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Archive for May, 2008ZENN on the Rick Mercer ReportFriday, May 30th, 2008
We were all very pleased to see our customer ZENN make an appearance in the Rick Mercer Report last year. Here is a video for your enjoyment.
ZENN Motor Company is a Canadian enterprise that develops electric vehicles. ZENN stands for Zero Emission No Noise.
- by Jason MacFarlane
Data Exchange: Tips on choosing the best file formatsThursday, May 22nd, 2008
Your customer has asked you to send them some 3D CAD model files. What file format do you use?
A) IGES is commonly used; therefore, it must be the best choice B) Data Exchange is too complicated, print out some drawings and send them by fax C) Find out what CAD system they are using and then review your options
IGES is somewhat outdated and was never a robust standard compared to other formats that are available, in brief it is not a wise choice. Yes, it is commonly used to this day, but popular does not necessarily mean effective. Data Exchange can be challenging at times, but it is not so complicated that you have to send out paper drawings instead of 3D models. The best alternative is to find out what CAD system is being used by your customer. This knowledge will help you make a good decision.
For starters, don’t be surprised if your customer is using the same CAD system as you. If this is the case, sending files in their native file format is the best choice. This is assuming that you both have the same version. Note that this is the best possible situation you could come across (i.e. it doesn’t always work this way).
If you are not using the same CAD system you need to find out what kernel their CAD system uses. For example NX, SolidEdge and SolidWorks all use the Parasolid modeling kernel. If your customer is using NX and you are using SolidWorks, the best way for you to exchange data is to use Parasolid files since they both share the same kernel.
What if you are not using the same CAD system and on top of that your CAD systems use different kernels. For instance your customer is using Pro/E (which uses the Granite kernel) and you are using UG (which uses the Parasolid Kernel). If this is the case your best bet is to use a Neutral format. The most robust Neutral format is STEP. Note that it is much better than IGES for Data Exchange.
Finally, what if your customer just needs some visual data and not a 3D CAD model file per se? If this is the case you should look into the various lightweight formats that are available. One of the best formats is eDrawings, and of course there is 3D PDF as well.
To recap, finding out the customer’s needs as well as the CAD system and kernel they are using will help lead you down the right path. Below is a diagram called the Data Exchange Web, which helps visualize this process.
- by Joseph Vera
Reusing your Company’s Knowledge for Competitive AdvantageTuesday, May 20th, 2008
All companies accumulate knowledge over time. Companies that are able to capture and reuse this knowledge benefit from faster product development times and substantial cost reductions. The process of capturing product design knowledge and then reusing it is known as Knowledge Based Engineering (KBE). Your company can also benefit from KBE, but “how would you go about implementing a KBE solution and where would you begin” are very important questions.
It is quite possible that your company has been using KBE in an informal way and you may have not been aware of it. In fact, many companies are already capturing and reusing knowledge via informal KBE solutions such as spreadsheets and other electronic documents. And as we all know spreadsheets are good for automating processes, which is in itself very helpful. However, informal KBE solutions are generally attempts to automate only bits of a process and do not represent a complete solution.
Despite their limitations understanding what informal KBE solutions your company has been using is a good starting point for implementing a complete KBE solution. For example, what if instead of having several spreadsheets that automate only small parts of the design process you could have one database that contains all this information; and further to this, what if this database could link to your CAD system and automatically generate drawings for new product iterations. You could start to create this master database by adding to it the information from your existing spreadsheets. Note that this is not wishful thinking; in fact many companies are already doing this right now and benefiting from the competitive advantages of having implemented a KBE solution. Why not make your company the next success story?
- by Joseph Vera
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