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Digital manufacturing is a term that has been thrown around by software vendors and machine marketers for years, but it is only recently that it has become something that is available to almost anybody in the manufacturing supply chain. The rise of affordable software combined with the acceptance of the Internet means that many companies are doing digital manufacturing without fanfare and almost without noticing that their processes are evolving.8424
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Whoever you ask will give a slightly different definition of “digital manufacturing.” Based on responses from many people in the industry, here’s a definition: Digital manufacturing is the ability to describe every aspect of the design-to-manufacture process digitally—using tools that include digital design, CAD, Office documents, PLM systems, analysis software, simulation, CAM software and so on. The ideal is that the passage of data from one department or discipline to another should be seamless so that the data created is immediately reusable in a different discipline.
Where is it found?
The major automotive companies are already deeply invested in digital manufacturing with almost every process being digital rather than paper-based. But it has taken a long time for the digital process to mature into something usable and there have been some major barriers that have prevented digital manufacturing becoming a reality. Recent technology improvements are making digital manufacturing real to many, and many companies are using pieces of digital manufacturing without realizing it.
Digital manufacturing starts with being able to “draw” an idea into a computer. In a manufacturing environment, there exist huge productivity gains possible by having those ideas immediately in digital format. Tools that enable this include Alias’ StudioTools and also its Sketchbook Pro software. And while Alias StudioTools have a reputation of providing high-end software at high-end prices, versions of the sketching products are available for prices as low as $1,500.
Alias Sketchbook Pro, combined with a tablet, allows designers to literally sketch ideas immediately and convincingly on the computer. Any sketches can be easily made very realistic with Alias StudioTools and this software also enables the integration of 3D data with the 2D sketches to ensure that basic constraints are in place. This 2D sketch data can be rapidly converted to 3D for refinement.
Once the design ideas are in 3D, the data created can be easily transmitted into all major CAD systems for engineering work. Now the B-class surfacing, testing, collision check, bills of materials, and manufacturing instructions can be created rapidly without ever resorting to paper-based drawings. Further, all those documents can be managed through a PDM (Product Data Management) system (such as Softech’s ProductCenter) and Search-Powered PLM tools that make managing all related data a lot easier.
3D CAD in play
CAD data created in one system can now be viewed, used, and shared in another. Now, you can even go so far as to translate features and histories with the 3D data. Why is this important? Because the features and histories mean the 3D data is immediately usable.
“While 3D CAD data has been interoperable for some time, it wasn’t until feature data translation became a reality that the prospect of digital manufacturing became much stronger,” says Ken Tashiro, COO, Elysium Inc., provider of CAD data interoperability products. “Now everyone in the supply chain can receive and share 3D information that is accurate and usable.”
Screen capture of a 3D assembly being created in Cocreate’s OneSpace Designer Modeler CAD platform. This 3D data is now often sent out to suppliers, vendors, and consultants to enable rapid evaluation, testing, and quotation on a new product design.
Years ago, both FEA (finite element analysis) and CAM (computer-aided machining) were the true black arts of manufacturing. With products that devolved out of high-end academic research, these software products often needed highly-trained, highly-scientific minds, and a deep and healthy bank account.