• NX, Teamcenter used at German auto supplier’s Electrical Drives division
• Siemens software replaces legacy system as part of unified Bosch strategy
• Bosch introducing digital collaboration across product development

March 17, 2016: Siemens’ integrated suite of computer aided design (CAD), product data management (PDM) and product lifecycle management (PLM) software solutions are replacing the legacy system of German automotive supplier Bosch in its Electrical Drives division. Starting in summer 2016, Siemens NX software and Teamcenter® software will serve as the common development platform for the division’s global operations. Bosch has been using CAD/PDM/PLM software from Siemens in other business units for several years. Its decision to expand into the Electrical Drives division is part of its strategic plan to consolidate its diversified tool landscape with a unified methodology for modelling, design and collaboration. The volume of the deal will not be disclosed.

Bosch’s decision for Siemens software aligns with its goal to optimize the value chain of the Electric Drives division with a modular toolkit-concept. This will also be the basis for digital collaboration between different departments across the product development process. The increased standardization and new functionalities will help Bosch realize scale effects more specifically. The digital end-to-end process Bosch is deploying will enable faster innovation, accelerated time-to-market and broader support for the Industry 4.0 strategy, which will secure and extend competitive advantages for the Stuttgart based automotive supplier.

“Siemens PLM Software believes that the increasingly complex products today’s automotive suppliers offer require a systems-driven approach to product development that combines systems engineering with an integrated product definition,” said Urban August, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Siemens PLM Software, Germany. “To facilitate systems-driven product development (SDPD), Siemens PLM Software provides product line engineering capabilities, a consistent process-enabled framework for mechatronic engineering, advanced modeling and simulation, an intuitive user experience and an open PLM environment.”

NX, Siemens’ integrated 3D computer-aided design, manufacturing and engineering analysis (CAD/CAM/CAE) solution, will be used to establish and optimize an integrated product development environment. Additionally, utilization of Teamcenter, Siemens’ comprehensive digital lifecycle management solution, provides a fast and easy method for instantly accessing relevant information for rapid evaluation, decision making and re-use of proven best practices. The solutions provide a platform for a broad range of development tasks, from various actuating drives for window lifts, seat adjusters, sliding roofs, steering column adjustment and lift gate drives to motors for anti-lock breaking and electronic stability control systems, fan modules and coolant pumps for motor cooling systems, front and rear wiper systems as well as drive motors for e-scooters and e-bikes.

The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. It employs roughly 375,000 associates worldwide (as of December 31, 2015). According to preliminary figures, the company generated sales of more than 70 billion euros in 2015. Its operations are divided into four business sectors: Mobility Solutions, Industrial Technology, Consumer Goods, and Energy and Building Technology. The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its roughly 440 subsidiaries and regional companies in some 60 countries. If its sales and service partners are included, then Bosch is represented in roughly 150 countries. This worldwide development, manufacturing, and sales network is the foundation for further growth. In 2015, Bosch applied for some 5,400 patents worldwide. The Bosch Group’s strategic objective is to deliver innovations for a connected life. Bosch improves quality of life worldwide with products and services that are innovative and spark enthusiasm. In short, Bosch creates technology that is “Invented for life.” For more information, visit www.bosch.com.

Siemens PLM Software, a business unit of the Siemens Digital Factory Division, is a leading global provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) and manufacturing operations management (MOM) software, systems and services with over nine million licensed seats and more than 77,000 customers worldwide. Headquartered in Plano, Texas, Siemens PLM Software works collaboratively with its customers to provide industry software solutions that help companies everywhere achieve a sustainable competitive advantage by making real the innovations that matter. For more information on Siemens PLM Software products and services, visit www.siemens.com/plm.

Courtesy: DailyCADCAM.com

3DPLM Software Solutions Ltd (3DPLM) an R&D Lab for Dassault Systèmes in India and Pimpri- Chinchwad College of Engineering-Pune (PCCOE) announced setting up of ‘Product Innovation Lab’ at the College Campus.

3DPLM Product Innovation Lab will provide platform to the students to explore product Innovations, undertake experiments to understand the end-to-end concepts in Design-Analysis-Manufacturing and foster ‘Learn by Doing’ approach in Engineering Education. 3DPLM will provide best in class new generation equipment and tools for this lab, which will help students to explore new product ideas and build working prototypes during their education.

The ‘Product Innovation Lab’ will be open for community usage comprising of students, faculty members of the college and industries in the region to explore new product innovations.

3DPLM Software solutions has its state of the art campuses in Pune, Bengaluru and Mumbai and is the R&D Centre for Dassault Systèmes in India. 3DPLM is actively working with many engineering colleges and universities in India for Industry-Academia connect in which the primary interest is to help academia to embrace new technologies as part of Engineering Education. 3DPLM believes that Skilled India mission can be strengthened with active industry collaboration and with academia’s willingness to embrace new techniques, technologies and ideas.

Being an R&D Lab, 3DPLM will support the ’Product Innovation’ lab through its rich experience and expertise in the state of the art technologies and also through its contribution to build strong eco system of ‘Academia – R&D – Industry’.

Pimpri Chinchwad College of Engineering will provide right platform and expertise through strong pool of academicians, young enthusiastic students and strong leadership in education and research

Intosite is Free mobile application for iOS (iPad), it is designed to solve complex manufacturing & finding right information challenges. It improves manufacturing engineering and operations, access information and share knowledge.

It is complement to Intosite in Tecnomatix® software – Check http://www.plm.automation.siemens.com/en_us/products/tecnomatix/intosite/index.shtml

This mobile app is a location-aware application that displays product lifecycle management (PLM) and manufacturing information from Intosite on the shop floor. It enables users to access information from Intosite when they are on the shop floor or at an outdoor facility, as well as upload information to Intosite. The information is presented based on the user’s location.

Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0A1yBIFBvA

Details – http://blog.industrysoftware.automation.siemens.com/blog/tag/ipad-app/

Updated Version Released: Aug 08, 2014
Version: 1.3.1
Size: 35.1 MB
Download from the Apple App Store – https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/intosite/id894224248?mt=8

The company also records consolidated revenues of INR 2,888.89 Mn.

Geometric Ltd, one of the leaders in Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Global Engineering Services, and Offshore Software Product Development (OSPD) solutions and technologies, recently announced that the company’s erstwhile Chief Mentor, Mr. Shashank Patkar will take over as the Chief Financial Officer and Global Head of Finance effective February 9th, 2015. Mr. Patkar takes over from Mr. Neeraj Dutt, who has decided to leave for personal reasons.

Shashank Patkar has been a part of the Geometric group since 1986 (when it was still a part of the EBE Division of Godrej & Boyce). He has played many key roles in the organization, including that of CFO from 2003 to 2007, and CEO of its joint venture company 3DPLM Software Solutions from 2007 to 2011.

Announcing the appointment, Mr. Manu Parpia, MD & CEO, Geometric said, “I am very pleased that Shashank has stepped up to take over as the CFO of the company. He was closely involved in setting up our information backbone, and has extensive knowledge and understanding of our financial operations. I am sure with his business acumen, connect with the investor community, and hands-on approach, he will be an immense strength to our finance organization. I take the opportunity to thank Neeraj for his contribution to Geometric’s progress”.

Mr. Patkar has over 28 years of experience in PLM and Engineering, and is one of the founding employees of Geometric. Before taking on the mantle of Chief Mentor, he served as the Chief Transformation Officer, responsible for driving Lean implementation, global process harmonization and re-implementation of ERP. Mr. Patkar is a Mechanical Engineer and holds an MBA from the S.P Jain Institute of Management & Research. He is a past President of Software Exporter’s Association of Pune and represents Geometric on various industries and government forums in Pune.

A revenue rise of 3.3% q-o-q and 4.9% y-o-y

Geometric Ltd recently announced its third quarter financial results for FY 2014-2015. Highlights for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 (Q3 FY15):

• In Dollar terms, revenues rise 1% q-o-q and 5% y-o-y to USD 46.6 Mn
• Signed new deals worth USD 13.09 Mn, highest in the last two years
• Improvement in retention levels, with attrition for the quarter at 12.2% compared to 14.8% in the previous quarter
• EPS for the quarter at INR 2.56

The Company recorded operating revenues of INR 2,888.89 Mn for the quarter ended December 31, 2014, as against INR 2,796.67 Mn in the previous quarter and INR 2,752.80 Mn in the corresponding quarter last year; a growth of 3.3% and 4.9% respectively. The Company’s revenue excluding its joint venture company rose 4.8% and 10% to INR 2,154.22 Mn from INR 2,056.18 Mn in Q2FY15 and INR 1,958.97 Mn in Q3FY14 respectively. In dollar terms, this revenue growth excluding the joint venture company was at 2.4% q-o-q and 10% y-o-y which was effected by the continued weakness of the Euro. In constant currency terms though Geometric’s USD revenues excluding its joint venture company saw a growth of 4.1% q-o-q. Profit after tax stood at INR 163.75 Mn when compared with profits of INR 162.90 Mn in the previous quarter and INR 75.27 Mn in Q3FY14.

Mr. Manu Parpia, Managing Director & CEO said, “We believe our substantial re-structuring is beginning to pay off. Despite being a traditionally weak quarter, we saw growth across our verticals. The Company is increasingly being invited to participate in strategic conversations, which will lead to improvement in revenue both quantitatively and qualitatively.”

The company had a total employee strength of over 4800 employees as of December 31, 2014, including its subsidiaries.

Key wins and additional business highlights for Q3 FY15

The company signed new deals worth USD 13.09 Mn. Some of the significant wins in this quarter include:

• Entered a software product development deal with a leading independent software vendor
• Started an application management services engagement with a European Automotive OEM
• Won an enterprise DFx implementation project with a leading Aerospace OEM in North America
• Began a software product development services contract with shipping major in North America
• Awarded a PLM integration project for a leading aerospace OEM in North America
• Entered a manufacturing engineering project with a leading Auto OEM
• Signed a PLM services project with a leading Chinese Auto OEM

Other important business highlights for the quarter include:

Signed an MoU with College of Engineering, Pune and Colorado State University for setting up a 3D printing lab and promoting additive manufacturing in India. Geometric to invest INR 12 Mn for this initiative.

Partnered with Machining Training Solutions to deliver state-of-the-art training programs at Eastern Florida State University to fill the growing demand for skilled, advanced technology positions critical for leading U.S. manufacturers competing on a global scale.

Acquisition to Expand Siemens’ Manufacturing Execution Systems Offerings; Delivers on Siemens’ Strategy for a Fully Integrated Digital Enterprise.
Adds Manufacturing Execution Systems Leadership in Key Industries; Will Add Big Data Product Performance Analytics across Global Supply Chain.

Siemens has entered into an agreement to acquire Camstar Systems, Inc., one of the proven market leaders in enterprise Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) software. The acquisition will build on Siemens’ industrial digitalization strategy by broadening its integrated product development and production automation solutions for the electronics, semiconductor and medical device industries. Today’s announcement represents the latest step to help companies realize innovation with a truly integrated digital enterprise. Camstar’s best-in-class MES solutions will complement Siemens’ existing vertical industry offerings. Camstar will become part of Siemens’ product lifecycle management (PLM) business. The transaction is expected to close during the second half of November, 2014. Terms of the acquisition will not be disclosed.

Camstar’s enterprise MES portfolio delivers scalable, flexible, enterprise-wide solutions for centralized or distributed multi-site manufacturing environments. Today’s complex product development environment is driving strong demand for enterprise MES solutions among manufacturers in discrete industries. The Camstar portfolio includes next-generation, high-performance analytics to gain insight into the operations of complex and global processes. This cloud-based capability leverages state-of-the-art, big data technology across the operations and global supply chain of the enterprise.

“The addition of the Camstar team and products represents the latest step in Siemens’ focus on delivering industry leading, comprehensive functionality and the deep expertise needed to support our customers’ digital enterprises,” said Chuck Grindstaff, president and CEO of Siemens PLM Software. “The addition of Camstar’s solutions will further accelerate our integration of PLM with the Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM) domain. In the integrated digital enterprise, we are enabling PLM, MOM and industrial automation to work together to help customers realize innovation in their products and processes throughout the value chain. Camstar’s unique value and industry-centric approach complements the Siemens strategy for the MOM domain and will be a welcomed addition to our premier MES brand, SIMATIC IT.”

“Camstar has established a long-standing reputation as the industry standard in MES capabilities and value delivery to the medical device, semiconductor and electronics segments,” said Scott Toney, CEO, Camstar. “Siemens clearly recognizes the value we bring to these segments, and the natural fit we are for their industry strategy. We view this as a great benefit for our customers, and we welcome the expanded opportunities that will result from being a part of Siemens.”

“Siemens’ acquisition of Camstar is a smart move that aligns well with their industry strategy,” said Greg Gorbach, vice president, ARC Advisory Group. “It enhances their capabilities in important industry segments, adds powerful technology and expertise to their solution offering, and enables their customers to realize innovation.”

Founded in 1984, Camstar is headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., and has 250 employees in the United States, Singapore, Malaysia, China and The Netherlands.

ThoughtBerry Technologies India Pvt Ltd, the powerhouse of Product Life-cycle Management solution venture in India has recently signed the Channel Partnership with Cimatron, India for Karnataka Territory. The company will be majorly responsible for sales & support of Cimatron products in the region.

Talking about the partnership Koushik Kumar, Founder & Director, ThoughtBerry Technologies India Pvt ltd says, “ThoughtBerrry’s Channel Partnership with Cimatron is very strategic and would be focusing on SMB Market revenue ranging from 100 crore to 500 crore companies. ThoughtBerry has a strong customer base for PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) in Karnataka, through which it will increase the existing customer base by 60-70% in the next 3-4 quarters for Cimatron.”

Cimatron develops and distributes CAD/CAM software for the manufacturing industry. With two major product lines, GibbsCAM and CimatronE, the company has been serving the growing Indian market. “Indian CAD/CAM Market has very strong opportunities & potential for SMB market. We have seen a rapid business growth in the last two quarters for CAD/CAM/PLM Industries and a majority of the customers from SMB market are showing great interest towards advance solutions in order to enhance their capabilities. This change will add greater values to the Channel Partners and Service Providers like us,” says Koushik.

Indian industry has slowly but finally has realised the potential of automated technologies. From manufacturing leaders to SMEs, everyone is looking to increase productivity while reducing the cycle time. Koushik opines, “Indian SMB market for CAD/CAM/CAE has changed drastically as compared to 2011. Now companies are focusing on, “Time to Market” strategy to be beat the competition. With this we see a great opportunity to support all our customers with Strategic Value Road Map to deliver their vision.”

ThoughtBerry is known to be a one-stop solution provider as it caters to various areas, from consulting to product sales, managed consulting to engineering services. Talking about their future plans, Koushik says, “Apart from revenue and head count expansion, ThoughtBerry plans to extend its geographical presence across South India, US and Europe. Structure-wise, the organisation has been divided into Engineering Services, Manages Consulting & Product Sales. The sales team is quite vital to ThoughtBerry’s growth and has added a stong customer base. ThoughtBerry is in the process of hiring more engineers to boost the sales & pre-sales strength. By next two years we are targeting to hire around 100 employees.”

Establish ‘Geometric 3D Make Lab’, a 3D printing lab for the engineering and manufacturing community

Geometric Ltd, a leader in Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Global Engineering Services, and Offshore Software Product Development (OSPD) solutions and technologies, today announced the signing of an MoU with College of Engineering, Pune (COEP) and Colorado State University (CSU), USA for setting up the ‘Geometric 3D Make Lab’ at the COEP premises. The lab will be open to students/faculty of all colleges as well as industry personnel and the community at large allowing them to build 3D printed objects and explore the hardware and software used in the additive manufacturing process. The Lab will be managed by the COEP.

Geometric will invest up to USD 200,000 (Rs. 1.2 Crores) over a period of three years towards setting up the lab, after which the lab is expected to be self-reliant. Geometric will also provide software expertise in the area of 3D printing, scanning, PLM, CAD and related areas; as well as projects for graduate/post graduate students on the additive manufacturing process. Colorado State University on the other hand, which already boasts a similar lab, will provide the requisite know-how in additive manufacturing, setting up a broad-access 3D printing lab, and software tools, and will be actively involved in making the lab a success.

Signing the MoU, Prof. Anil Sahasrabudhe, Director, COEP said, “We are very happy to be associated with a leading engineering technology company like Geometric and the innovative educators at CSU. We are sure to gain from the company’s extensive experience in new age technologies. 3D printing and additive manufacturing are expected to transform the way we manufacture today, and this lab will be critical in ensuring our students and faculty are future-ready in every way.”

Mr. Manu Parpia, MD & CEO, Geometric said, “We are proud and excited to be associated with this path breaking initiative. Geometric 3D Make Lab will make exploring the power of additive manufacturing easier for the engineering community in Pune. We will get a first-hand view of the challenges and issues faced by users during 3D printing, helping us enhance our products and solutions for the design and manufacturing process of the future, thus enabling us to better serve our global customers. Moreover, I think it is critical for business and academia to come together for such commitments and hone the skills of the next generation of talent in our country.”

Dr. David Prawel, Director of CSU’s Advanced/Additive Manufacturing Laboratory added, “At our lab in Colorado, we’ve seen that hands-on experience with additive manufacturing goes a long way in building the right software solutions for this technology. We applaud Geometric’s and COEP’s efforts in setting up a lab of this caliber in India, and we are happy to provide our expertise to jump-start the initiative. We are sure to see some exciting and innovative products from this new lab.”

A fitness freak who likes reading management journals and autobiographies, Vikash Khanvelkar, Founder & Managing Director, DesignTech Systems Pvt Ltd narrates his entrepreneurial journey with Nishant Kashyap. Excerpts…

It was during 1994-95 when the CAD/CAM technology had started taking baby steps into the Indian industry. Conglomerates like TATA, Mahindra and Bajaj among others became the first few to invest in the technology.

“During those days, I was part of HCL Infosystems and was consulting these business giants regarding CAD/CAM technology. I was based in Pune, one of the biggest industrial hubs of Western India, where some of the automotive companies had their manufacturing units,” says Vikash Khanvelkar, Founder & Managing Director, DesignTech Systems Pvt Ltd.

A qualified engineer (Electronics & Telecomm) from College of Engineering Pune, Khanvelkar went on to pursue his Masters in Business Administration and specialized in Marketing.

He was known for his strong domain knowledge and curiosity for the new technologies while he worked as a consultant. “Coming from a manufacturing background, I was able to understand and promote CAD/CAM technology to these engineering companies. As I had the domain understanding my performance during that time exceeded the expectation of my seniors. I was appointed as Country Manager of HCL,” he adds.

Khanvelkar worked on introducing latest technologies in the Indian market right from the beginning, be it CNC Technology; Variable speed DC, AC and Servo Drives; or CAD/CAM. Even before the CAD/CAM technology was introduced in the Indian market, he had managed to gain sound experience in the machine tool industry in terms of the use of conventional as well automated technologies like CNC.

It was during 1997-98 that windows operating system created a strong hold and application vendors started using it significantly. Earlier the technology that was available for Rs 30-35 lakh went down to Rs 4-5 lakh in windows with equally good result. This was the time when Khanvelkar made up his mind to become an entrepreneur. He could see the potential of CAD/CAM in the manufacturing industry. Further, the domain knowledge and expertise gained provided a much needed boost.

“Starting my own venture had always been my dream and I knew if given a chance this technology will be well adopted in India as well. Together with my partner Sachin Chougule, (presently holding the position of Director) started DesignTech in 1998,” avers Khanvelkar.

DesignTech was formed with an initial investment of Rs 2 lakh. Talking about the initial days Khanvelkar says, “I met Sachin Chougule during our HCL days. I told him about my business plan and he agreed. Initially he looked after the technical part and I managed sales & marketing. He was very sound in technical aspects and because of him I never had any technical related issue.”
But it was not easy, DesignTech too faced obstacles during its initial days. Since CAD/CAM was in a very nascent stage, the biggest challenge was to convince people about the technology. “I gave my best to spread awareness about the technology. I also gave lectures in colleges and told students about a good career option i.e CAD/CAM.”
Apart from this, raising money and getting the right people on board was a huge challenge. He adds, “I knew about the lack of awareness about CAD/CAM in the industry and that small players are far away from it. So we chose a different path for our business, instead of just selling, we first started training our customers and showed them the positive result.”

This strategy worked well and even attracted small players. Today almost all the companies have 3D modelling in their design system.

Slowly and steadily the company started making an impact on the industry. “DesignTech’s first customer was Micron Packaging, who were happy with our services and since then we never looked back,” he says.
It was also the time when Indian automotive industry was fast developing and they needed a reliable product with fast delivery. This demand pushed small component vendor/ manufacturer to invest in better technology to cater to their customers.

Khanvelkar says, “Once the industry was mature we introduced customers to other software’s such as plant simulation tool from Siemens, Mathwork for mathematical simulation and Stratsys for rapid prototyping. We put all these technologies in our basket to help organisations design their product better and faster.”

Achievements

• The company also boosts the complete range of CAD/CAM/PLM/CAE/RPT solutions from some of the global giants like Altair,  Stratasys, Mathworks, Siemens Industry Software among others.
• DesignTech was ranked amongst NASCCOM top 50 emerging companies in India in 2010.
• Siemens Industry Software and DesignTech Systems Ltd. signed an MoU with the Government of Gujarat in September 2013 to set-up 5 Siemens Centers of Excellence in various cities in Gujarat. DesignTech Systems is the execution partner for running these centers successfully.
• With more than 2000 satisfied customers and 350+ workforce, DesignTech is looking to expand.

During 2003-04, DesignTech started providing engineering services. Khanvelkar says, “We realised that various companies were having trouble while designing complex parts, so we started providing them engineering solutions as well.”

The first breakthrough in engineering service came from Mahindra when they were developing Scorpio, the iconic SUV. Talking about the engineering services, he says, “We were part of Scorpio’s development team. We worked on complex component development, vehicle integration, etc. We were successfull in doing all the design and simulation work, so we started building this as a conscious activity. Today we have more than 200 people working only on product design services.”
It is perfectly put by Mary Kay Ash –“People are definitely a company’s greatest asset. It doesn’t make any difference whether the product is cars or cosmetics. A company is only as good as the people it keeps.”

When all these technologies were put to significant use, it gave rise to a severe need for trained manpower. Various companies faced a challenge to get the right talent.
“Sensing the manpower shortage in the industry, we started training programme for the experienced and freshers. We had the experience, knowledge and right manpower, so we started the CAD Academy,” says Khanvelkar.

The company hired the best known faculty for the training institute. Programmes were planned in a way so that the students not just learned about the design, but also got industry exposure.

DesignTech has come a long way since its inception, providing solutions to various industries such as aerospace & defence, automotive, heavy engineering, consumer goods, industrial machinery and power & energy to name a few. Talking about his journey Khanvelkar says, “We have come this long because of our customers, we have extremely good customer loyalty. The credit also goes to our passionate team members.”

DesignTech operates in three fields today — product distribution, design services and training institute. “We are the largest when it comes to product distribution, now we aim to be the largest in terms of domestic design services and training,” he adds.

Sharing his experience with the new-age entrepreneurs Khanvelkar says, “Entrepreneurs must have a very good clarity of mind on what they want to achieve. If you are honest and put sincere effort you will eventually succeed.

Dongbu Daewoo Electronics, a consumer electronics manufacturer in Korea, has selected Siemens’ product lifecycle management (PLM) business to deploy a new PLM system based on its Teamcenter® software. Siemens was selected for its understanding of Dongbu Daewoo Electronics’ PLM objectives and business vision. The new system is expected to improve the manufacturer’s R&D process, increase product quality, reduce costs and enhance overall productivity throughout product development.

“We selected Siemens PLM Software following a thorough review and evaluation,” said Jang-hee Lee, Executive Vice President of the R&D Center, Dongbu Daewoo Electronics. “With this implementation, we are expecting to see an improvement in employees’ productivity and design quality. The deployment of the structured and logical R&D system will give Dongbu Daewoo Electronics new opportunities to enhance our competitiveness in the industry.”

Dongbu Daewoo Electronics will use Teamcenter as the foundation of its new PLM platform. The company expects to improve its project-based R&D process management and design quality with a more structured system that makes it easy to access information instantly for informed decision making. Teamcenter will also help the company increase productivity and reduce product development costs by managing all active files, such as 3D and 2D product data and other general documents, more effectively.

“We are extremely excited to be a partner of Dongbu Daewoo Electronics,” said Jung Chul, Vice President of Siemens PLM Software, Korea. “As a leading supplier of PLM software to the manufacturing industry, we are confident the completed PLM implementation will help our customer achieve success in their design innovation and business goals.”

Teamcenter received high scores in the evaluation conducted by Dongbu Daewoo Electronics for its rapid deployment and excellent performance. It was also evaluated on its superior capabilities for project management, product information integration and technological document management. Teamcenter is the world’s most widely used digital lifecycle management software.

CAD/CAM technology has been catering to the industry since the late 1990s. Initially companies were hesitant to adopt these technologies and perceived them to be a tool that only big MNCs could afford. However, the perception has changed now. Today there is more awareness about these technologies and the value they add in robust product design engineering and manufacturing processes. Hence, these tools have become extremely popular, even among the SMEs and are no more looked at as a luxury for the MNCs.

Today most of the companies that are into product design and engineering have atleast a basic CAD set-up in house that facilitates them to either create or make modifications in the product design. Hence, 3D modelling software is very easily found in the R&D labs of SMEs as well. However, CAE is still trying to make its way into the market. Although the awareness of this technology is fast being comprehended by the industry, but is not yet very widely used. The fact that these tools require trained manpower and slightly higher R&D budget acts as a drawback when it comes to some SMEs. But for limited usage, they can always outsource and avail the services of an engineering services partner.

Rapid prototyping technology that is critical in physical product design validation is also witnessing demand in the Indian engineering industry. It helps designers identify functional and ergonomic errors which can go unnoticed in the virtual product design simulation. But again, because these technologies are little hard on R&D budgets, SMEs need to think twice about making them a part of their R&D set-ups. But as the Indian industry realises the fact that adopting latest technology will help them fight the growing competition and deliver good quality work in lesser time and costs, these technologies have now become a necessity rather than just ‘good to have’.

Challenges in CAD/CAM industry
Availability of trained man power is one of the biggest challenges in this industry. Engineering students are exposed to very basic and preliminary understanding of the CAD and CAE software functionalities and feature and lack the understanding of how they can apply this knowledge when exposed to the industry. There is a shortage of people possessing relevant, in-depth and holistic understanding of these technologies and their application. Companies hence have to invest lot of time, money and resources in making them job ready. This slows down the productivity.

Another challenge is the traditional mindset and reluctance or aversion to adopt the technology due to the fear of having to learn how to operate it, or maybe because they are threatened that technology will become indispensible and render them expendable.
The costs involved in adopting these technologies also poses as a challenge. All the premium, and high end technological solutions are expensive and sometimes the SMEs do not have that high a budget required to invest in that level of infrastructure development.

Latest developments and offerings in CAD/CAM/CAE and PLM technologies are:

Direct Digital Manufacturing: This high end rapid prototyping technology from Stratasys enables designers to create complex parts/products using FDM (Fused Deposition Modelling) technology, that can be used as products for end use. FDM technology has been patented by Stratasys. If a company does not have to mass manufacture a product, but still needs to create an equally good quality product for end use, they can use this machine to create it. FDM can help manufacture organically shaped tools, jigs, check gauges and fixtures for assembly processes.

Digital Manufacturing Solutions: This software tool enables companies to virtually create production plant simulations that best
optimises and configures work flows, assembly lines, robotics and even considers ergonomics. This reduces time and material wastage to a great extent as well. Ergonomics study also helps incorporate necessary safety requirements and maintain healthy standard of working conditions in the production facilities. It can be used to design plants right from the start, or can be even used to modify designs of the existing plants. This technology is fast catching up in the manufacturing industry

PLM: Product lifecycle management in its wide purview includes all the process and stages that go into product development, right from product designing, simulation and analysis, to production by configuring optimised workflows and processes that can shorten design and development cycle; reduce time, material and cost wastage; and thus enhance overall efficiency and effectiveness of the product design and development department.

Product Design Optimisation: There are certain tools in the market that facilitate designers to optimise product design in such a way, that it reduces the weight of the product, yet enhances its strength. It basically highlights the areas in product design that might contain excess material and removal of which might not compromise on the quality of the product, and at the same time, if applicable, might even highlight the areas in the design which might use some material which can enhance the strength of the product. It basically reduces on the consumption of the material and ensures that the material is being added in the right areas in right quantities where it is utmost essential to retain the desired quality and strength of the product. It drastically enhances the product design and functional quality and robustness.

Market Scenario
Various surveys, studies and reports have indicated that Engineering Services in India is going to grow manifolds in the years to come. It might make India a global R&D centre for many companies and even the outsourcing of engineering services to India will go up. This has brought CAD/CAM industry into big prominence and limelight.

Many companies are making the most of this opportunity and investing in building the necessary infrastructure to support, match, augment and benefit from this growth. e.g. there will be a rise the demand of trained manpower in CAD/CAM and CAE technology, which will significantly increase job opportunities in the country and hence resulted into the rise of CAD/CAM/CAE training centres. Students should take a wise decision of selecting a centre by thoroughly checking the quality of courseware, teaching methodology, recognition in the market etc. This will also increase employment opportunities in the country and students who read this trend early and prepare themselves accordingly will benefit.

Also there is a rise of companies providing engineering services. Various CAD/CAM/CAE and PLM technology vendors and developers are flooding the markets, giving consumer companies wide range of choice and options to choose from after carefully evaluating their needs and requirements and matching them with the software that can best support their engineering initiatives.

Just like the IT boom, product engineering might just be the next big thing.

About AUthor

Sanjay Daga, Executive VP – Sales, DesignTech Systems Ltd
PS: Image courtesy have been mentioned with the images