Digital Manufacturing

Delmia digital manufacturing is a PLM strategy

The value of even the most innovative product designs is deflated if the intended product can't be manufactured effectively. The goal of the product - to produce a profitable return for the company that brings it to market - is hampered if the intended product can't be manufactured efficiently. Delmia digital manufacturing is a critical element of a product lifecycle management (PLM) strategy that ensures product designs can be turned into profitable products. Together with computer-aided design (CAD), product data management (PDM) and other PLMrelated applications, Delmia digital manufacturing helps to improve productionrelated processes and ultimately, product profitability. It elevates the importance of manufacturing processes in relation to the lifecycle of a product and offers tangible improvements to the planning, design and deployment of manufacturing processes.

Produce it digitally before investing

Delmia digital manufacturing provides manufacturing and design engineers with the benefit of enhanced visualisation. In product design, powerful tools are frequently available for developing electronic product mockups, allowing engineers and non-engineers alike the ability to interact with a product before the design has been committed. Tools that allow 3D visualisation replace sketches and drawings with something that comes much closer to the real world. By simulating the actual product that will be produced, countless mistakes are avoided and many improvements made. Time and expense have been saved by reducing the number of physical prototypes that must be created in order to validate a product design in the physical world.

Plan smart – save money
A key enabler for reducing the time-tomarket is the ability to support concurrent engineering design and manufacturing planning before release is final. When this is possible, manufacturing producibility analyses directly influence design, providing a true design for manufacturing environment. In this scenario, the total cost of the engineering changes that occur over the programme is dramatically less because the changes are identified and resolved much earlier in the product lifecycle. The total effective cost of the changes is dramatically reduced, since the changes are identified and resolved before committing to physical tooling, resources, and start of production. When implemented in combination with digital mockup, process re-engineering, and as part of an integrated PLM strategy, it's common to have a return on investment in the range of 5:1 or even 10:1. On average, organisations using digital technology can expect to achieve:

• 30% reduction in lead time to market
• 65% reduction in design changes
• 40% reduction in manufacturing planning
• 13% reduction in production costs
• 15% increase in production throughput.

Your competitive advantage
Research studies confirm that digital manufacturing process engineering is poised to emerge as a major priority for manufacturers concerned with time-to-volume and cost savings, particularly in the automotive and heavy-machinery industries. Delmia is well positioned to take advantage of this digital manufacturing trend. Delmia is an integral part of the Dassault Systemes's PLM offering with CATIA, ENOVIA and SMARTEAM.

All Delmia applications are built around the digital product, processes and resources (PPR) model, providing complete coverage of the manufacturing processes and integration within PLM. By sharing a common PPR model, companies can capture, share and reuse knowledge throughout the product lifecycle. Dassault Systemes's comprehensive and consistent vision for its entire product line, of which Delmia plays this key role, is both well thought out and clearly articulated to a degree unsurpassed in the industry.

Join the technological revolution
Digital manufacturing is becoming a revolutionary trend for all manufactured goods. Quickly expanding within OEMs and migrating to the suppliers, digital factory tools are clearly the future in manufacturing. The software is now viewed as a business opportunity that enhances competitiveness. Cutting excess planning time and being first to market is particularly important for being competitive.

Organisations using digital manufacturing are achieving substantial benefits and return on investment. It is a mature and innovative core technology for companies seeking to establish a leadership position in the highly competitive worldwide manufacturing marketplace.

For more information on this exciting technology, plus how digital manufacturing and the Delmia solution can help you realise results, please e-mail info@delmia.com and request Delmia's free Interactive Solution Portfolio. This informative interactive CD-ROM allows you to explore the many facets of Delmia's offering and will show you how the company can impact on your business and address your most critical manufacturing needs.

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