Ford Motor Company’s Adoption of CATIA V5 Increases Product Development Efficiency
Ford Fusion virtual build development time shortened

IBM and Dassault Systèmes (DS), world leaders in 3D and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), announced that CATIA V5 played a crucial role in increasing product development efficiency on the Ford Fusion program at Ford Motor Company. CATIA V5, supporting collaborative virtual product development, was used on the Body-in-White (BIW) development of the Ford Fusion, helping Ford reduce its overall digital development time. CATIA V5 continues to enable innovation in Ford’s product development process by providing mature, highly reliable data much earlier in the vehicle design process. 

“CATIA V5 doesn’t just create parts. It creates those parts in the context of each other, taking into consideration all the surrounding design and engineering intent. Our customers are benefiting from exceptional maturity of data very early in the process,” said Joel Lemke, president, Dassault Systèmes Americas Corp. and recently appointed CEO of ENOVIA. “CATIA’s ability to quickly adapt a design for other vehicles on the same platform is critical to making gains in an overall corporate product development process, and is a real, measurable through-put improvement that is directly contributing to Ford’s goal of driving cost out of the system and ensuring quality.”

Ford launched CATIA V5 in 2003 and used it for Body-in-White development of the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr vehicle programs. Leveraging CATIA V5 enabled Ford to take a top-down, functional approach to BIW geometric modeling. This included product & process associativity and integration. The deployment of CATIA V5 within the context of the associative design process yielded a significant reduction of geometric modeling time. This reduction was accomplished while delivering greater design fidelity and completeness earlier in the product development process. All the system/component geometric relationships─including detailed transitions, blends, and fillets─were delivered earlier and maintained throughout all of the subsequent design iterations.

CATIA V5 was instrumental in maintaining the cross-vehicle system relationships supporting associated brands, such as the Lincoln Zephyr and the Mercury Milan. Changes to system specifications are now automatically propagated to the detailed design level across several disciplines, including CAE and manufacturing.

Ford’s success with CATIA V5 further strengthens Dassault Systèmes’ and IBM’s position within the automotive community. “We are very pleased that Dassault Systèmes could help Ford achieve real, measurable improvement in data quality and delivery on the Fusion project. We look forward to expanded contributions in the Ford system,” added Lemke. Dassault Systèmes was named the leading provider of PLM software services and sales in 2005 by independent industry analyst firm Daratech.

Boeing’s PLM Implementation Leads Way in Aerospace with Dassault Systèmes’ Solutions
Global Collaborative Environment for 787 with V5 PLM: CATIA, ENOVIA, and DELMIA contributing to program accomplishments

Dassault Systèmes (DS), a world leader in 3D and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions is playing a key role in enabling significant accomplishments for Boeing and its global team of partners. The 787 Dreamliner team, all working within Boeing’s Global Collaborative Environment (GCE), have achieved 25 percent design release on the all-new jetliner. The GCE was initially implemented two years ago with the full-scale implementation of DS’ ENOVIA solution.  This continually evolving solution has played a key role in the 787 program achieving the product definition objective.

The 787 is considered the world’s largest current industrialization effort. The total 787 team, including sub-tier contracts, involves companies from around two dozen countries and 135 partner sites around the world. Utilizing the Global Collaboration Environment and the Dassault Systèmes suite of tools, design of the 787 can proceed simultaneously at these sites. Given the scale of the project and the volume of data being exchanged, significant performance and scalability challenges are being met by DS’ V5 architecture and throughout the GCE program.

Engineering and manufacturing an innovative composite airliner required the creation of new PLM technologies to meet efficiency and productivity objectives. In addition, the introduction of digital manufacturing and maintenance with DELMIA technology as a 787 GCE element is a significant aerospace industry breakthrough.

“We have set ambitious goals for the 787 Dreamliner, from technology and integration standpoints. The systems being delivered by Dassault Systèmes will enable us to design, virtually manufacture, and simulate the aircraft lifecycle on a global basis with our partners,” said Mike Bair, vice-president and general manager, 787 Program, Boeing Commercial Aircraft.  “The Boeing Collaboration Environment is a key element to the impressive progress our team has made in the last 24 months.”

The GCE illustrates the value of large-scale collaboration on product design, process development and resource simulation, as well as the speed and innovation a company can achieve when using a comprehensive PLM environment such as Dassault Systèmes’ V5. 

“Two years ago, we set out to create an industry breakthrough in Virtual Product Life Cycle Management with Boeing for the Global Collaborative Environment (GCE). Today’s accomplishment by the 787 team is strong testimony to the capabilities we have helped to create,” said Bernard Charlès, president & CEO, Dassault Systèmes. “This breakthrough leverages the value of our integrated V5 Platform for CATIA (design), DELMIA (production) and ENOVIA (global collaboration). The 787 program demonstrates the value of true collaboration and the competitive advantage it provides.”

“The 787 project incorporates numerous technological innovations and represents a major advance in aircraft design,” said Bair. “Dassault Systèmes’ solution is not only helping us push the technological envelope, but will allow us to capitalize on the knowledge and IP assets we are creating during this process.

“With teams working in a common environment, the efficiency of collaboration has been taken to a new level,” commented Michel Tellier, vice-president, Industry Solutions, Americas, Dassault Systèmes.

About the Boeing 787 Dreamliner

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, schedule for delivery beginning in 2008, provides passengers with a better flying experience and operators with a more efficient commercial jetliner. Using 20 percent less fuel per passenger than similarly sized airplanes, the 787 is designed for the environment with lower emissions and quieter takeoffs and landings. Inside the airplane, passengers will find cleaner air, bigger windows, more stowage space and improved lighting. Twenty-nine airlines have logged 393 orders and commitments worth more than $55 billion at current list prices since the 787 launch in April 2004, making the Dreamliner the most successful commercial airplane launch in history.

CATIA, DELMIA, ENOVIA, SIMULIA and SolidWorks are registered trademarks of Dassault Systèmes or its subsidiaries in the US and/or other countries.

Samsung Heavy Industries Uses DELMIA Digital Technology for Futuristic Digital Shipbuilding Plant
Simulation-Based Manufacturing (SBM) will strengthen shipbuilder’s competitive edge in the manufacturing industry

Dassault Systèmes (DS), a world leader in 3D and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, announced that the world’s leading shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) has built a simulation-based digital shipyard using DELMIA digital manufacturing technology, enabling the company to successfully establish a real-time supply chain network for collaborative production.

With DELMIA, SHI’s Korea-based Geoje Shipyard is able to simulate design and engineering processes and digitally manage its facilities, procedures, and engineering schedules by shipbuilding in a virtual environment.  “In the future, Simulation-Based Manufacturing (SBM) will play a pivotal role in strengthening the competitiveness of manufacturing by applying IT technologies,” noted Hwang Gyu-Ok, general manager of the Information System Group for SHI. “The digital shipyard is not a simple operational system, but rather a key infrastructure, so it is critical that we use the best technology in Simulation-Based Manufacturing.” 

“SHI has successfully implemented a new conceptual digital shipyard solution simulating the whole process, ranging from conceptual design through operation to maintenance,” added Bertrand Saint-Martin, vice-president, DELMIA Asia-Pacific Operations. “Dassault Systèmes is proud to have partnered with SHI to facilitate this innovation.”

In order to increase its competitiveness, SHI joined the Korean government-led project for building a simulation-based digital shipyard, managed by the Ministry of Information and Communication and the Ministry of Commerce, Energy and Industry. DELMIA digital manufacturing solutions were implemented for the core virtual shipbuilding technology, in collaboration with experts from six universities including the Ocean Engineering Department of Seoul National University and the Korea Marine Ocean Research Development Institute.

In the first phase of its project to design an integrated simulator for processes from loading to manufacturing the hull, SHI adopted the DELMIA solutions IGRIP, VNC, QUEST and DELFOI Integrator to verify the digital modeling and manufacturing design. The simulation enabled analyses of the operation rate by equipment and period, which in turn led to enhanced customer satisfaction and technological competitiveness, reducing the time required to analyze operations from over 30 minutes to five. The simulation-based manufacturing management is expected to reduce cost by $7.3 million a year.

In addition, thanks to the possibility of verifying shipbuilding processes virtually using DELMIA Digital Shipbuilding Solution (DSS), SHI was granted the gold award for the Pacific Rim in the World’s Business Process Management Conference at the end of last year, and the Business Process award for leading technology by Samsung IT Symposium, a knowledge management award within the Samsung Group.

The digital shipyard is currently being operated in the third dock at Geoje shipyard. SHI’s new factory and the DSS are scheduled to be extended to the first and second docks. Additional implementations are being discussed.

About Samsung Heavy Industries Co., Ltd.

Samsung Heavy Industries was founded in 1974 with the goal of making contributions to the growth of the Korea’s heavy chemical industries and global leading companies of the world. Currently with 4 major business portfolio—shipbuilding, marine, digital control systems and the construction business—SHI has grown into a world-class heavy industry company. Based on its world’s best technological competitiveness in the shipbuilding area, the company is focusing its management capabilities on manufacturing high-value-added special ships such as deep-sea oil exploration vessels, LNG vessels, super-sized container ships and passenger ships. www.shi.samsung.co.kr/

Leading Supplier of Aircraft Crew Seating Relies on PLM Solutions from IBM and Dassault Systèmes
IPECO manages large data volume with ENOVIA SmarTeam and CATIA V5

IBM and Dassault Systèmes (DS) announced that IPECO, a leading supplier of flight deck and specialist crew seating for commercial aircraft and a long-time CATIA customer, has recently added 15 more seats of their Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions CATIA V5 and ENOVIA SmarTeam, to efficiently manage its many current projects.

“ENOVIA SmarTeam was recommended as the best solution for data management by the Continuous Improvement Team at IPECO,” noted Dave Scott, Technical Director. “The deployment of CATIA and ENOVIA SmarTeam within the design department has already allowed us to fully support the major projects we have been awarded, and we are planning to widen the exposure of ENOVIA SmarTeam across the company in order to increase collaboration between our internal departments.”

“As the drive for closer collaboration between OEMs and their suppliers becomes ever more critical to the success of projects within the aerospace industry, IPECO has met this requirement with IBM and Dassault Systèmes’ solutions, ensuring continued prosperity for the company in this highly competitive industry,” noted Philippe Boulay, Dassault Systèmes UK Channel Director.
 
IPECO’s crew seating must ensure optimum comfort and performance for any occupant irrespective of size or weight, and incorporates adjustable vertical and horizontal lumbar support, specially contoured cushions and angled seat-backs. This means managing high volumes of anthropometric and ergonomic data to ensure that each seat is comfortable and easy to operate. With more than 20 other projects in hand, IPECO manages all this data with its CATIA-ENOVIA SmarTeam solution.

Two years ago, IPECO purchased 10 migration seats of CATIA V5, the DS industry-leading solution that enables users to simulate the entire range of industrial design processes, and ENOVIA SmarTeam, the collaborative data management solution which enables manufacturers to manage their documentation, share and exchange product information throughout the extended enterprise. After a successful implementation, the company has added more seats, as well as specific tools which will facilitate its work as a supplier on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner project. With CATIA and ENOVIA SmarTeam, IPECO is able to communicate and collaborate quickly and instantaneously with Boeing, and with its own suppliers.

IPECO is supported in its implementation of the software and training by IBM/DS Business Partner Intrinsys.

About IPECO

Ipeco is a group of specialised engineering businesses. The core activities are the manufacture of flight deck and cabin interior equipment for the aircraft market, and power management products and machined components for the defence, electronics and engineering industries. With a quarter of a century's experience, Ipeco is the leading supplier of flight deck and specialist crew seating. The current portfolio contains over 50 models from simple compact designs for the utility aircraft market to seating applications for regional airlines, military transports, executive and long haul aircraft. Ipeco crew seats offer the highest standards of comfort and performance. www.ipeco.co.uk

DELMIA V5 Used for Digital Assembly of the Center Wing Box of the A400M

The Industrial Engineering Production Department of Airbus Nantes presented a 3D simulation of the assembly sequence of the A400M center wing box to the management and the assembly line staff. This simulation, performed with DELMIA V5 DPM Assembly, allowed all the participants of the project to virtually visualize and validate the flow of parts and sub assemblies along the assembly line. The type of tooling to be used and how the latter will be installed in the future plant of the A400M had been also defined with this software.

In France, Airbus Nantes is specialized in the CWB assembly (Center Wing Box) for all programs as well as all related components of the new military transport aircraft – the A400M. Airbus Nantes is also responsible for manufacturing the inlet cowl of the Long Range and Double Deck Airbus Programs. The planning of an aircraft is highlighted by a series of milestones known as M3 to M13. M3 signals project launch and M13 is the first flight of the airplane. One very important intermediate milestone is M7 which is the “Go” for the manufacturing phase. Once this step is reached, manufacturing considers that all the data from the design office valid and that the parts of an aircraft can actually be manufactured. The design of an aircraft begins with a digital mock up which, as the program progresses, is improved with the production department thanks to ACE (Airbus Concurrent Engineering). Up until the M7 milestone, the specialists from manufacturing work with the design office in Toulouse so that they can include, in the design, the manufacturing needs.

Last year marked the achievement of the M7 milestone for Airbus’s A400M during which the Industrial Engineering Production Department at Nantes was able to show a virtual 3D simulation to the assembly line staff and the management. This virtual 3D simulation presented the center wing box assembly sequences inside a digital representation of the future A400M assembly plant, thanks to DELMIA V5 DPM Assembly. With DPM Assembly Airbus Nantes was able to virtually create, visualize, simulate and validate the assembly manufacturing process before the plant was built or any equipment was acquired. This 3D simulation helped them verify the movement of elementary parts and sub-assemblies in the assembly line by using DPM Assembly’s advanced interference detection and analysis.

They were also able to confirm, on screen, the tooling that should be used and where to install it before physically implementing the assembly line. “We were able to efficiently present the entire assembly sequence of the center wing box virtually to our management staff using simulation sequences generated by DPM Assembly thereby convincing them that the project was cost effective and viable,” said François Gregoire, CAE Robotics Technician – Industrial Engineering Production Department Airbus Nantes.

In effect, Airbus needs to prepare, in advance, the building and the installation of the tooling and the assembly line where the center wing box will be assembled and perfect them as the definition of the plane progresses. “The 3D simulation made it possible for all the actors of the project to understand and validate the transfer and flow of the parts from one point to another and to plan the construction of the plant using this information thereby helping us eliminate part collisions-- which can be very costly to correct once physically installed,” said Mr. Gregoire. In addition, this digital simulation enabled the staff to make the right decisions before building the plant.

“We showed them how the parts would move along the assembly line, if there was any interference in the aisles, and how the installation of the plant floor would be,” said Mr. Gregoire. “This helped us detect that a major problem of collision would have occurred with the vertical tooling at a specific spot. We had to innovate to find new solutions. Thanks to the DPM Assembly simulation we turned the tooling 180° thus allowing the part to pass on the other side and therefore avoid any collision,” he added.

The simulation revealed other problems where operators would have had problems accessing and positioning the parts.  Airbus Nantes was able to correct these before physically installing the assembly line.

With DELMIA 5 DPM Assembly, designers using CATIA V5 were now able to perform simulations. This inevitably helped them during their design process since corrections could be made early. There was no need to have simulation specialists perform simulations; the unique V5 interface offered the possibilities of simulation to a wider population including those performing review and management activities.

With respect to performance, DELMIA V5 DPM Assembly is very robust and capable of managing large quantities of data. “Before, when storing the different simulation processes in the model such as changing views, zooming in and out and rotating the design, the tools we previously used would give out on us, forcing us to reduce the quantity of data stored, or to restart the machine and hope the simulation would run. We can now manage all our processes in the same model and not encounter performance problems during simulation. We can now, very easily, see the entire assembly line and simulate everything that goes on inside while manipulating the view at will to see if any problems exist.”

Airbus has been able to quantify these improvements. “Thanks to the power of the CATIA and DELMIA tools, we have divided our modeling and simulation time by two compared to the methods and tools we were using before,” said Gregoire. The A400M marks the first time Airbus used a 100% Dassault Systemes unique platform with CATIA V5 for design and DELMIA V5 for virtual simulation.