Innovative PLM Solutions from IBM and Dassault Systèmes Help Accelerate Construction of Sagrada Familia Cathedral

Powerful architectural design package used to solve “Gaudí mystery” and help bring unfinished Barcelona landmark a giant step closer to completion

IBM and Dassault Systèmes announced that designers working on the Sagrada Família Cathedral, started in 1882 by Antoni Gaudí, are using their Product Lifecycle Management Solutions to rapidly advance completion of the cathedral.

Since the celebrated Catalan architect’s death in 1926, work on the highly-complex stone structure -- considered one of the most mystical constructions on the world -- has been under the auspices of the Sagrada Família Foundation. For more than a century, work has been on going to complete Gaudí’s unfinished masterpiece interpreting the large scale architectural models he prepared during the architect’s final years.

IBM Business Partner gedas iberia s.a., an information technology consulting and solutions company, and the Sagrada Família Foundation are now using the world’s leading virtual product design application, CATIA V5, an IBM PLM solution developed by Dassault Systèmes, to aid in the construction of the unfinished church. The Foundation commissioned gedas iberia s.a. to incorporate new approaches to computer-aided design into the construction process. Using CATIA V5, the company has overcome obstacles such as the challenge of “linking” the software to the tools used to prepare granite from a local quarry.

"The granite used throughout the church poses a real challenge," said Juan José Blasco, operation manager, gedas iberia s.a. "Because of this, we needed an intuitive software that would enable machining tools to react to the hardness of the material. Using CATIA V5, we were able to create a reliable rendering of a drawing, which offered us unlimited three-dimensional movement for the tools."

The new technology represents an important, evolutionary step for Gaudí’s design because, prior to introduction of advanced design software to the project in 1989, work had been undertaken painstakingly by hand. The recent introduction of CATIA V5 enables virtual models to be converted directly into actual stone prototypes, eliminating the need for additional steps and thus achieving greater efficiency and precision. This specific application of CATIA V5, which has been customized by gedas for the project, is the first of its kind to be implemented and has raised the bar for new techniques and standards that can be deployed on other architectural and construction projects.

"We still have a lot of challenges ahead, and we haven’t found answers for all of Gaudí’s proposals—such as the cross that will top the cathedral,” said Jordi Bonet i Armengol, chief architect and project manager, Sagrada Família Temple. “It will probably take another 20 years before we reach this phase, but by that time, I am convinced that even more advanced technology from IBM, Dassault Systèmes and gedas will be there to assist us and help us move much faster."

PLM is synonymous with product innovation. "We're honored that the designers chartered with the completion of the Sagrada Familia have chosen our PLM solutions to accelerate the construction of this unique and incredibly innovative example of Spain’s cultural heritage explained Raoul Van Engelshoven, vice president EMEA, IBM Product Lifecycle Management.

"Architecture is a fusion of science and emotion,” said Denis Senpéré, vice president of PLM, Europe, Dassault Systèmes. “The use of CATIA V5 in this massive project demonstrates the flexible and extensive architectural design capabilities of PLM Solutions from Dassault Systèmes. We are honored that our solutions are being used to complete this unique example of Gaudí’s genius."

The leadership position of IBM and Dassault Systèmes in the architectural industry is extensive. The software is also used by one of the world’s most innovative and celebrated architects, Frank Gehry. He is best known for his unique brand of modernist works, which feature curvaceous forms of metal structures made from bent and twisted steel. Like Gaudí, Frank Gehry has left his mark on Spain with his famed Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao.

Another application of CATIA V5 can be seen across Malaysia, where dome maker Dian Kreatif has used the software to create high-tech composite domes for religious and public buildings. In this case, the software has reduced construction time of the domes from six months to six weeks and has helped increase sales for the company by 40 percent.

About gedas
gedas is the driving force among the IT service providers of the automotive and manufacturing industries. gedas consults, implements and operates solutions that transform automotive OEM and supplier's business processes. gedas has a history of success in the information technology market that spans 20 years, operating from over 50 locations in 13 countries. For more information, visit http://www.gedas.com

Brunvoll Propels Ships Using CATIA V5 and SMARTEAM

The 3D capabilities of CATIA V5 allow Brunvoll to ensure a perfect fit between its thrusters and the design of the ship itself. The company's 3D capabilities have been instrumental in detecting and correcting errors in 2D documents supplied by design consultants and shipyards before fabrication begins. And SMARTEAM is helping the small company keep up with the big demands of many clients for quick turnaround of highly customized documentation.

Highlights

• Brunvoll’s drive units often penetrate several decks of a ship, while thrusters tunnel across the entire ship. Integration with the structural, electrical, hydraulic and control systems must be flawless.
• CATIA V5 3D allows Brunvoll to ensure a perfect fit between its designs and the ship.

3D design makes thruster integration water-tight
Brunvoll AS, which has been in business in Molde, Norway, for over 90 years, is one of the world’s leading suppliers of thruster propulsion units. These units are used in a wide variety of ships for customers including Royal Caribbean Cruiselines, Meyer Werft Shipyard, Chantiers de l’Atlantique, Carnival Cruise Lines and the Norwegian Navy.

Brunvoll’s core business is producing azimuth and tunnel thrusters that offer unique maneuvering capabilities, reliability, quiet operation and safety features such as emergency propulsion to get a ship back to port if its main propulsion unit fails. The company is famous for its precision, reliability and ability to deliver complex, one-of-a-kind designs that its competitors won’t even attempt.

For seven years, Brunvoll has relied on IBM Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions for collaborative product design and data management applications that help the company maintain and build on its reputation for delivering only the best.

PLM helps meet complex customer needs
Brunvoll uses CATIA V5, the world’s leading product development application, for all design and documentation. It is implementing SMARTEAM product data management applications for workflow, configuration management and production of customer documentation. The CATIA and SMARTEAM applications, developed by Dassault Systemes, are fully complementary. As part of the extended platform, Brunvoll will use CATIA to fully automate the design and complete cutting of high-precision propeller assemblies, a first in the industry.

Brunvoll, which recently won a substantial contract to develop a retractable azimuth thruster for the Norwegian Navy’s new frigate program, uses its PLM platform to manage complex customer requirements.

"With a large organization such as a navy, you face the challenge of meeting many special demands that are far beyond those of a normal commercial customer,” said Per Olav Lokseth, Brunvoll’s Marketing Director. “You must work with multiple contacts at the customer, which can be challenging for a small organization such as ours. We have the technical skill to do everything they require, but working with so many people and providing so much specialized government documentation can also be a challenge. We anticipate SMARTEAM is going to be invaluable in helping us manage and respond to these requirements more efficiently."

3D design identifies, eliminates errors
Working with commercial customers has also become more challenging as shipyards transfer more of the design responsibility to suppliers, Lokseth said.

"The yards are subcontracting more and more of the ship. That means they are asking Brunvoll for more services. The trend is toward yards asking for larger and larger pre-made units. They want the thruster to be pre-assembled, pre-mounted, even pre-wired, to simplify the installation and reduce administrative and practical outfitting costs."

All of these requirements increase the need for perfect coordination between the thrusters, the design of the ship’s hull, and the systems located around the thrusters. Kevin Isham, Manager of Mechanical Design at Brunvoll, says CATIA delivers.

"We find that having the 3D capabilities of CATIA and being able to communicate with the customer and the shipyard in 3D is invaluable," he said. "Many of the organizations we work with still work in 2D. Because our systems intersect with other systems in the ship at so many points, it’s often difficult to grasp all of the nuances of the design in 2D. Using 3D modeling helps us to communicate these needs more effectively and eliminate errors that would be expensive if first detected in production."

Yantai Raffles Shipyard Competes Using PLM Collaboration Solutions

Yantai Raffles Shipyard needed a way to create complete, 3D digital mockups of vessels before the start of construction to eliminate errors and expensive re-work. Learn how IBM PLM, incorporating CATIA V5 and ENOVIA, has helped YRS improve its competitiveness by streamlining the design process, lowering material costs and improving quality.

Overview

• Rework was common because prototyping of custom designs could not keep pace with construction
• CATIA and ENOVIA allow YRS to create a complete virtual model of a vessel before physical work begins
• YRS has streamlined its design process for all vessels, improving Return On Investment (ROI) through lower material costs and improved quality, a competitive advantage.

The best technology for the best ships
Yantai Raffles Shipyard, located in Yantai, China, has long enjoyed one of the world’s most competitive pricing structures due to a ready supply of skilled labor. But to be truly competitive with the top global shipyards, YRS needed to be as competitive on quality and delivery capabilities as it has been on price.

"Our customers deserve the best and we are determined to give them the best,” said Brian Chang, YRS Chairman and CEO. “This is only possible if we use the best technology on the market to build our ships and that is why we chose IBM PLM solutions."

Global clients, global collaboration
Before YRS adopted IBM PLM, its CAD systems did not support creation of a full, 3D virtual model. Physical prototyping took so long that construction had to begin before the design was complete. Employees and partners often discovered they were working with different versions of the same data. Engineering changes were difficult to propagate throughout the system. Mismatches between related ship systems sometimes remained undetected well into construction, driving up cycle times and costs.

"Owners paid more to complete the vessel, the yard lost money and the performance of the vessel was below expectations," Chang said.

Streamlined processes, happier clients
The yard’s first 3D design system was a failure, so YRS turned to IBM PLM for complete, digital models of its vessels prior to fabrication. The integrated IBM platform features Dassault Systemes software, including CATIA V5 for collaborative virtual product development and ENOVIA LCA and ENOVIA Portal 3d.com for real-time product data management. ENOVIA Portal 3d.com facilitates viewing all product data, including digital mockups, with a simple Web browser.

"PLM gave us and our customers many ways to pre-visualize our designs, " Chang said. "In our business, there are multiple parties involved in every project. It’s critical they understand the design. We demand that vendors be involved early. They can better understand the requirements, and making modifications at the digital mockup stage reduces rework later."

The advanced PLM solution has enabled the shipyard to streamline design processes for all of its vessels, from floating storage and off-take ships to oil rigs and luxury yachts. YRS says it has experienced substantial ROI through lower material costs and improved quality, a combined competitive advantage.

PLM customized for shipbuilding
The CATIA V5 solution comes with a full set of shipbuilding-oriented functionalities to meet the company’s requirements from concept to detail ship design and production. ENOVIA LCA and ENOVIA 3d.com solutions enable full collaborative product development. They also provide other YRS departments, including marketing and production, access to both design information and engineering data, ensuring that YRS staff, customers, partners and suppliers are able to work together in a real-time virtual product development environment.

IBM PLM technology gives us a complete 3D digital mockup the first time," Chang said. "The result is much less rework and improved customer satisfaction, together with much less risk and fewer change orders. We have used PLM for a wide variety of projects, and I cannot remember anything that has been very hard for either YRS or IBM to solve. Solutions are always close at hand."

The response from the shipyard’s customers has been rewarding. "A major client in the top 30 of the Fortune 500, after reviewing YRS with the intention of approving us to participate in a complex, time-critical project of $1.7 billion U.S. said, ‘Your engineering capabilities are certainly adequate… and in fact it is an overkill for our project," Chang remembers. With IBM PLM, YRS is clearly ready to take on any challenge a customer can dream up.

DaimlerChrysler Signs Multi-Million Euro Contract for DELMIA Digital Manufacturing Technology

Agreement is critical to automaker’s objective to cut costs and continue to deliver top-of-the-line, quality products to consumers

DELMIA Corp., a Dassault Systèmes company announced a multi-million Euro sale of the DELMIA Digital Factory (DF) solution to DaimlerChrysler Corp. DaimlerChrysler will use DELMIA in Mercedes Car Group’s DF project. This agreement reinforces the strategic partnership between DaimlerChrysler and DELMIA Corp.

The DF project is one of the largest IT projects within DaimlerChrysler. The DELMIA DF solution includes planning and optimization processes for digital product and process validation, assembly, body manufacturing, and chassis and assembly production as well as logistics for DaimlerChrysler vehicle projects.

The solution supports system-supplier cooperation and enables the company to distribute work among several locations, while improving quality, reducing costs and shortening production time. Particularly for the early stages of planning, implementation of DELMIA DF represents a major step toward Mercedes Car Group’s goal of delivering quality products while effectively managing increasing competition and cost pressure.

"The cooperation with our partner, DELMIA Corp., started well before the agreement was signed and has laid the foundation for the success of this strategic project," said Günter Walz, head of production planning at Mercedes Car Group.

"With this agreement, which confirms the confidence and great expectations of both partners concerning long-term cooperation, the partnership between DaimlerChrysler and DELMIA Corp. has reached a decisive stage,” said Philippe Charlès, CEO, DELMIA Corp. “This development is based on the successful performance of the project, which indicates that companies can realize great savings through digital validation of manufacturing processes. Following considerable investment by DaimlerChrysler in DELMIA solutions in recent years, the general agreement governs the modalities for the use of DELMIA software in the imminent broad-based rollout."

About DaimlerChrysler
DaimlerChrysler Corporation (stock-market identification code DCX) is one of the leading global automotive companies. His unique product range goes from small cars to sports cars and luxury sedans; and from versatile vans to classic heavy duty trucks or comfortable coaches. The passenger car portfolio includes Maybach, Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler Jeep®, Dodge and Smart. Commercial vehicle brands include Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi Fuso, Freightliner, Sterling, Western Star and Setra. Furthermore the company offers financial and other automotive services through DaimlerChrysler Services. With 362,100 employees in 17 countries, DaimlerChrysler achieved in 2003 revenues of EUR 136.4 billion. Please find further information at www.daimlerchrysler.com.

About DELMIA Corp.
DELMIA Corp. is the leading provider of lean digital manufacturing solutions, focused mainly on software that can be used to streamline manufacturing processes. DELMIA serves industries where the optimization of manufacturing processes is critical, including automotive, aerospace, fabrication and assembly, electrical and electronics, consumer goods, plant, and shipbuilding sectors. Information about DELMIA Corp. is available at http://www.delmia.com.

About Dassault Systèmes
As world leader in 3D and PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) solutions, the Dassault Systèmes group brings value to more than 80,000 customers in 80 countries. A pioneer in the 3D software market since 1981, Dassault Systèmes develops and markets PLM application software and services that support industrial processes and provide a 3D vision of the entire life cycle of products from conception to maintenance. Its offering includes integrated PLM solutions for product development (CATIA®, DELMIA®, ENOVIA®, SMARTEAM®), mainstream product 3D design tools (SolidWorks®), and 3D components (Spatial/ACIS®) from Spatial Corp. For more information, visit http://www.3ds.com.

Northrop Grumman: The Next Generation of Surface Combatants will Lead Worldwide Shipbuilding to PLM

Company overview
An operating sector of Northrop Grumman Corporation, Northrop Grumman Ship Systems (NGSS) is a world leader in the design, engineering, production and lifecycle support of major surface ships for the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and international navies. With expertise in complex surface combatants, amphibious ships, auxiliary ships and large commercial vessels, NGSS offers an extraordinary blend of capabilities. NGSS can also be counted among the leaders in the global shipbuilding industry for its pioneering efforts in the customization, use and integration of 3D computer-aided modeling to support both design and construction processes.

Business challenges

• Producing highly competitive proposals for new ships that meet the Navy ’s cost, performance and schedule targets
• Meeting advanced performance targets for ships and shipboard systems through improved processes of design, production and lifecycle support
• Enforcing standardization to enable lean manufacturing processes and enhance producibility of the design across multiple production locations.

"Our vast experience in shipbuilding coupled with our expertise in next-generation technologies will result in a forward-looking approach to the design, production and support of ship systems for the DD(X)family of surface combatants. These ships will be built over the next 25 years and will be in service for the next 50 years. So, we need a toolset with strong capabilities and an architecture that is based upon a long-range vision. Then, the whole package must be supported by a team that will have the legs to stand up over the length of the program."
Dr. Philip A. Dur, Corporate Vice President, and President of the Corporation ’s Ship Systems Sector

Situation
In 2002, NGSS was awarded the role of prime contractor in the design of the U.S. Navy’s next generation of surface combatant, the DD(X). NGSS leads the overall system design, engineering, development, and production of the initial DD(X) platform, and testing of many technologies with Raytheon Company, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, United Defense, and more than 30 of the nation top engineering and maritime industrial companies. Therefore, NGSS needed to standardize on a toolset that would be applicable to all divisions and teammates while interoperating with legacy systems within the enterprise and allowing reuse of elements of design from one ship class to the other.

Solution
NGSS has defined and tested the world’s most advanced Shipbuilding PLM solution

NGSS brought their expertise to design and build ships along with their requirements to Dassault Systèmes (DS) in order to develop a best-in-class shipbuilding PLM solution. IBM brought their unequaled project management skills and business transformation expertise to ensure a smooth implementation.

Moving from CAD to PLM, requires major process changes that affect the way engineers work with designers. IBM implemented a “Proof of Concept” approach that convinced everyone of the value of PLM. Several pilots were conducted to demonstrate the benefits V5 would bring to the teams. Requirements were taken into account by Dassault Systèmes. The evaluation teams were quickly convinced that the new solution set will allow everyone to work closer together, in a more efficient, innovative and interactive way, thus saving time and money.

CATIA V5 and ENOVIA "Production worthy"
CATIA V5 has been deployed to cover end-to-end design and systems engineering processes including space arrangement, ship structural design, electrical, piping, and heating ventilation/air conditioning (HVAC) system design, waveguide, and hanger design.

Improved teamwork
ENOVIA Life Cycle Application (LCA) will be used by NGSS to manage product data through the entire surface combatant lifecycle from feasibility studies to operations and maintenance. The complexity of a surface combatant is much greater than that of an aircraft. "The DD(X)will include 3 million feet of electrical cable and fiber optics, and approx.7,000 tons of steel. There will be hundreds of designers, planners and engineers from many different companies across the nation working together on this program" said Brian Cuccias, NGSS’ VP, DD(X) Program.

"To prepare for the next generation in ship design technologies, it is important to have effective design tools, such as those from Dassault Systemes and IBM PLM including CATIA V5 and ENOVIA V5 LCA."
Jan Rideout, Vice President & CIO, Northrop Grumman Ship Systems

Results
Improved process
It is very difficult to visualize a ship from a stack of drawings. By allowing design reuse, accelerating the exploration of design alternatives and providing advanced visualization and early-validation tools, CATIA V5, ENOVIA DMU and DELMIA simulation enable NGSS to show the Navy 3D rendered early designs and how they will operate. They can easily adapt the design further to the customer’s request at a lower cost while shortening the design time.

Developing High Performance Products and Processes
The entire V5 shipbuilding solution was developed to support design progression. It includes 21 new products that allow productivity gains vs. legacy systems. A few examples are:

• Developing high performance products and processes.
• The capability to evolve the design data from stage to stage. The early stage designers can work in surfaces - defining molded volumes with the hull form as the outer skin. They can then reserve volumes designated for equipment, piping, HVAC and cable runs – populating these volumes later as the design matures.
• The highly automated detail design work.
• The Rule-driven design and parametric capabilities that make the creation of features almost automatic.
• The catalogs associated with the Knowledge Rules that automate the proper selection of hangers for different support conditions based on project specifications, safety standards, accessibility, or local temperature considerations.

"Data management, data exchange and visualization with ENOVIA will be key to reduce costs, meet quality and deadlines and stay ahead of our competition."
Said Brian Cuccias, Vice President Program, Northrop Grumman Ship Systems

Interference checking and easy change management
One of the major reasons for choosing V5 was its object-oriented architecture. Strong interoperability between CATIA and ENOVIA make product structuring and ship configuration management easy for end users. Storing subassemblies in work packages greatly increases product data management performance and makes it easy to manage changes. With real-time interference checking, designers are instantly alerted to hard and soft conflicts while in their CATIA session. They can be corrected immediately, or the designer can invoke ENOVIA’s work flow management to resolve them. Special capabilities are on-line to manage the creation of penetrations and their associated fixtures in water-tight bulkheads.

Lean manufacturing with DELMIA
The work breakdown and build strategies have already been developed and analyzed in DELMIA months before detail design will begin. The build units have been analyzed to make sure that they can be manufactured at both NGSS and their partners. As soon as the early CAD designs are available these strategies will be tested in 3D to provide feedback to the designers on what changes would make fabrication, construction and outfitting more efficient resulting in savings.

Secure real time management of multi-site collaboration with ENOVIA
The DD(X) program requires hundreds of designers, planners and engineers -located at NGSS in Mississippi and at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Maine –to work together. The ENOVIA vault makes data check-in and checkout easy and secure -as needed. Efficiencies are expected in storing models for action, finding information, understanding what other disciplines are doing, and why.

Knowledge reuse and lean manufacturing
New ship programs constantly reuse parts of previously designed ships. CATIA V5 delivers specification driven, and knowledge-driven capabilities that allow engineers to build their intent into the system. Designer’s choices are driven by engineering and can be limited to a smaller set of parts that do the job.

"In shipbuilding, all things positive begin with predictable business. We needed new processes and a Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solution to help us minimize costs from the early bidding process to the servicing phase 25 years down the road."
Arnie Moore, Vice President of Engineering, Northrop Grumman Ship Systems

Challenges Met
With CATIA V5, ENOVIA LCA, and DELMIA, NGSS sets new standards in the shipbuilding industry for using advanced technologies to meet the nation’s 21st century defense needs. The IBM PLM solutions have given NGSS confidence to streamline a 50-year ship design and servicing process resulting in greater predictability and cost savings. Data will be seamlessly shared between NGSS and over 30 partners. Secured 3D visualization and checking of rendered digital mock-ups will make the virtual ship of tomorrow a reality.

Future
NGSS is considering the use of the V5 Shipbuilding Solution for new Navy shipbuilding programs beyond the DD(X). NGSS is currently considering the implementation of DELMIA digital manufacturing capabilities to further integrate their design and production team. The vision is to build a modeling and simulation-based framework for their Manufacturing Process Planning System. The expectation is that a solution based on DELMIA’s Process Engineer could streamline production planning, and provide a powerful tool to cut production costs in the shipyard. Process Engineer could be used to capture and retain process knowledge in a systematically reusable form that links product and process data with shipyard systems and facilitates the assessment of process alternatives before construction.

Conclusion
NGSS chose IBM PLM solutions for their ability to support, over the next 50 years, the development, construction and maintenance of the 21st century high tech complex surface ships.The military nature of NGSS requirements has driven the development by DS of a very advanced IBM PLM shipbuilding solution. It is therefore expected to benefit the shipbuilding industry at large.

"We have a unique vision and strategy that will ultimately transform ship design. As with our counterparts in the aircraft business, we needed the tools that would enable a better way of designing and building ships. This technology will drive a new stream of opportunities to support ships we build over the lifecycle, to enhance collaboration with our suppliers, and to exceed our customers’ challenging expectations."
Dr. Philip A. Dur, Corporate Vice President, and President of the Corporation ’s Ship Systems Sector

IBM Eurocoordination
Product Lifecycle Management
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SMARTEAM Case Study: Swagelok® Building an Enterprise-Wide Design Database

For companies such as Swagelok, dedication to high quality standards and meticulous attention to detail isn’t good enough anymore. In the last 5-10 years, customers have come to expect quality and attention. Today, the challenge is to develop and deliver high quality products of value to the customer, and to do all of this at a faster pace than ever before.

In today’s competitive business environment, keeping track of rapidly changing design data enterprise-wide is serious business. And it’s no small task. The company designs, manufactures, and markets more than 8,000 products through one of the world’s largest industrial networks spanning over 40 countries.

A leading manufacturer of precision valves, fittings and other fluid system components since 1947, Swagelok has multiple product lines with thousands of different models, sizes, and separate components. New designs and design changes come at a fast and furious pace. Research, instrumentation, biotech, pharmaceutical, petrochemical, semiconductor, and other industries rely on Swagelok products in a variety of critical fluid control systems where failures cannot be tolerated.

Swagelok is building an enterprise-wide design database using product data management (PDM) and workflow technology as a better way of handling product information. The objective is to shorten time to market and lower costs with innovative products in a fiercely competitive global market, all while maintaining the highest quality standards that the company has been known for since its inception.

Rapidly Implemented PDM
Swagelok is installing software from SmarTeam Inc., the American subsidiary of SmarTeam Corporation Ltd., as the PDM standard at its major design centers. According to William Gurley, Engineering Project Manager at Swagelok, primary considerations in the selection were ease of use and the ability to run with the SolidWorks® 3D modeling software also being implemented at the company.

Like SolidWorks, SmarTeam® is based on Microsoft® Windows® and uses familiar features such as drag-and-drop, cut-and-paste and intuitive menus. Standard Windows features enable users to become productive in a matter of days rather than months.

Designers at Swagelok access SmarTeam from within SolidWorks. Clicking on a menu tab built into the SolidWorks toolbar calls up a SmarTeam data manager tree showing assembly parts, their relation to one another and any appropriate context data. SmarTeam users can perform PDM operations such as locating files and tracking revisions without leaving their CAD system. Performing these operations within CAD means users need not exit their design package to run PDM or to re-enter data available in the CAD system, as is often required with conventional PDM systems that run separately from CAD. This saves time and helps to reduce errors. "SmarTeam runs within SolidWorks better than any package I’ve seen", says Gurley.

Cost was also a factor in the selection, since hundreds of engineers throughout the company need direct access to product .data on their desktops. Gurley explains that Swagelok started out with a few seats and is now expanding the system enterprise-wide incrementally, group by group.

"At each step of the way, we learn more about PDM. This incremental deployment strategy helps to avoid the disruption of launching the technology all at once throughout the enterprise,” he says. “New users become productive quickly. We see benefits right away instead of waiting months or even years to roll out a company-wide system."

Gurley credits the local value-added reseller, Progressive Computing Corp., with providing valuable assistance on requirements assessment, user training, technical support, and applications consulting. He says "Progressive made a significant contribution to the success of the project, complemented the company’s internal efforts, and offered valuable guidance in effectively utilizing PDM."

Significant Savings
According to Gurley, "Having a common design database saves considerable time and improves service. Data can be exchanged instantaneously across the organization. In the past it took several hours and sometimes several days to check out drawings, make copies, obtain transmittal approval, and mail documents. Using PDM to archive files also can reduce part counts and associated costs by facilitating design standardization procedures that uncover slight variations in multiple components where a single configuration would suffice. PDM greatly improves our ability to manage part configurations."

Revision control is seen as one of the most beneficial aspects of PDM. Improvements in this area of the design process have already paid dividends for Swagelok. In one recent new product introduction, SmarTeam’s ability to coordinate engineering design changes was credited with significantly reducing the number of changes and revisions after the design was released to manufacturing. Detecting errors earlier in the design phase reduces costly mistakes and helps to keep projects on schedule. Moreover, PDM lets you see all the subordinate designs based on a particular model. This gives everyone a more complete understanding of the impact that will result from changing a design.

"A design might go through ten or fifteen modifications during product development," says Gurley. "Previously, days were required to find and match the various revisions for checking dimensions, features, and tolerance stackups. SmarTeam lets us do that with just a few mouse clicks."

Gurley says these savings all add up to a significant contribution in lowering costs and shortening product development times. "In the competitive markets we operate in, the window of opportunity doesn’t stay open long," explains Gurley. "SmarTeam is certainly a valuable tool that allows us to compress cycle times to take advantage of these business opportunities."

Long-Term Strategies
Jim Hanson, Vice President of Engineering and Technology at Swagelok, sees PDM as a critical part of the company’s long-term strategy. "Implementing PDM is absolutely essential for us to remain competitive in the global market by shortening cycle times and reducing costs,” he says. “There just isn’t any better way for us to efficiently manage the huge volumes of data associated with multiple product families, each having thousands of models, sizes, and individual components.” Hanson sees even more far-reaching benefits on an enterprise level now and in the future. “As it is currently implemented at Swagelok, PDM is a powerful enabling technology for greater design collaboration within the company,” notes Hanson. “A PDM common database allows us to share data outside of engineering in areas such as manufacturing, for example, to develop assembly instructions, and production work cell plans. And at some point, customers may be able to access information for integrating our products into theirs. In this respect, PDM puts us squarely in the middle of a technology revolution that companies absolutely must utilize to remain competitive in the global market."

About Progressive Computing
Based in Cleveland, OH, Progressive Computing Corp. supports over 3,000 engineers at manufacturing companies in North America. Technology solutions are geared to improve product throughput and time to market as well as streamline collaboration. The value added reseller offers software for CAD, CAM, CAE and PDM applications. Services include certified product training, project consulting, and hotline support. Visit the company’s web site at www.progressivecomputing.com or call +(1) 440 954 9589.

About SmarTeam Corporation Ltd.
SmarTeam Corp. develops and markets rapidly implemented, yet totally customizable, Windows and Web-centric collaborative product commerce (CPC) and product data management (PDM) solutions. Founded in 1995, SmarTeam Corp. is one of the fastest-growing companies in the data management market with over 1,700 customers worldwide. SmarTeam’s broad solutions portfolio enables manufacturing organizations and their supply chains to gain improvements in product quality, reduce costs, expedite project turnaround, comply with industry standards and shorten time-to-market. The SmarTeam family of software is licensed through a worldwide network of more than 200 value added resellers and supported by international subsidiaries and offices.

Shape Design & Styling: CATIA – Imagine & Shape

Enable designers and engineers to quickly, intuitively, transform a shape idea into a 3D geometric model.

Product overview
Dedicated to aesthetical shapes creation for industrial and conceptual design, CATIA -Imagine & Shape 2 (IMA) introduces very new concepts, breaking the traditional approach of surfaces modeling. It could be used in any domains needing quick surface creation, including rapid virtual prototyping, ideas expression and simulations. CATIA – Imagine & Shape 2 (IMA) combines a powerful technology, based on subdivision surfaces, and a simple use, making easy for a non surface specialist to design within a CAD system. CATIA - Imagine & Shape 2 (IMA) is really shaped to leverage in V5 the engineering of emotional content: From ideas to 3D becomes then quick and easy for all.

Product Highlights

• Engineers the emotional content of products
• Enables more free form alternative design studies, less physical mock-ups
• One solution, from styling to manufacturing
• Puts Styling at the heart of PLM.

Product Key Customers Benefits
Engineer the emotional content of products within CATIA V5
Modify the objects, improve their style and performance, create new shapes, integrate new functions but also invent the products of tomorrow, while taking into account socio-cultural trends, economic stakes and manufacture constraints: these are the challenges which fall on the lap of industrial design.

On this wide and complex area, CATIA –Imagine & Shape 2 (IMA) introduces a revolutionary way to design products by enabling (any) users to quickly, and simply, transform a shape idea into a 3D exact geometric model. It can be done directly in CATIA V5 without sketching or prototyping. This new approach, unique on the CAD market, leverages the engineering of the emotional content of products and fosters innovation.

A unique technology to serve product innovation with CATIA V5
The subdivision surfaces... CATIA – Imagine & Shape 2 (IMA) breaks the traditional approach of surface modeling by introducing a technology already intensively used in entertainment but for the first time adapted into a CAD system : the subdivision surfaces.

• This technology enables users to define, and control, a shape through a meshing. Using this meshing, users can then easily deform the shape locally and globally.
• The surfaces created are exacts, could be opened or closed, support sharp edges and the connections between surfaces are G2. Moreover, this technology enables the creation of surfaces compliant with any CATIA V5 applications.
• This technology implies also very light data management, and a construction's methodology easy to understand.

Supported by a dedicated curve modeler...
To support the subdivision surfaces technology, CATIA - Imagine & Shape 2 (IMA) introduces a powerful curve modeler based on an aesthetical approach. This new modeler provides users with a natural and intuitive way of drawing and controlling a complex curve. These curves can be created, a posteriori, in the model. The subdivision surfaces can be then controlled by curves for global deformation. The internal connections between curves are G3.

Handled in a new user interface... CATIA –Imagine & Shape 2 (IMA) offers also a brand new efficient user interface, speeding workflow for experienced users and accelerating learning curve for new users.

Using CATIA - Imagine & Shape 2 (IMA) you can:

• From an idea, directly shape high quality surfaces,
• Drive/refine surfaces through curves,
• Provides for all an easy access to styling.

More free form alternative design studies, fewer physical mock-ups
From a designers' perspective, the main reason for the physical mock-up is to look at different design shapes and obtain approval. Because this is an expensive task, the designer is limited to the amount of different designs he can review. Using CATIA –Imagine & Shape 2 (IMA), designers can create very quickly many different digital design shapes, review the different options, evaluate the better ones, in conjunction with the CATIA rendering products (RTR for dynamic review, PHS for realistic pictures), and then take the decision to make a mock-up.

Using CATIA - Imagine & Shape 2 (IMA) you can :

• Explore more styling ideas, quicker,
• Reduce the number of physical mock-ups by selecting only the relevant ones,
• Create innovating products easier.

Start from scratch or leverage your knowledge
Using CATIA - Imagine & Shape 2 (IMA), users can start to shape a new idea from nothing, or from sketches, and then directly continue in detailed design stage or refine before the shape in others V5 applications, including CATIA Freestyle Shaper 2 (FSS) and CATIA - Generative Shape Design 2 (GSD). In another field, CATIA - Imagine & Shape 2 (IMA) benefits also from the ability to create quickly templates through the V5 knowledgeware capabilities. The user can then start from a pre-shaped product and define a family of parts for instance.

Using CATIA - Imagine & Shape 2 (IMA), in conjunction with V5 Styling and Knowledge portfolios, you can:

• Benefit from a complete and flexible V5 styling solution,
• Accelerate new products development by leveraging your knowledge capitalization.

One solution from styling to manufacturing
As a V5 product, CATIA - Imagine & Shape 2 (IMA) is natively integrated with all the others V5 applications, from style surface engineering to manufacturing. Integrated implies: firstly, there is no need of data conversions between the styling and the engineering design departments during the required modification loops. Secondly, the native integration supports a full assossiativity between the styling and all the downstream V5 applications, meaning that a styling modification can be quickly propagated.

Using CATIA - Imagine & Shape 2 (IMA), in conjunction with V5 portfolio, you can:

• Leverage the collaboration between different teams, and especially between designers and engineers,
• Accelerate the early stages of the design process by iterating sooner, quicker and more often on high quality style definition,
• Ensure a fast and right propagation of the style modifications to the engineering team: replace, or modify, doesn't mean any more redo!

Put styling at the heart of the V5 PLM
The CATIA - Imagine & Shape 2 (IMA) users benefit naturally from the overall PLM Solution provided by Dassault Systemes including ENOVIA V5 and SMARTEAM for data and product lifecycle management. This unique referential leverages collaborative work giving access to advanced PLM practices such as concurrent engineering and change management.

ABOUT CATIA V5R14
CATIA is Dassault Systemes' PLM solution for digital product definition and simulation. It is totally integrated with DELMIA, the Company's solution for defining and simulating lean digital manufacturing processes, ENOVIA, its solution for managing product lifecycle information, including digital mockup configuration, processes knowledge and resources information, and SMARTEAM, its rapidly implemented, cost-effective solution for managing product lifecycle collaboration at companies of all sizes.