Engineering’s job is to make sure that manufacturing gets all information it needs to build our parts. With the introduction of CAD that world changed. I will go through this process to see how we are now getting the data to manufacturing and how manufacturing can now access this data and utilize it more effectively.
In the past there was the only one way we conveyed the information. It included everything necessary to create the parts and it was also used as the inspection document. The drawing would be checked by the checker and when he/she signed it, it would be sent to the different engineering departments for review and signatures. Today it is much different, in fact, it is outright confusing. Just look at the hoops we are now jumping through to equal the information that was included on one drawing.
PMI (Part Manufacturing Information)
Today we have the 3D solid model. We still need to convey the information. Most companies still make a complete drawing. But some want to short cut this step and only provide the mating features and GD&T information allowing the non-mating features a standard profile tolerance. The solution is to put all the GD&T data and notes in a 3D view format, then demand that you have the special software to view this PMI data. This concept has caused some real problems for companies that use outside suppliers. There also seems to be a problem keeping track of this data. It seems that PDM (Part Data Management) and PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) is becoming more important than designing the parts. In the past this was done by a document management, now it seems like this is being done by engineering.
The problem is that the part doesn’t have all the data. So if you get a STEP file it doesn’t not contain all of the info. So you have to be able to read the native file or a special format to get the data. Well I have a different solution so all your data is contained in the part file no matter what translation format it is in.
The Ultimate Part Mark
Take a look at this concept. INOVATE is the tool I am using here but I am sure all of the major programs can do this. The part information can be put in a webpage. The part comes with enough pertinent information for anyone to make sure they have the latest version. Of course this is mostly for those companies that have many outside suppliers. The data could include the following and embossed or engraved in the part.
Part Number:
Revision:
Website:
Phone:
Since I started my engineering career at Boeing in 1965. I know a bit about how the drawings were done and distributed. In the beginning we worked with blue prints. Yes actually they were white on blue. We had blue print counters throughout the plant. Then I left the industry and came back in 1977, now there were microfiche, we could now get all of our drawings on a card and print the parts lists. I could take hours and hours to research the configuration we were looking for.
Website: I am sure now there is a webpage for each part and assembly. Where you can see the latest revisions and status of the part. You can download the part or assembly if you have permission. Outside suppliers can log-on to get the necessary data and be on a special list to be notified in case the part changes. Now, again, this is for large companies that use outside suppliers.
Here are a few examples of having a part mark on the part itself with this imported Autodesk Inventor Arbor Press assembly. You would put in on an easily modifiable surface. INOVATE makes this easy. You just drag the base text from the catalog, edit it, size it with handles and subtract or add. You see can how the text can be sized below.
Most CAD systems can modify the part to eliminate the part mark to have a clean machineable surface. This is where a history based system has an edge on direct editing. You can just suppress the covering extrusion. With direct editing only products, you would have to have two parts. Luckily INOVATE has both History/Feature based and direct editing functionality integrated in the program.
For assemblies you can have large separate part with the same information.
Checking
Checking seems to becoming a lost art. In the past, the checker would go through every dimension of the drawing marking it red, if incorrect, green, if correct. Old time drafters said many times “That guy bled all over my drawing”. But this is where we learned fit, form and function. Many of us becoming design drafters and even the dreaded “CHECKER”.
Today with the focus on less drawings. How are we checking our parts? Most of the drawing checking was making sure the drawing was complete and defined the part. But much attention was paid to whether the part could be made or be made a better way.
With INOVATE, the checker could bring in each part and assemble and review the parts and assembly. With IRONCAD he could dimension the part to verify all the parts fit and would function correctly. INOVATE and IRONCAD are the easiest CAD product to learn how to manipulate parts and assemblies since you can work in one model.
Does checking take time? Of course, but it is much less costly to find errors up front then down the road where it cost thousands of dollars and much worse, sliding schedules. It is truly optimistic to think that design is correct without checking.
Design Review
An engineering manager can have design reviews without having the the complex native CAD software on his computer. Using gotomeeting sessions, you can easily prepare for and present the project and save it for reference. With IRONCAD an engineer or drafter can easily provide simple drawings showing the changes or a new concept and even has the ability to edit the part or create new parts. No need for constraints. The complete assembly is in one file with an external drawing file that can create multiple drawings of any of the parts or assemblies in the file.
Here an easy modification:
We are going to rotate the motor and revise the tube.
Here is an easy drawing of the change. No constraints, no modification of any released parts. The complete assembly in one file where all of the attendees can have and do a variety of concepts.
Manufacturing
Many times your outside suppliers do not have your software. They can hardly afford to have a copy of very expensive programs like Creo (Pro/E), Siemens NX, Catia, Solidwork, Inventor, etc. Not only are they expensive, but most have a very complex interface and long learning curves. Designer, engineers or drafting checker are not the only people that needs to review the design. We have manufacturing, material, and stress engineers that need access to the design.
So what do they do? With INOVATE they can have a very inexpensive translator to import the above native programs. But with INOVATE you can edit the models. Like removing features that are in the way during the machining process. Most of the features can be converted to recognizable features that can be suppressed to create a part for rough machining and then again with all the features available to finish the job. You can remove fillets or any other feature that will get in your way. Take a look below at how this works for the CNC programmer.
An imported Solidworks pump assembly.
We want to machine the cover. We can select the part in the tree or on the screen and hide the unselected.
Now we want to remove the holes, but we do not want to delete them because we are going need them later. We convert the holes to features and suppress them. Notice we can select all of the holes.
Now we can remove the pockets. First we make a sketch and then extrude. Then feature recognize the top filet and suppress. We now have the part ready for machining and can be exported to your CNC software in its favorite import format.
This is the beauty of INOVATE. You have both history and direct editing integrated in the product, in fact, it is the only CAD package that does. If you had done this in a direct editing only package you would have had to save 3 separate parts. This is a very easy procedure with a very short learning curve. Remember we are in the assembly. No external parts to worry about. Much less part data management to be concerned with. Now all we have to do to return to the original part is to suppress or un-suppress the affected features. Look on the left in the history tree or scene browser you can see the added features.
DATA EXTRACTION
Stereolithography is now the standard format for FEA or 3D printing. INOVATE like most other systems can easily generate them. But since INOVATE started out as a graphics design package you can review stl’s as part of your renderings. Below we will create a stl from the cover.
Now we can import the stl or any other stl and use it for rendering with our solid parts. We can even change the colors.
We know you are heavily invested in your current system. Many of you have not experienced any other systems to even know that there is a better or more productive solution. That is why I include so many renderings showing you the capabilities. What we are promoting here is that IRONCAD/INOVATE are incredible enhancement products for your existing system. Products like Creo (Pro/E), Siemens NX and Inventor have direct editing modules that can import and modify virtually any solid and can now be completely compatible with other system. Even Solidworks offers a limited feature recognition. Catia 5 is the only system the does not offer any form of direct editing. But these systems are designed for an experienced user and require a long learning curve. For a manufacturing supplier it is unrealistic to think you could utilize all of the systems even if you could afford them. The engineering and manufacturing world is in transition. I am here to hurry it up by offering an incredible cost and time saving solution.
IRONCAD/INOVATE are the most sophisticated solid modeling programs available. You step out of the sketch dependent programs yet have all the history functionality available. You can directly edit any feature. You can drag and drop features, parts and assemblies into the works space. As I have worked with Inventor and Solidworks I feel like I am working on some archaic CAD system with the most constraining (no pun intended) environment.
What are you using now to utilize the engineering data, or do you even know this capability is available? To implement this in your current system you would need expensive modules or a separate package for each job. This is most cost effect solution and so easy to implement. Please attend our webinar or if you can’t make it give me a call and I can give you a presentation of these great capabilities.
Change is no fun on any system, especially if you have been away from the project for a couple months. You basically have to review how you did the part and this can take hours depending how extreme the changes. I am sure many have found it easier to redo the parts, of course, that leaves the door open to Murphy’s law. Now if you are not the original designer this is even a more of a horror show. As you know some CAD operators are more equal than others.
