PDM Tools - Essay Example

Literature Review Product Data Management (PDM) (Crow, n. d) Crow (n. d) has defined Product data management (PDM) or product information management(PIM) systems as the tools to control access to and manage all product definition data by maintaining information (meta-data) about product information. Moreover, PDM tools provide functionality to process management. PDM tools are mainly used in engineering field for ensuring better data flow in and out as shown in the figure give above. The major advantages of PDM system are Time-to-Market, Improved Productivity and Improved Control. The term Time to Market refers to the instant availability of data with all access features. No time lag will be there in between the data transfer. PDM tools collaborate with other parts of the system to increase the efficiency and speed of the system. Improved productivity of the engineers is the second advantage of PDM system. It is widely accepted that engineers are wasting a substantial period of time for searching , retrieving, filing, handling and storing of document and information. PDM system can help the engineers in avoiding all the above time wasting areas of their profession. The third advantage is the improved control. PDM system ensures the availability of up to date data to all to ensure better control (Crow, n. d). Grundey (2009) has mentioned that Product Data Management (PDM) software helps to provide revision control and file access permission capability for CAD data. Moreover, PDM system improves housekeeping. At the same time PDM system has the disadvantages of more browsing needed to locate files and lot of searching to be done for related draft files (Grundey 2009). Product Life Management (PLM) Product life management, sometimes "product life cycle management", represents management of all data relating to the design, production, support and ultimate disposal of manufactured goods. Every product has a life period like the living things. It starts from the design stage and ends at the disposal stage. Even though PLM is widely used in the engineering CAD field, it is used in other areas like word processors; spreadsheet and graphics programs; requirements analysis and market assessment tools; field trouble reports; and even emails or other correspondence (Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), 2009). (The Secret of Lean PLM implementation, n. d, p.2& 3) PLM provides the users a vision; a blue print; a road map; a backbone,( a platform where other components could be based on), a bird-eye view,( an overall picture on what you are doing or going to do with your products) (The Secret of Lean PLM implementation, n. d, p. 3). PLM help engineers or others to identify different stages of a product. As mentioned earlier all the product has a life cycle and the identification of this life cycle will help the product users to estimate the time left for the product to operate in its present condition and based on that they can take precautionary measures. PDMLink V8.1 and V9 Product Data Management (PDM) Link (PDMLink) is an application tool which helps the linkage between the geometric data (CAD) and RSP’s (Risk Sharing partners). V8.1 and V9 are the latest Data Base Management Software which assists the designers to achieve the linkage mentioned above. It is impossible even for the designers to work without DBMS (Data Base Management Systems). “DBMS, is a computer software program that is designed as the means of managing all databases that are currently installed on a system hard drive or network. Different types of database management systems exist, with some of them designed for the oversight and proper control of databases that are configured for specific purposes”(Tatum, 2010) DBMS helps the designers to identify the relationships between each entity in the design process. Proper linkage of these entities is essential for the smooth functioning. For example, in an organization, all the employees are connected to the CEO. In other words, the relationships of CEO to employees can be considered as a one- to- many relationship as each organization may have only one CEO and many employees. On the other hand, the relationship between tow sales guys in an organization is one-to-one relationship (Date, 1987, p.60 - 70) Identification of such relationships between different components of a design is essential for the designer engineers and PDMLink V8.1 and V9 helps the designers in achieving the proper linkage between objects in their designs Interaction between PDM and ERP" as well as "VPM" Ou-Yang and Chang, (2004) have mentioned product data management (PDM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) have played major roles in the design and production departments respectively in the well known enterprise application software modules. Among those, PDM helps design engineers to manage the product data and product development process, and ERP acts as the main tool for order, production and inventory related processes (Ou-Yang and Chang, 2004) Integration between PDM and ERP still leaves much to be desired, since sometimes it is not possible to exchange data between instances of one and the same PDM system (in cases where there is application area-specific customization, for example) (Göllnitz et al, 2001,p.31) (Göllnitz et al, 2001,p.31) Virtual Product Management (VPM) is included at the heart of any data management system. It acts as the vault for all the data and knowledge being captured and provides a single accessible environment where all product data (CAD models, FEA, test data, etc.) can be captured and reused from the start of a new product development process, without imposing constraints. It also helps designers to reduce the time wastage for searching for the information. t Its also possible that designers unknowingly working on the wrong version of a model and fell in trouble. VPM prevents this by imposing restrictions on who can make changes. VPM is not intended to do the enterprise-wide job of a traditional PDM system-it is focused on design data. Nor will it manage CAD data from multiple systems as effectively as it manages CATIA data. VPM is not an out-of-the-box solution, though it can be implemented rapidly (Sale, 2003) Risk sharing Partners (RSP) Figueiredo et al (2008) has defined in Risk Sharing Partnership as a partnership in which the partners invest in tooling, engineering and infrastructure, and participate more directly in the projects, in the investments and design activities, acquiring rights to future sales income of product. They also mentioned that Risk Sharing Partnerships can contribute to reduce the lead-times of projects. They mentioned that suppliers who invest in the development of parts or systems in a project are not always risk sharing partners. A risk sharing partnership with suppliers necessarily involves a participative sharing in the project, with rights to future sales income of products (Figueiredo et al 2008, p.29). Risk sharing partnerships are different from joint ventures. In joint ventures, all the parties involved need to invest heavy amounts whereas in RSP investments less investments are required and hence the dependency of loans is also less. Moreover the sharing of risk help the partners to escape with fewer damages since the risks were equally shared between the partners. Airline industry is one of the best examples in which Risk Sharing Partnerships are more prevalent. Boeing and Airbus have already started their operations based on a Risk Sharing Basis. The new techniques which emerged in the design and manufacturing activities, such as simultaneous engineering, just in time (JIT) and the use of programs such as computer aided design (CAD) or computer aided manufacturing (CAM) increased the efficiency of the development process, cutting costs and reducing lead times(Figueiredo et al 2008, p.30). CAD, CATIA V5 and V6 Computer Aided Design is a software used for the designing purposes by engineers. “Computer-Aided Design (CAD), also known as Computer-Aided Drafting, is the use of computer software and systems to design and create 2D and 3D virtual models of goods and products for the purposes of testing” (CAD: Computer-Aided Design, CADD: Computer Aided Design & Drafting, n. d). Designing is a must in many industries like engineering, architecture, electronics, roadways etc. It is not easy to design complicated structures manually and the introduction of computers and the development of software tools helped the designers make their jobs much easier. CATIA (Computer Aided Three-dimensional Interactive Application) is a multi-platform software developed Dassault Systemes (A French Company) and marketed worldwide by IBM (Khemani, 2009). V5 and V6 are the latest in the CATIA software series. Global Collaboration, Innovation, Real life like experience, integrated multidisciplinary approach etc are the major features of CATIA V5 and V6. CATIA V5 & V6 allows the collaboration of unlimited people from all over the world which help the designers to design anytime anywhere in the world. Moreover the tools of CATIA V5 & V6 help the designers to develop designs with real life experiences. It helps the designers in reducing the complexities involved in the designing process (Khemani, 2009). References 1. CAD: Computer-Aided Design, CADD: Computer Aided Design & Drafting, (n. d), Retrieved on 20 February 2010 from http://www.bestpricecomputers.co.uk/glossary/computer-aided-design.htm 2. Crow Kenneth (n. d), PRODUCT  DATA  MANAGEMENT /PRODUCT INFORMATION  MANAGEMENT, Retrieved on 20 February 2010 from http://www.npd-solutions.com/pdm.html 3. Date CJ (1987), An Introduction to Database Systems, Narosha Publishing House, Bombay 4. Figueiredo Paulo, Silveira Gutenberg & Sbragia Roberto (2008), RISK SHARING PARTNERSHIPS WITH SUPPLIERS: THE CASE OF EMBRAER, Retrieved on 20 February 2010 from http://www.jotmi.org/index.php/GT/article/viewFile/art70/116 5. Göllnitz Bernd, Klaus Priebe, Stockdorf; Dr. Andreas Schreiber, Dr. Thomas Mechlinski, Darmstadt (2001), PDM data exchange between Windchill® and ENOVIAVPM at Webasto, Retrieved on 20 February 2010 from http://www.research.scpm.salford.ac.uk/siene/expressway.pdf 6. Grundey (2009), Product Data Management (PDM) Retrieved on 20 February 2010 from http://wiki.jasonnewell.net/Default.aspx?Page=PDM&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1 7. Khemani Haresh (2009), New CAD Software: Overview of CATIA V6, Retrieved on 20 February 2010 from http://www.brighthub.com/engineering/mechanical/articles/23573.aspx 8. Ou-Yang C.  and Chang M. J. , (2004), Developing an agent-based PDM/ERP collaboration system, Retrieved on 20 February 2010 from http://www.springerlink.com/content/f2666g6404572v83/ 9. Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)(2009), Retrieved on 20 February 2010 from http://www.product-lifecycle-management.com/ 10. Sale Nick (2003), An Introduction to Virtual Product Modeling http://www.coe.org/coldfusion/newsnet/feb03/ 11. Tatum Malcolm (2010), What is DBMS, Retrieved on 20 February 2010 from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-dbms.htm 12. The Secret of Lean PLM implementation, (n. d), Retrieved on 20 February 2010 from http://www.bmtechnology.net/files/leanPLM.pdf Read More