Digital Manufacturing Happening Now

By Pamela J. Waterman

Perhaps the most interesting part of Delmia’s recent annual UsersConference in Dearborn, Michigan, wasn’t what was new, but what wasreported as “been there, already doing that” and not pie in the sky “weplan to it” ideas. The user presentations this reporter sawconsistently described how Dassault Systemes’ Delmia and Enoviasoftware products for digital manufacturing have already improvedreal-world processes at a wide range of company types and sizes.

Dassault President Bernard Charlès emphasized the company’s vision, “3Dopens the door to the world we imagine,” for all their products,whether used individually or in conjunction with others. Thisflexibility means that using any MCAD system, from the first round ofproduct design through factory-control validation, users can all workin the same 3D digital environment. Communicating changes, assessingtheir impacts, and making decisions are now broadly linked functions.

Users gave lively examples illustrating true collaborative digitalsystems. Boeing needed to simplify and speed up the workflow whileretrofitting the cockpits of 492, slightly different, C130 transports.The challenge: generate lightweight, virtual instructions on a highlyportable platform. The solution:Delmia-generated 3D assemblyprocedures on a tablet PC. Results were so slick, technicians jockeyedto be next in line to work.

Equally important to many people is that perfect cup of morning coffee.Smoothing out the production of single-cup brewing machines, VKIndustries used a single license of Delmia’s DPM Assembly and DPM Shopfor assembly and service training, and felt it had moved from the StoneAge to a contemporary, web-based world.

Delmia’s capabilities with capturing legacy knowledge, visualizing 3Dassembly processes, and automatically generating work instructions areclearly attracting even small companies with its intelligent,collaborative environment. Click here to go to Delmia’s website.—PW

Sources: Contributing Editor Pamela Waterman reporting from the 2006 Delmia users conference in Dearborn, Michigan.