Part 1).
3. Effort to manage programs – Often a product producing organization will have a separate function which focuses on managing programs and projects. (office of program management, Director of Programs etc.). If the process of managing programs could be improved by a PLM system, then the potential exists to have less program managers and save personnel costs. Note this is an example of a efficiency gain (see Part 1).
4. Late Penalties – Product delivered late to a customer can result in contractual late penalties, which are a direct expense to an organization. If we can improve project management by implementing PLM, this can prevent project overruns and late penalties. Note this is an example of a cost savings (see Part 1).

These four examples represent the 43 total business costs that can be impacted by a successful PLM implementation.

In Part 3 we will look at some examples of calculating actual costs.  For more information, email us at Info.Americas@tatatechnologies.com

Here is a scenario familiar to many PLM professionals:- a project is initiated to implement or enhance a PLM system within an organization. All the participants are excited and everybody can clearly see the benefits to processes, collaboration and data security. All the pieces are in place; pricing, implementation schedule, software requirements, training plan – down to the last detail.

The champion starts getting all the signatures required to issue the purchase order. VP of engineering – done. CIO – done. CAD manager – done.

Then the fateful moment arrives and the champion walks into the CFO’s office. The first question out of his mouth is “You want to spend this money! What’s the return on investment?” And there it stops.

So, how do you calculate an ROI for a PLM initiative? The remainder of this post and the follow on articles will give an answer to the question. Here are the various reasons why you would want to calculate an ROI for PLM:

1.  To justify the project to a Finance department (scenario above)
2. For presentation to a Board of Directors. If the project is substantial enough, this is a possibility
3. The object of the CFO is correct – a PLM project should result in real, quantifiable savings
4. Savings from the investment over a period of time will improve the organization’s competitiveness
5. Savings will allow for company expansion as improved cash flow can be invested in other areas

The approach relies on breaking down PLM impact areas into categories that align with business targets. Consider the following hierarchy:

The strategic objectives at the top of the pyramid are common to all companies and can be supported by PLM systems in one way or another. Of course, PLM is not the only contributor to these objectives as other business initiatives can help meet these goals. Supporting these strategic initiatives are 22 business targets (more on this in Part 2) which are further divided into 43 business cost (more on this in Part 3).

Before we start describing the targets and costs, a definition of the types of costs used in ROI calculations is needed. There are two categories of costs – referred to as efficiency gains and cost saving. The illustration below gives examples of this division

We will start looking at some specific targets in Part 2.   For more information, email us at Info.Americas@tatatechnologies.com