"Mitigating Risks to Model-based Definition Initiatives in Multi-CAD Environments," by Lifecycle Insights
Are you managing or building a Model-based Enterprise? Are you moving complex 3D CAD data across your supply chain?
You need assurance that product definitions and related updates are precisely understood by all the people and software that use it — all the way through manufacturing and inspecting parts.
This 7-page brief from Lifecycle Insights, "Mitigating Risks to Model-Based Definition Initiatives in Multi-CAD Environments," highlights pitfalls you may not have considered yet — and strategies for avoiding them.
"In today’s digitized world, organizations must overcome a handful of challenges to collaborate effectively across multiple CAD systems and formats across the entire value chain. This multi-CAD issue is not confined to the realm of the engineering department. Different companies as well as internal departments rely on various mechanical CAD and other applications that use an MBD.
In reality, multi-CAD interoperability is a complex undertaking, with the potential for inter-model differences. Various CAD, 3D viewing, and other applications calculate the fidelity of 3D models to different levels of precision. Furthermore, different applications do not define advanced surfaces in the same way, leaving no equivalent definition of a surface when moving an MBD from one application to another. The transfer may result in tiny, but important, differences between the resulting models.
When these problems are left unchecked, suppliers and customers often use diverging definitions for the manufacturing workflow and environment. This has a follow-on effect for the supplier, who may deliver parts that fail to meet the customer’s specifications. Massive disruptions can result, including costly delays, unnecessary waste and scrap, and many other detrimental issues that adversely affect the project."
On the Lifecycle Insights website, the company describes their mission: "...to help executives realize value from tech-led initiatives without disruption. We digitally publish research and thought leadership guidance, enabling better investment and deployment decisions."