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“We are challenged with the perception that simulation should be easy,” Rouman said. In part, this is fed by how easy yet realistic today’s computer video games are. This perception produces an underestimate of how diffi cult it is to produce statistically realistic manufacturing solutions, despite the great strides in usability companies like Sie- mens and others have made. Dassault Systèmes, another large PLM supplier, also
off ers a digital manufacturing suite in its DELMIA brand. DELMIA digital manufacturing applications deliver simula- tions within ergonomics, machining, process planning and simulation, manufacturing management, manufacturing resources and robotics. “There is a lot you can achieve with digital manufactur-
ing,” said Patrick Michel, marketing VP of DELMIA Digital Manufacturing for the French fi rm. “We derive a lot of value tying digital manufacturing closely to the engineer- ing space. We are well known for CAD products like CATIA
aimed at bigger picture questions around manufacturing systems. The second is robotics, dedicated to the needs of robot programmers. The third is fabrication, which ad- dresses CAM and CNC machining and now includes addi- tive manufacturing. The fourth is ergonomics. An interesting observation Michel made is that even if
a simulation is used to build a factory, once built, it soon deviates from the ideal. There are a number of reasons, Michel said, including lack of priority in collecting data once the factory is built, along with added expenses. “We were once confi ned to adding value at the be- ginning of a program when things were created from scratch,” he said. In part to rectify getting relevant data later for simula- tions, DELMIA acquired two MES systems, Velocity Intercim and Apriso. “The idea was to connect and leverage that as- set we had in digital manufacturing to the actual operations
Simulation engineers use product and tool- ing geometry to vali- date robotic work cells and advanced robot processes in the im- mersive context of the 3D environment.
and SolidWorks, and we have derived a lot of value by tying our digital manufacturing off erings closely to the engineering side of our business. This is especially true of integrating changes, capturing them before, for example, tooling is built, or uncovering unbuildable conditions and rectifying it before substantial cost is incurred.” The total package includes discrete event simulations,
kinematics and ergonomics, allowing manufacturing engi- neers to review many facets of a factory system.
Tool-specifi c online community built Dassault is taking advantage of social media by building
DELMIA-specifi c communities online. Four in particular mirror how digital manufacturing is used. The fi rst is process planning and simulation, and it is
on the shop fl oor—bi-directionally,” Michel said. “We are working toward the ability to take any factory that is run- ning Apriso, take it off line and run simulations to plan how to improve it. The starting point then is what is happening on the shop fl oor right now, using actual data from Apriso.” This notion of actual data versus original specifi cation
extends to the physical layout, as well. Most models used to study and improve existing sys-
tems include incorporating data from 3D scanners and/or photographic data, Michel noted. “I see digital manufacturing moving out of a proverbial
dark cave, with a few users doing some super things for a larger audience,” he said. “It has become more visible to the larger organization than the manufacturing profession- als that use it.”
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Image courtesy Dassault Systèmes
March 2017
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