Author: CADDZOOM

PDM and PLM Systems Triggering CAD’s Engineering Efficiency

CADDZOOM

With CAD technology taking over product design and processing in most of the industries, CAD data has become a key component.Security, access and efficient integration of CAD data is one of the primary concerns for industries that use CAD technology for product design and development. Efficient management of CAD data supports a wide range of downstream processes such virtual prototyping, work instructions as well as technical publications.

PDM and PLM are the terms that come into picture when there arrived a need to store and process CAD data when CAD/ CAM was new and the drawings were required to be put somewhere. Storing the CAD/ CAM information was a bit challenge as it was mandatory to put together all the product data at a single location.This laid the seeds for Product data Management (PDM) in the mid 80’s.

Another term that relates to CAD data management is Product Lifecycle Management (PLM).The PLM conceptsdeals with the product entire lifecycle management.It encapsulates the complete process of a product development- right from building the concepts- to prototyping phase- to the manufacturing phase.

Difference between PDM and PLM

PLM can be said as the evolutionary process for Product Data Management (PDM).PDM is a file-based system that is used to manage data for 3D models of physical objects. The PDM system efficiently manages file data and relationships by Creating, Editing or moving them. On the other hand, PLM is a database system for managing products and processes comprising of all disciplines such as Product Management, Product Design, Production, Quality, Marketing, Test Engineering,etc. PLM ensures a complete, approved and locked- down product configuration.

Increased Security and Contro over Products and Processes

All design, engineering, product development, and manufacturing organizations have moved towards an automated solution to manage, utilize and leverage 3D CAD design data in the recent years. And for this,they need both PDM as well as a PLM solution for efficient data management and processing. In fact, all PLM systems use some form of PDM as the underlying data foundation on which they operate.

With more and more companies migrating from 2D to 3D CAD systems for their primary product development platform, PDM has grown to become one of the necessities for the manufacturers. The shift of product development through 3D CAD have produced many benefits such as,

• Reduced Cycle Time
• Quality Improvement
• Cost Saving, and
• Accelerated Innovation

Engineers are generating greater volumes of data by becoming more productive with a 3D system. These 3D files contain a varied collection of references, associations, and interrelationships that link them to other files such as operational parts, bills of materials, drawings, assemblies, multiple configurations, documentations, NC Programming, etc.This is thereason the engineers must have a reliable system to manage, preserve and safeguard these files and their respective links.

The use of 3D CAD no doubt increases the volume and complexity of product design data, and requires a capable PDM application to prevent data corruption, file overwriting, loss of data and costly data errors.PDM and PLM systems help product developers automate workflow process boosting the work productivity. This results in faster product time-to-market, shorter development cycles, reduces development costs and an efficient product design.

Efficient Data Processing

For organizations and manufacturers that need to design, produce, source and distribute products around the world, having a single source to manage all the information and processes is essential. PDM and PLM solutions are the way to achieve this. These systems have become a single source of truth to manage all aspects of the product development life cycle.

CAD professionals that work in the manufacturing sector are required to compete globally, push designs intothe market quicker and perform more in a relatively less budget. In this competing economy, where every day and every dollar counts, PDM and PLM tools and technologies have become more valuable than ever.

Collaborative workflow and designs with PLM and PDM shortens R&D cycles, reduces design time, and gives professionals and firms a competitive edge. Some of the key benefits PDM and PLM solutions offer are:

1.Secure Data Management

4PDM systems ensure secured data management for the organization.PDM systems efficiently captures and manages product information. This system makes sure that the information is delivered to the users throughout the product lifecycle in the correct context. The PDM systems handle file ownerships, version control, release status and revision management. PDM’s security and administrative functionalities protects intellectual property rights through the project- based security, role management, and associated access privileges.

 

2. Shorter Time to Market

7PLM shortens product development by centralizing control over data. This makes the design teams to work faster accelerating the transfer of design data to production. PLM solutions ensure faster product development and shorter time to market offering a competitive edge for the organizations.

 

 

 

3. Drive Innovation

5PDM and PLM solutions allow companies that work in CAD to increase their level of innovation without compromising on their flexibility or agility. The product teams are able to work together regardless of their physical location to create the best solutions and final product designs. As there are many CAD tools that are dedicated to developproduct designs, the PLM solutions are making it simpler to achieve industry standards.

 

 

4. Configuration Management

An efficient PDM system offers the visibility that is necessary to manage and present a complete Bill of Materials (BOM).This facilitates the alignment and synchronization of all the sources of the BOM data with lifecycle phases. These lifecycle visualizations offer sharing and on-demand representations of the product and its underlying assemblies and parts.

5. Increased Productivity

Organizations which do not have PLM system will experience a rapid rise in the industry standards and time efficiencies in product development once it is installed. The PLM systems eradicate time- consuming activities. PLM systems also cut down the processing errors or any associated reworks that arecaused by using outdated technology.

6. Process Enablement

PDM systems help improve workflow and process capabilities.This helps both internal product teams and external partners to participate actively in the product development life cycle. The PDM systems can contributeto establish, manage and execute automated workflow-driven process for CAD tools.

Data Processing with CAD Tools

Efficient 3D CAD tools made manufacturing organizations to shift from 2D to 3D methods of product design and development.The organizations, thus needed an automated solution to manage, utilize and leverage 3D CAD design data. PDM solution, such as the SolidWorks Enterprise PDM has brought a complete change in the PDM paradigm by creating an efficient, easy to use, and affordable solution to meet the PDM needs of any mainstream product design and development organization.

CAD Professionals who benefit from the PDM system include project managers, sales people, engineers, quality assurance teams, and buyers. The PDM system allows companies to:

• Quickly find the correct data
• Reduce cycle time and Improve Productivity
• Reduce Development errors and costs
• Meet business and Regulatory Requirements
• Facilitate collaboration between global teams
• Offer the visibility needed for informed business decision-making

Powerful PDM and PLM capabilities ensures that everyone accesses the correct information, maintaining the correct order and in the correct format. Use of these concepts avoids errors and eliminates unnecessary delays making information accessible anywheresupporting product development.

Image courtesy: www.talisenintl.com // www.linkedin.com //ctmprojectsblog.wordpress.com//

Worldwide CAD Trends 2016

CADDZOOM

The Business Advantage Group – the IT, software and telecom industry research specialist, announced its Worldwide CAD Trends 2016 Survey, specific to Concurrent Engineering. The survey results are based on responses from CAD users, Designers, Engineers, Professionals including managers and senior executives.

Concurrent engineering, also known as simultaneous engineering, is a method of designing and developing products, in which the different stages run simultaneously, rather than consecutively. It decreases product development time and also the time to market, leading to improved productivity and reduced costs. For Concurrent Engineering the growth predicted in the 2015 report did not materialize – usage has remained flat (19%-18%) through 2015. Users continue to rate its Importance highly – it is the 6th most important CAD trend from the survey. However users continue to predict growth – 33% this year (from 18% to 24% usage) and 72% within 5 years (from 18% to 31%).

Awareness of Concurrent Engineering is 52% in large companies, 45% in medium sized companies and 39% in small companies. Similarly, Usage is highest in North America (21%) compared to EMEA (16%) or APAC (14%). The leading reason given for not using Concurrent Engineering was incompatibility with existing systems which is obviously a prerequisite for multiple users working on a single model real-time.

The top 10 leading software tools by market share are listed below. The highest market share for a single software solution is just 12% and there is no clear market leader, although from a vendor point of view Autodesk leads with 5 of the top 10 software solutions!

• Design Review 12% (17% of Autodesk users also use Design Review)
• Vault 11% (16% of Autodesk users also use Vault)
• Navisworks 11% (mainly in AEC at 21%, 15% of Autodesk users also use Navisworks)
• Windchill 8% (mainly in manufacturing at 12%, 42% of PTC CAD users also use Windchill)
• A360 8% (mainly in AEC at 12%, 11% of Autodesk users also use A360)
• Teamcenter 7% (mainly in manufacturing at 14%, 42% of Siemens CAD users also use Teamcenter)
• ProjectWise 4% (mainly in AEC at 7%, 38% of Bentley users also use ProjectWise)
• Buzzsaw 5% ( 7% of Autodesk and 6% of PTC users also use Buzzsaw)
• Enterprise PDM 4% (mainly in Manufacturing at 6%, 12% of Dassault users also use Enterprise PDM
• ProjectWise 4% (mainly in AEC at 7%, 38% of Bentley users also use ProjectWise)

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Image courtesy: www.business-advantage.com

The Three Dimensional Internet of Things Information Changing Lives

CADDZOOM

The Internet of Things involves connecting devices or gadgets over the internet to transfer data through a unique identifier or an IP number. Much of the rise in IoT communication comes from computing devices and embedded sensor system used in smart energy grids, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, vehicle to vehicle communication, home and building automation and wearable computing devices.

Internet of Things has even changed the lifestyle right inside our homes, making many applications automated and adding an exceptional level of comfort to our nests. IoT uses a multidimensional architecture as a key driver creating value for the Home IoT.

Catering to the Dynamic Needs of the Home Environment

A typical home environment cannot be said as static, there are people moving around- inside and outside of the house. They use different areas and facilities of the home such as Microwave, Washing Machines, etc. Therefore, the IoT architecture of a home must be structured and focused around its primary users- its inhabitants- rather than the devices used by them.

For the success of the IoT architecture in a home, it is important to efficiently manage the conflicting demands of all the occupants. For example, one person prefers a high room temperature, whereas, the other like it a bit low. Or, one person wants to enter the home while the other is asleep, in this case, the IoT can scan for security and allow him or her to enter into the house without waking up the other. To efficiently manage such scenarios, the devices connected via the IoT architecture must be capable enough. We can state that the IoT architecture should ideally be based on three dimensions- People, Activities and moments of the day.

Meeting Unique Lifestyle Needs

IoT for home systems cannot be based upon the interaction of a single person with the array of devices. Rather, a home occupies a number of people with their unique lifestyles. The Home IoT architecture systems should be strengthened by taking into account the personal preferences of all possible inhabitants.

People living in a home may vary in age groups- they can be senior citizens, middle aged people with kids and the toddlers. A home may also occupy friends and children of friends often or occasionally. An efficient IoT architecture should be capable enough to meet each and every needs of the people. Such as temperature control for seniors and toddlers. Tracking toddlers as they play unattended. Locking certain rooms when guests are home. Securing play stations from the children of friends and much more.

Controlling Multiple Activities

An efficient IoT system in a home should consider, monitor and track all the activities that take place in a home. Daily activities can be cooking, cleaning, watching television, studying, doing the laundry, playing games etc. The IoT architecture should be efficient enough to manage all these activities as they can take place one at a time or all together at the same time by different people.

In terms of the IoT architecture, the challenge of this technology lies in establishing combinations of activities that can be allowed at a same time or are even not allowed at all, as well as desirable inclusive and mutually exclusive activities.

One such example can be, disabling music players or televisions while an automated vacuum cleaner is in operations, as it is no point in listening to them or watching them as the noise from the vacuum cleaner can drawn the sound of TV and music speakers.

Aligning to the Daily Routine

There is defined routine a home follows throughout the day, starting from waking up in the morning, to the night’s sleep. Also, two people living in one home may have different needs and routines. A best IoT structure should work in context to the everyday routine a home follows according to the requirements depending on the time of the day.
The structure starts working as people leave for work or school, the house is relatively in a dormant state with only security devices active. The activity of the house increases only during certain times of a day. Also, change in routine during weekends or holiday can add an additional layer of complexity in the architecture. The IoT structure is efficient enough to manage these changes with routines during the course of time.

Addressing the Living Context

It is very important for a good IoT architecture to map the people, activities and moments of the day to create a functional three- dimensional model of the home. This model provides a living context, from which discrete or multi-faceted sub groups or relationships can be identified.

The living context can be imposed on living areas as well as devices. Each interaction with the devices must have a certain rules that must be followed. Additionally, the whole architecture also has a supported central hub to control all devices. All the new devices must be connected to this device to bring them into action for the home IoT architecture.

Developing the Winning Home Environment

A home can be turned into a complete IoT system only if the architecture revolves around the people who lives in the house. Focused human interaction and a good design are paramount factors for an efficient IoT structure. In the absence of these elements, users will be left with a series of devices that barely connect and telling people what they already know. Economy, efficiency, security requirements should also be engineered and designed against the three dimensional model to create highly relevant solutions.

As the internet has changed everyday lives of people making communication easier and flexible, IoT will transform people’s lives to a great extent and in a more proudly way than the internet itself.

A decade from now, people will be dependent on knowledge derived from the continuous stream of data from our smart home devices or wearable gadgets. The concept of IoT will help us to make better and informed, more accurate and more timely decisions that will undoubtedly improve our lifestyle.

 

Image courtesy: www.3dprintingindustry.com // www.ableofficesystems.ie
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3D Printing Paving Paths for Bright Future

CADDZOOM

Every other day a new miracle makes it to the news, 3D printers built a bridge, 3D printers made prosthetics, 3D printed organs soon going to hit the medical world, and many more. Though, are the 3D printers really such a big hype? Yes, it is! 3D printers have made possible many things that we thought could not be achieved not to mention, this technology has reduced the efforts and time put into building many things. With each successive day, manufacturers are looking forward to more customized products may it be machinery parts, ornamental commodities or even clothes and jewelry.

3D Printing and Progress Made So Far

There is no doubt that a big chunk of products that we are going to come across in the near future will be 3D printed. According to a report by Wohler’s the transition taking place from 2013 to 2018 will mark an increase in revenue generated by 3D printing industry from $3.07 billion to $12.8 billion and is expected to cross the mark of $21 billion by the year 2020. With low acquisition cost, comparatively less training and tremendous potential, manufacturers are realizing the extent of profits that can be made using 3D printers.

Tapping into the Potential of 3D Printers

The reason why 3D printing is expected to grow like wildfire is its development time. 3D printers make it exceptionally easy to develop an idea and materialize it by using a 3D printer making the manufacturing process time really short leading to more products being developed in a relatively less amount of time. The main potential of 3D printers lies in materializing things from our imagination. If you can think it, prototype it, you can build it. This provides an edge to customization with low risk involved and dealing with failure of the product at a cheap cost.

Growth and Job Prospects

Owing to the predicted giant inclination in revenue generated by additive manufacturing, it is proportionately expected that job scopes will follow suit hand in hand. With the 3D printing industry growing at a rapid rate of 14%, it will require people to cater to the high rising demand for job profiles like 3D design, 3D CAD modeling, research and development, biological and scientific modeling, architecture and construction modeling, education, legal professions, 3D printing as a service franchise, and many more. According to Forbes, the number of jobs with 3D printing in its profile has increased by 1834% in just 4 years, no industry yet has witnessed such a boom. Undoubtedly, we are going to witness a lot of job scope in additive manufacturing in the years to come.

Image courtesy: www.3dprintingindustry.com // www.ableofficesystems.ie
Image courtesy: www.techhelpboston.com // www.simacor.com // fr.fotolia.com

Trending Engineering Degree Courses for 2016

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Every year over 13 l6akh students appear for the JEE Mains Entrance Examination, making it one of the largest entrance exams globally. The most common dilemma among engineering aspirants is, about the “Best Engineering Branch” to choose. Basically, what matters in choosing your branch is your personal interest and aptitude for that particular branch. Some of the trending Engineering courses to go for in 2016 can be:

Computer Science and Engineering / Information Technology

Software Engineering is, undoubtedly, one of the most leading branches in Engineering. This branch offers highly paid packages than any other branch along with ample of overseas job opportunities. If you have a keen interest in the field of software development, mobile development or database systems, you should definitely go for this branch.

Electrical and Electronics Engineering

Electrical and Electronics Engineering is considered one of the evergreen branches of engineering. Students in this course learn about generation and transmission of electrical power, electronics, electrical circuit design, instrumentation, control systems, etc. The government sector generates a number of job opportunities with high packages in industries such as- railways, steel factories, etc.

Mechanical Engineering

Mechanical Engineering is one the oldest branch of engineering. This field always has opportunities despite of the changing market trends and technologies. This involves designing, analysis, manufacture and maintaining machines. This branch also offers ample job opportunities and high salary packages as a candidate move up the hierarchy of an organization.

Civil Engineering

Civil Engineering is all about construction and buildings. This course can include study areas such as Fluid Mechanics, Soil Mechanics, Design of Structures, and Structural Mechanics. As a civil engineer, you will be building tunnels, roads, bridges, towers, canals, dams, seaports, airports, etc. Civil engineers, also works best in the government sector and are offered high posts and payments.

Chemical Engineering

Chemical Engineering is one the newest evolved branch of engineering. It was not considered as a branch, but factors such as Global Warming and its consequences, causing environmental issues raised this field of study as important. In the 4 year course of engineering, you will study Polymers, Chemicals, Petroleum and Pharmaceuticals along with the basics of Computer Science and Information Technology needed in the development of chemical engineering process.

Apart from the above engineering fields, there are other equally popular and relevant branches such as Industrial and Production Engineering, Instrumentation and Control Engineering, Bioengineering, Biotechnology, Aeronautical Engineering, etc.

All the top-notch engineering colleges and Universities in India and abroad offer powerful courses. Any of them can be picked up as per your interest and caliber.