Consuming Engineering Data with CAD Visualization

In this series of posts, we discuss the steps needed to take your manufacturing organization digital by enabling 3D engineering data with purpose-built tools for visualization and analysis. A vast number of users who consume 3D engineering data use it primarily for analysis. In fact, the number of non-designers using this data is typically 10 times (or more) the number of CAD designers who need a CAD authoring tool for modeling them.

Non-designers like manufacturing experts, production planners, shopfloor technicians, integration engineers, should-costing engineers, and QC teams need access to the 3D engineering data to be more productive. Using 3D data significantly improves their efficiency in handling tasks, identifying issues, and resolving them. Recognizing these benefits, some organizations have switched to the use of 3D CAD software, only to find that the high cost of licenses and need for advance training discourages wide adoption of such tools among all the downstream users and teams. Luckily, CAD software like HCL Glovius that enable users to visualize and analyze 3D data are both cost effective and are easier to adopt within the organization and extended teams. Some of our customers have derived significant benefits and saved up to 88% of their CAD licensing costs.

Manufacturing teams can adopt Glovius and leverage digitization for use cases like design analysis, design review collaboration, and supplier collaboration.

In this three-part series, we focus on micro, small and medium scale enterprises, manufacturing firms and machine shops that still rely on single-use physical assets like printouts and samples. They sometimes use reams of paper for a single manufacturing step, leading to high wait times and costs. Companies in the early stages of digitization adoption but using disparate software and ad-hoc processes for 3D data access and consumption, will also find these beneficial.

Part 1: The First Small Step – Gain Giant Benefits

MCAD applications were among the earliest built during the initial stages of PC revolution. Despite this history, the use of such applications and the 3D engineering data remains sub-optimal for many companies, many of whom still use hardcopies or printouts for manufacturing operations and design reviews. OEMs and their design partners model the 3D designs and then share to their extended teams in manufacturing or suppliers. For their extended teams, like Tier1/Tier2 suppliers, access to 3D design data for various use cases is often limited and curtailed. This is a stumbling block in the consumption of 3D CAD design data for non-designers with no access to CAD tools, who must rely on derivative formats or hardcopies. Using derivative formats might be useful sometimes, but keeping these copies up to date is difficult, and they lose the transfer of requisite information. Some of the common issues faced when using these derivative formats are –

• High costs in terms of tools needed to convert and transmit
• Lack of traceability
• Translation errors
• Difficulty keeping them current and synced

Some manufacturing companies use general purpose tools like word processors, spreadsheets, or images to share design information. However, these methods clearly can’t convey the complexity, contextual information, and the detail associated with 3D design and model information.

The lack of 3D tool adoption can significantly affect the performance of the manufacturing teams. Using visualization tools like Glovius enables direct access to the 3D design data without the need for expensive CAD licenses. Users can deep dive into the design in a 3D environment to understand the spatial arrangement or analyze features in greater detail.

Here are some of the benefits in using a purpose-built tool for visualization of 3D design data:

• 3D visualization tools provide more contextual information – significantly reducing the time spent in analyzing and providing information as requested
• Basic processes and policies can be adopted to monitor the tools and data usage
• Simple and easy to use tools help organizations adopt and onboard users unfamiliar with CAD applications quickly and without the need for any training

Some manufacturing companies use general purpose tools like word processors or spreadsheets or even images to disseminate design information. However, these methods can’t clearly convey the complexity, contextual information, and the detail associated with 3D design and model information.

The lack of 3D tool adoption can significantly affect the performance of the manufacturing teams. Using visualization tools like Glovius enable direct access to the 3D design data without the need for expensive CAD licenses. Users can do a deep dive into a design model in a 3D environment to understand the spatial arrangement or analyze features of design data in greater detail.

Here are some ways to leverage CAD visualization tools like Glovius to begin the journey of consuming 3D data and becoming digital:

• Enable access to design data for non-designers and extended teams. Share CAD data to other users. These users can use Glovius to natively read and view CAD data with high-fidelity
• Take sections to view internal geometries and their definitions and navigate design data in 3D to understand their spatial arrangement
• Take measurements in 3D to analyze the component and better understand the design intent

Once usage of 3D data becomes the norm, users in all teams can access, analyze, archive, and retrieve information at a faster pace for knowledge management use cases.

For example, a leading US aerospace Tier 1 manufacturing company equipped their manufacturing and should costing teams with Glovius to quickly serve their OEMs. The teams view 3D and 2D CAD data to analyze the design and compute the tentative costs of a component. This has improved the response times for RFQs. The manufacturer saved 88% of in the CAD license costs as their usage of CAD applications drastically reduced.

Visit our Resources page to access on-demand webinars and case studies on customers adopting Glovius for achieving various workflows and use-cases. Download and evaluate Glovius today to see for yourself how it saves paperwork, increases efficiency, and enhances collaboration.