The amount of information required to describe the production of a product vastly exceeds the information represented within the product design itself. Digital Manufacturing provides the tools to properly document and communicate these manufacturing complexities.
One of the most famous moments on the venerable, still-on-in-reruns television classic "I Love Lucy" features Lucy and her sidekick, Ethel, taking work on the assembly line at a chocolate factory. The ladies are tasked with simply wrapping each piece of chocolate as it comes down the line. When the shift begins, with their boss' threat to fire them "if one single piece of candy gets past you into the room," our two heroines are able to easily keep up with their duties. Then the assembly line speeds up and the volume of chocolates increases ridiculously. To keep up with the volume, both resort to hiding excess chocolates in their hats, in their uniforms, or, famously, in their mouths. When their boss acknowledges their "splendid job" and commands the shift supervisor to "speed it up!" we have comedy gold.
In real life, though, assembly-process design flaws aren't funny. Consider the following auto assembly-line scenario: a particular bolt connection was found to be hard to reach and consequently, it was difficult for the assembly worker to tighten the bolt. As the assembly line continues to move along relentlessly at an unchanging speed, the worker was having a hard time keeping up with the pace, making the uncomfortable position more painful after a while. The result of this could be the entire production line coming to a screeching halt -- an outcome no company could afford. In some situations, it might not even be possible to meet delivery times.
The solution: software that simulates the entire production process. Enter Digital Manufacturing, an important category within the fast-growing Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) market.
Digital Manufacturing: Simulate, Then Change
The emergence of PLM has been well-recorded: many studies point to PLM as the fastest-growing enterprise applications market segment. PLM is the strategic, enterprise-wide approach that integrates people, processes, and information to manage a product's lifetime, from concept to end of life. Historically, within PLM, the primary focus has been on product design.
Within PLM, Digital Manufacturing and Manufacturing Lifecycle Management (MLM) -- defined as the strategic approach to planning, designing, and implementing optimal manufacturing processes -- has emerged. Digital Manufacturing defines and facilitates a holistic view of product and process design as integral components of the overall product lifecycle, and enables product design to be sensitive to process constraints and capabilities. More and more manufacturers are turning to Digital Manufacturing as a companion to CAD, PDM and other PLM-related applications, and as a way to accelerate and strengthen their lean initiatives.
Digital Manufacturing tools connect the product that exists in a designer's imagination and the processes necessary to make that product a reality-everything involved in the actual manufacture of the product: the production line, labor, equipment, material flow, tooling, processes, and work instructions needed to manufacture that product.
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