What manufacturing company hasn't faced unnecessary rework, confusion on the shop floor and thus missed delivery dates? The cause can repeatedly be traced to unclear, ambiguous documentation often found in 2D drawings. Help is at hand, fortunately. An evolving solution for authoring product definition and design intent, sourced at the CAD models, is gaining recognition.
Read MoreA common need is to manage data and support processes. The data portion includes product data, their rules/options/constraints and associated documents such as 3D CAD used in the design automation aspect of CPQ. For processes, this implies mechanisms to move a quote through the various functional areas of the business such as engineering, finance, manufacturing, planning, purchasing, etc. Together, managing data and facilitating processes are the very heart of PLM.
Read MoreLast year Aras was the first PLM vendor to provide embedded CAD to 3D PDF conversion capabilities. It is now an inherent part of the Aras Innovator PLM for subscribers and enables users across the enterprise to view all formats of product data in a single, common user interface without buying additional software. As a result, there is no need for a separate visualization tool. One of the powerful 3D tools available in the Adobe Reader is the 3D measurement tool. Anyone with Adobe Reader XI can easily measure and markup rich engineering data saved in the 3D PDF file format.
Read MorePLM inherently touches multiple departments and areas of responsibility. It can start at sales, but at a minimum will involve engineering, planning, production and segments of manufacturing. If your responsibilities are in engineering, then getting other departments to buy-in can be challenging. Executive sponsorship cuts across these boundaries. So, the real question is “how do I get the bosses to buy-in?” The short answer is, in part, by identifying the business values at the P&L level. PLM values can be tied to one or all of three areas on the P&L: revenues, cost of goods sold (CoGs) and overhead. Thus, doing more for less will most likely be found in CoGs and overhead.
Read MorePeter Schroer, the Aras CEO and Founder, recently penned a compelling article that contrasts the irony that exists for many manufacturers today. He notes that sophisticated design technologies are used for 3D CAD, analysis and simulation, and DMU (digital mock-up) work. Yet, to manage the resulting data, manual steps, paper, email, Excel, Lotus Notes, DropBox, FTP, and homegrown systems are used.He refers to these design technologies as the "science of engineering." He further states, "Leaving other critical processes, including software, electronics, requirements, process planning, technical publications and quality – the "business of engineering" – is disconnected and underserved." It's the contrast between the "science of engineering and the "business of engineering."
Read MoreBy Ben Desmarais, vdR Group Senior Implementation Manager
I’ve been doing PLM solutions for nearly two decades now. Crafting workflow solutions are essential for most any implementation effort. I was recently involved in designing and configuring workflow processes for a project, and a couple of things occurred that prompted me to want to share some thoughts.
First, lifecycle stages go hand-in-hand with workflows. Think of workflows as moving a collection of items through a process. As an item moves through the process, it is likely to change states. For example, if an item is being changed, then once a change process is activated for that item, the lifecycle state might be assigned to “work-in-process” or WIP...
Read MoreMartin: Before we start, give us a quick background of your experience and what you are responsible for today.
Lopa: I’m a mechanical engineer by education, and I have been in PLM and the enterprise software space for my whole career. I started in services with SDRC Metaphase and then moved to Aspect Development/i2 in their supplier relationship management area. I gained great experience in both services and presales working with utility companies, high-tech, apparel, retail, industrial and the auto industry. Prior to joining Aras, I spent a number of years at Siemens PLM working with Teamcenter.
Read MoreRequirements Management is another one of our applications that pairs with Aras Innovator and is part of the subscription model. Its primary capabilities are twofold. You can create individual requirements and requirement documents that are a collection of requirements. Typically, you are generating a requirements document or documents as you are designing a product or perhaps documenting regulatory requirements. That is the type of usage we see from our various customers.
Read MoreAutodesk Vault was used for the CAD workgroup. Once designs were released, renditions were manually created and then loaded into SharePoint. The bills we exported to a spreadsheet and manually entered into their ERP solution. Purchasing would go to SharePoint to access and print the rendered drawings. These would be associated to purchase orders.
Read MoreIf we look at ERP and PLM, we can see some parallels in their development and maturity. Before ERP there was MRP, or material requirements planning, which was strictly the core modules necessary to plan material requirements, quantities, inventories and due dates. Properly structured bill of materials for manufacturing planning purposes or what’s now called the M-Bomb were critical along with inventory accuracy. Then, as a broader set of applications began to emerge, the name ERP or enterprise resource planning took hold. This now includes CRM, financials, HR, and many other applications meant to run the business.
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