Part Reuse Made Practical

Dear Desktop Engineering Reader:

As PLM (product lifecycle management) became widely deployed, design reuse was a pundit's favorite promise. You don't hear much about it these days, so problem solved, right? Well, no. According to one study, engineers spend up to 80% of their time recreating the same or nearly the same components that are already designed in-house and, often, in stock. That tidbit is the first eye-opener you'll find in an absorbing paper at the other end of today's Check it Out link.

The premise of “reUse: The Secret of the Most Competitive Industrial Companies” is easy to grasp: Design reuse leads to part reuse. Part reuse, your ultimate goal, results in significant time and money savings as well as process efficiencies throughout every department with a role in a product's lifecycle. The problem, however, is finding what you need. The answer to making design and part reuse a priority lies in implementing processes, especially at the PLM level, that enable engineers and knowledge workers to find stored designs and parts quickly.

Therein lies the truth. 3D CAD data is tough to handle. You have technical features, BOMs (bill of materials), associated documents, supply chain orders and so on. And designers prefer to search by shape. The paper says that the EXALEAD OnePart solution from Dassault Systèmes and implemented by Rand3D, the paper's partners, has the necessary tools to make the dream of ubiquitous design reuse possible. Furthermore, EXALEAD OnePart can help make part reuse a routine process in your design, manufacturing, sales and service lifecycle.

To make its argument, the paper eschews marketing assertions and allows two real-world case studies, two interviews and a ton of metrics to speak for themselves. These presentations will rivet the attention of product managers, purchasers and C-level execs, as well as delight any engineer who has explained why it's easier to recreate a design than rummaging through data to find an analog.

Design and part reuse can increase your competitiveness, but traditionally it's been difficult to achieve. Not any more. Read what real-world manufacturers have to say about a software system engineered for design and part reuse. Image courtesy of Dassault Systèmes and Rand3D.

The paper's final section illustrating ROI (return on investment) is great. It offers a rarity in any discussion of an ambitious application like EXALEAD OnePart: implementation and annual costs dollar numbers. It's easy to see why. The ROI is 1.8 months, and the savings is in the millions.

Design and part reuse can return immediate time and money savings throughout your enterprise. Hit today's Check it Out link to download your complimentary copy of “reUse: The Secret of the Most Competitive Industrial Companies.” It's worth it big time.

Thanks, Pal. – Lockwood

Anthony J. Lockwood

Editor at Large, Desktop Engineering

Download "reUse: The Secret of the Most Competitive Industrial Companies" here.