For many manufacturers, product lifecycle management can be a daunting prospect. Taking the decision to implement PLM isn’t necessarily a straightforward choice. And, this isn’t helped by common misconceptions that exist about PLM. In fact, these misconceptions can become unnecessary barriers for companies considering their options for managing their data and product lifecycles. Here are five common misconceptions about product lifecycle management.
Let’s be clear, working in a multi-CAD environment is not uncommon. For a variety of reasons, manufacturers can end up with more than one CAD system in operation. This could be for many reasons, including supplier driven demands, as a result of an acquisition, or due to customer requirement.
Today we’re going to look at how to choose a Product Data Management system. Getting this right is so important – while the right tool will help you to improve product development processes, the wrong tool can end up becoming a real nightmare for your organisation.
Nothing works in isolation. This is especially true in our increasingly connected world. So, it’s no surprise that, in an engineering environment, one of the ways the effectiveness of a CAD tool is measured by the extent it is able to interact with other processes and systems. Think about it this way, when you use a sophisticated CAD tool, but find you cannot integrate this information to other parts of your product development process, this limits the effectiveness of the system. So what are the characteristics to look for, to ensure your CAD tool is as effective as possible?
Many manufacturers are currently in a position where they are using several CAD applications. This could be because of customer needs, external suppliers, or even internal departments using different CAD packages. While it is not always possible to reduce the number of CAD packages that you have to use, in instances where you can, there are clear advantages. Let's take a look at 4 key factors that make CAD consolidation a viable and profitable choice for many manufacturers.
It’s not unusual for manufacturers to have to work with multiple CAD systems. This could be because suppliers, subcontractors, customers, or even a different department are using a different CAD package. Due to the proliferation of 3D CAD systems and the range of different packages, this can create enormous difficulties for manufacturers when they try to use these models with their own CAD software.
To understand how and why product lifecycle management first developed and why there is a clear and growing need for PLM, we first need to look at what we mean by product lifecycle.
In every field of engineering, calculations are essential. Sometimes these calculations are simple, and performed using a notepad and engineering calculator or, more likely, a spreadsheet program like Excel. But, engineering calculations, much like life, are not always simple. Calculations have to take into account more than just the technical aspects of the task in hand and also consider other aspects such as efficiency and cost. Lets take, for example, the complex calculations needed to design an electric motor or transformer. You need to consider the type of lamination iron to be used, the size of the core, type of insulation, and chose between aluminium or copper conductors. During the calculation process, you have to tie all these elements together to optimise the design, taking into account efficiency, cooling, and cost.
Today we’re going to look at consolidating CAD software. We’re going to take a look at some of the benefits of moving to a single, consistent CAD platform. While there will be cases when this isn’t a feasible option, for instance customer requirements, it a large number of cases it is a solid strategy for your company.
You’re researching Creo Parametric 2.0, but not sure whether it’s the right CAD tool for you? While it is important to understand the capabilities and advantages of a CAD solution (there’s plenty of detailed information available about the advantages of Creo Parametric 2.0 - you can download our guide here), sometimes you just want a quick-fire summary.