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Improving Lean Manufacturing Through 3D Data

by Dr Hiroshi Toriya

(c) 2009. Lattice Technology, Inc.

Prologue
The Japanese economy has never been as fragile as it is now. In January 2008, Hiroko Ota, the Cabinet Office Special Minister for Economic and Financial Policies, said to the national assembly that Japan is in a state where it can no longer be called first class, the first time a cabinet member admitted to the countrys long-term slump. In 2006 Japans percentage of the worlds total income dropped below 10% for the first time in 24 years, and the GDP per person fell to 18th place amongst OECD member countries. In February 2008 Japans struggle was a cover story for the British Economist magazine, the title of which was Japain (Japan and Pain). The story satirically points out how the Japanese economy still continues to struggle nearly 20 years after the bubble burst. Amidst this harsh economic environment, the manufacturing industry remains as the driving force in the country. Manufacturing contributes 20% to Japans GDP, and is responsible for 90% of all exports for the country, as a result of companies such as Toyota, Honda, Sony, Panasonic, and Canon developing their global brands with high quality and innovative products. In 2009, Japans manufacturing industry faces a growing economic plight caused by the global economic crisis, but again it will be the manufacturing industry that will support the country when Japan breaks out from its slump. Japans manufacturing industry is established across the manufacturing shop floors of many small and medium-sized companies who supply thousands of parts. These companies have been the engine for producing very high quality and competitive products. However, these same manufacturers are also suffering in the grim economic times. As products are becoming more and more sophisticated, product designs are also becomes increasingly complicated, and manufacturing efficiency is becoming a major challenge. Also, as global production efforts scatter labor and defocus the teams, that distributed effort brings further challenges such as maintaining quality, inexperienced staff, an aging workforce, and the inflow of foreign workers onto the shop floor. Simultaneously, the manufacturing industry is increasingly using 3D CAD in their design activities, so 3D design is now a common practice. The flow of 3D design information from the upstream design stage to downstream processes is revolutionizing the work process of the manufacturing floor. In this book, I discuss how Japanese manufacturing is effecting change to leverage the flood of digital information in the operation. Chapters 1 and 2 discuss the current situation of Japans manufacturing industry, and clarify the challenges and issues being faced. Chapter 3 explains how software technology for dealing with digital information in the manufacturing floor has evolved. Chapter 4 introduces the efforts of some companies working to reform their processes by using 3D data, and Chapter 5 introduces software for handling 3D data for the manufacturing shop floor. Chapters 6 through 12 deliver case studies that discuss how manufacturers have already changed with this software. Finally, Chapter 13 discusses the keys to success delivered by manufacturers who have successfully reformed their workplace. The aim of this book is to develop greater understanding of what Japanese manufacturers are doing to refine, reform and revolutionize their processes, even in the face of economic downturns. I believe that the lessons they have learned about using 3D data, and which I feature in this book, can help manufacturers worldwide to improve their own processes. Manufacturing will power countries out of the global economic recession, and we all need to continuously improve to be able to make that occur. Hiroshi Toriya Lattice Technology April 2009

(c) 2009. Lattice Technology, Inc.

Acknowledgments
In writing this book, I had the invaluable opportunity to visit many different manufacturing shops, and talk to many people involved in a variety of business activities in manufacturing, from those in charge of the manufacturing process to top management in the business. During this time, I had the pleasure of being deeply impressed and inspired by the ingenuity and innovation at the respective workplaces I visited. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to; Norikazu Miura and Akihiro Ishikawa of Kitakami City for talking to us about the efforts of this organization in promoting revitalization of the local economy based on 3D design; Yasuo Mishima, Manager of the Engineering Information Management Department of Toyota, President Isao Okamoto, Kaoru Suga, and Jun Baba of Shintec Hozumi, and Masahiro Kamimura, Takehiro Masuda, Toshio Ito, and Toshiya Matsuyama of Brother Industries for their insightful talk on the uses of 3D data. I would also like to express my gratitude to; Executive Director Roy Kurono, Shuji Amemiya, and Toshimi Ujiie of Tokyo Electron AT, Tsutomu Ando, Takashi Kondou, and Yasunori Nishimura of JEOL, Tsutomu Baba, Kazuhiko Fukuoka, Ryo Uchida, and Jun Goto of Niigata Power Systems, President Hideo Yokota and Former President Osami Mochizuki, Mitsuhisa Nakamura, Nobuyoshi Mizuno, Shigeki Yoshiwara, and Yukinobu Suzuki of Alpine Precision for talking to us about how they specifically promoted use of digital data at the manufacturing floor and how they overcame the many challenges faced. Many thanks also go to those in the IT business such as President Noriko Kanda of Digital General Printing and Hiroshi Hata of Digital Souken for talking to us about illustration production using 3D data, and to Yoshiki Hashiguchi of JAXA for sharing information on next generation 3D data uses. In planning and editing this book, I am indebted to Toshiro Watanabe, Manager of the Publishing and Educational Material Development Department of JIPM Solutions and Ikuya Yoshino of the Japan Management Association provided for their support. I am also deeply grateful to Mr. Fukuoka of Niigata Power Systems for providing the CG design created using XVL for the cover of the Japanese edition of this book. I would like to thank my staff at Lattice Technology; Mayumi Matsuura, Tomoko Maehara, and Akemi Fukuhara for helping prepare and proofread the manuscript, and Anri Omata and Masaru Jinguji for checking it. I would also like to thank Ms. Miyuki Hishinuma, Ms. Sei Kaku and Ms. Aya Osada for helping prepare this English version, to Ms. Yukie Ito for taking on the difficult task of translating the book, and to Ms. Rachael Dalton-Taggart for English review based on her extensive knowledge of this industry. Finally, I would have to express my deepest appreciation to our partner companies Hakuto, Hitachi High-Tech Solutions, Otsuka Corporation, and AutoDesk for the thought-provoking and insightful discussions, and to all my staff at Lattice Technology (for their hard work). Hiroshi Toriya April 2009

(c) 2009. Lattice Technology, Inc.

CONTENTS

Chapter 1: The Critical Need for Digitalization in Manufacturing Chapter 2: Tasks Faced by the Manufacturing Floor Chapter 3: The Evolution of Manufacturing Using Digital Information Technology Chapter 4: Reforming Manufacturing Using Digital Information (includes case studies on Toyota, Brother Industries and Shintec Hozumi.) Chapter 5: The Case for 3D in Leveraging Manufacturing Efficiency Chapter 6: Best Practices - JEOL Ltd Chapter 7: Best Practices - Niigata Power Systems Co., Ltd. Part I Chapter 8: Best Practices - Niigata Power Systems Co., Ltd. Part II Chapter 9: Best Practices - ALPINE PRECISION INC. Chapter 10: Best Practices - Tokyo Electron AT Limited Chapter 11: Best Practices - Digital General Printing Co.Ltd. Chapter 12: Best Practises - 3D Data Usage Spreads to Outer Space at JAXA Chapter 13: Driving towards success in digital manufacturing using 3D

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The Critical Need for Digitalization in Manufacturing
- Improving Lean Manufacturing Through 3D Data
by Dr Hiroshi Toriya

Releasing products promptly and at competitive prices after the product planning stage is an endless challenge in the manufacturing industry. In this chapter, we introduce the concept of Digital Knowledge to show how digital manufacturing information can resolve the issue of minimizing time-to-market from the product planning phase, with the lowest possible cost.
(c) 2009. Lattice Technology, Inc.

1. The Critical Need for Digitalization in Manufacturing

Stormy Weather in Manufacturing Using digital manufacturing to tackle turbulent changes in manufacturing
The global manufacturing market is in the midst of being hit by a major tidal wave. Japanese industry, regarded as a world leader in manufacturing, is no exception: With daily news of mergers and acquisitions in the digital home appliance sector, kaleidoscopic changes taking place in the next generation DVD industry, transitions in vertical and horizontal integration strategies of companies involved in the manufacturing of large-screen TVs, and several billion dollars worth of investments in new mega-plants at stake, Japanese electronics manufacturers are betting their fortunes to survive in the global competition. Even the Japanese automobile industry which had been enjoying solid growth is now finding itself in troubled waters: In 2008, the intense fluctuation of the exchange rate led to mounting problems in the ongoing development projects of ecofriendly cars being carried out in response to historically up and down crude-oil prices and global warming alongside the release of low-priced cars for emerging markets such as China and India. In 2009, the situation got even worse for car manufacturers as they started to struggle while a world economy sunk deeper and deeper into recession. Japan has long been called the world leader in manufacturing. Even though the Japanese government has been pushing for the country to become a financial hub, Japan remains driven by its manufacturing industry led by the automobile sector. But manufacturing is facing countless problems in this rapidly-changing economic environment; declining quality due to global-scale division of labor, rapid price cuts as seen in digital home appliances, an increasing flow of pirated products from Asia, problems in the preservation and communication of manufacturing knowhow and traditions due to aging engineers, etc. The list goes on. Japan must resolve these issues one by one in order to win in the global competition. And from their efforts, other manufacturers facing the global challenge can learn to do the same.

The Position of Japanese Manufacturing in the Global Economy


Since the start of the 21st century, China has increasingly been called the worlds factory. It is widely accepted that this factory is capable of mass production, but is as yet unable to meet strict quality and delivery demands. For many products Japan and other countries are no match for Chinas incomparably cheap labor force. So to survive, what should Japan manufacture? The answer; products that suit small, diverse lot production requiring very high quality and strict delivery deadlines. This would allow Japanese manufacturers to thrive in response to the ever-changing, discerning needs of Japanese (and indeed, global) consumers.

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1. The Critical Need for Digitalization in Manufacturing

Business processes that should be handled in Japan

Planned build-up of manufacturing sites in Japan

Figure 1.1. Domestic Manufacturing site plans (Nikkan Kogyo Shinbun, September 12, 2007)

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(c) 2009. Lattice Technology, Inc.

1. The Critical Need for Digitalization in Manufacturing

Figure 1.1 shows an excerpt from the Nikkan Kogyo Shinbun newspaper article, dated September 2007. It shows the intended plans of Japanese manufacturers: Between 2005 and 2006, more and more companies were building manufacturing centers for high value-added products in Japan, and moving production of general products offshore. This strategy was intended to concentrate production of general products overseas where production costs are less expensive, and allow Japanese plants to focus on products requiring high performance and functions. It is interesting to note that according to these plans, there will be an increasing number of companies reinforcing their domestic manufacturing plants in anticipation of being able to create products immediately based on customer demand.

Developing Products that Sell and Digital Manufacturing Job Skills


A product that does not sell is meaningless, no matter how efficiently it is made. For businesses to generate profits, they have to develop products that sell. This mandate belongs in the realm of product planning. After planning a product, a manufacturer must decide what technologies to use and define product specifications. And then making the product quickly, at low cost, but with high quality, become key factors. This can be successfully completed by applying IT for efficient and effective design, mold-making, and assembly. This book discusses how digitalization of manufacturing information by IT can allow products to be built swiftly and released on the market at low prices. However, information that does not deliver knowledge is useless. While much of the information needed already exists digitally, many manufacturers, especially at the shop floor level, are unprepared to turn it into knowledge. What is needed is what we call Digital Knowledge. As shown in Figure 1.2, Digital Knowledge consists of three elements: digital literacy, digital management literacy, and digital manufacturing job skills.

Figure 1.2

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(c) 2009. Lattice Technology, Inc.

1. The Critical Need for Digitalization in Manufacturing

Digital literacy is the ability to leverage IT applications such as word processors, email, CAD systems, etc. in every job in manufacturing. Digital Management literacy is the ability to draw out the strengths of on-site staff by using IT for productivity and efficiency improvements. Digital Manufacturing Job Skills is a more complex mission: Until now, Japans manufacturing floor has been regarded as the worlds strongest through its constant efforts to deliver often small, but very key, improvements all the time. Japan has consistently followed a tradition of manufacturing where engineers communicate and cooperate closely (this style of working together is popularly referred to as Waigaya) to build products. The result has been excellence in the so-called integral type of product development where parts are cleverly combined to create functions and performance. Cars are a great example. After WW2, Demings statistical quality control method was adopted extensively in the QC (Quality Control) activities of Japans manufacturing floor, establishing a strong culture of building quality into the manufacturing process in many Japanese companies. This led to the birth of Japans strong manufacturing shop floor. However, globalization of manufacturing has brought more and more foreign companies into the process, making it increasingly difficult to continue to build on Japans manufacturing forte - the culture of improvement that turned them into manufacturing powerhouses. In addition, with growing demands for a shorter lead time to deliver new products, designers found themselves working under extreme pressure. As a result, Waigaya practices have fallen by the wayside, which is now resulting in quality problems at some companies. Another major problem also faced by the Japanese manufacturing shop floor is the retirement of highly skilled operations staff, who leave without passing on their knowledge to younger colleagues. For these reasons, Japans manufacturing shop floor is gradually weakening. This book will delve into how to effectively use Digital Knowledge to regain world class on-the-job skills and how it can resolve the problems faced by the Japanese and global - manufacturing industries.

IT Evolution and Influence on Manufacturing


Now, lets study the manufacturing industry from a different perspective - IT evolution. It has shown some remarkable progress: In the 80s, computers were merely high speed calculators, handling high speed computations that were impossible to humans. However, in the 90s, the rapid progress of semiconductor technology helped evolve these machines into personal use computers capable of high speed processing with large memories, allowing complicated 3D computation and processing. We even saw the rise of 3D CAD which requires massive computation resources running on PCs. In the latter half of the 90s, IT spread rapidly in the manufacturing industry. Manufacturers were able to build 3D models with high levels of accuracy in the design stage by designing products using 3D CAD systems. Simulation and manufacturing technologies using

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1. The Critical Need for Digitalization in Manufacturing

the 3D data also advanced, making 3D design yet more useful, and developing a gradual spread of 3D CAD data across the enterprise. Collaborative design between suppliers and the manufacturing sites using 3D model data helped enhance design quality and reduce costs. In the late 90s, alongside this spread of IT in industry was the Internet revolution. The Internet helped change IT from high speed computing to a means of communication. It allowed the sharing of information and an increase of knowledge. However, 3D CAD data was not used in the circle of communication, because CAD data is massive, formats are proprietary, and CAD systems are difficult to use as well as costly to the general users. This situation remains the same today although CAD systems have evolved in many ways both functionally and performance-wise.

IT in Manufacturing
Japans manufacturing industry has always leveraged a very high human resource level. By depending on this, companies have been able to compete forcefully worldwide, but this has led them to rely too much on strong on-the-job skills. The standardization and visualization of work processes are effective means for enhancing work efficiency, but has the downside of actual know-how being hidden. In addition, these kinds of human resource levels are not replicated globally, meaning that bottlenecks occur in global manufacturing because there are fewer trained workers to complete the required tasks. In these cases, IT has to take a stronger role to accommodate the reduced availability of experienced, fully-trained employees on the shop floor. A typical example of this is situations where people are handling simple work which can be more easily and efficiently dealt with using IT applications. The work comprises both simple ones which can be completed rapidly by IT compared to those which only humans can resolve. Take for instance the checking of interferences between parts of a product. With digital 3D data, these interferences can be detected automatically. Yet many companies are using talented staff on such simple tasks which IT applications could solve. On the other hand, some tasks have to have expert human intervention: For example, staff with advanced knowledge should be on hand to determine the best solutions to fix part interference problems. We have to understand that there is a need to divide work into those can be done automatically and those which need human decisions! The effective use of 3D data can prove beneficial not only to design related departments, but other departments as well. In the past, however, because the manufacturing floor rarely owned expensive CAD machines and high performance PCs, it was difficult for them to display 3D at the floor. But after 2000, this was resolved by the emergence of technologies for expressing 3D data in very lightweight forms, establishing solutions for viewing 3D data easily on inexpensive computers. This allowed 3D product data created at the design department to have design intent and manufacturing information added and then rapidly shared throughout the company. This also led to efforts by departments involved in production technologies, procurement, plants, inspection, and documentation

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(c) 2009. Lattice Technology, Inc.

1. The Critical Need for Digitalization in Manufacturing

Figure 1.3. Source: January 2008 Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun newspaper survey.

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(c) 2009. Lattice Technology, Inc.

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to start using 3D data. Around this time, there were also increasing trends to bring 3D models created in the design department to the manufacturing floor to improve efficiency using IT.

Can Digital Information Change the Manufacturing Scene?


So is IT in the manufacturing industry actually improving and progressing? Figure 1.3 shows an excerpt of a January 2008 Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun newspaper article summarizing the results of a questionnaire to manufacturers. The answers given for their use of CAD are divided: While there are advanced users who have totally incorporated 3D CAD into their daily activities and are expanding the range of applications, there are also many companies still using 2D CAD. Noticeable are the increasing trends by the manufacturers to use 3D data for specifications and instructions, as well as for communicating information between departments and with partner companies. Questions on how to use 3D data in the system indicate that the Number One use of 3D data is for downstream processes other than design, signaling that 3D data is now increasingly being used as a communication tool.

So how can we change manufacturing by using digital information?


The author believes that manufacturing can be improved dramatically by providing Digital Knowledge:- digital information consisting of both 3D data created by the design department and manufacturing information required in the shop floor. The reason for this is because compared with 2D drawings, 3D data is a rich source of information. Conventionally, manufacturing was carried out based on paper drawings and forms created by the design department. In contrast, if the competent staff in manufacturing obtain a rich source of information including 3D data, he/she could use the information freely, exploiting the best of the collective human knowledge. For instance, with 3D data, one can measure dimensions using any cross-section. The people at the manufacturing floor can even freely access dimensions not indicated on the drawings. By establishing the work method using 3D as part of the strategy, they can efficiently use design information, and achieve the desired results through their creative ability and ingenuity.

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(c) 2009. Lattice Technology, Inc.

1. The Critical Need for Digitalization in Manufacturing

Raising Awareness at the Manufacturing Shop Floor is a Must


The manufacturing shop floor still faces numerous technical problems in its endeavors to apply IT in its activities. Undeniably paper and forms are visually easy to understand by everyone, so it is important to make sure that 3D information has the same visibility and usability - as paper does. Software for viewing 3D data must, first and foremost, be inexpensive and have functions to extract as much information as possible. In other words, they must appear the same to everyone, and be easily accessible. Take for example Internet Browser software: The word Browse originally means to look through or glance at casually. Likewise, manufacturers need a convenient 3D application which reflects this definition, making it as easy to use 3D as it is to browse the Internet. Besides 3D shape information, manufacturers also need to see other information, which would often be on paper drawings, such as management information, i.e. names of the design team, dates of approvals, change audits and so on. With paper drawings, all the traditional information is there. Until now, in 3D, that data has not been immediately available even though it needs to be. When 3D data is provided, the shop floor staff also have to be able to use it even for simple tasks such as measuring the scale or taking cross sections. But to do this, people at the manufacturing floor have to realize that they must change their mind-set away from traditional methods and start using 3D data. And the 3D applications selected have to allow this.

From Drawings and Formsto 3D Data and related information


Software products for editing and referencing comprehensive 3D information at the manufacturing floor are now advancing very quickly. The various information defined by 3D CAD in the design department can now be easily communicated in lightweight 3D form along with product attribute data, and sent to downstream processes. Another major benefit of digital information is that it allows 3D product data to be integrated with related (i.e. listed) design information, especially if that is already digital, for example, in spreadsheets or ERP systems. Much of the time people at the manufacturing floor waste a lot of time trying to gather the additional, related information required for manufacturing. To resolve this, more and more companies are using digital information to change their work processes, and many are succeeding in improving production efficiency and reducing costs by doing so, (as highlighted in this book). Lets take a closer look at this by comparing different work methods currently used. As Figure 1.4 shows, most manufacturing companies still use drawings and forms after completing design using 3D CAD. The following are some of the problems faced by doing so:

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(c) 2009. Lattice Technology, Inc.

1. The Critical Need for Digitalization in Manufacturing

1. While the design department is preparing the drawings and forms, the manufacturing staff are unable to start work even though the design has been completed. 2. Human error easily creates differences between CAD data, drawings, and forms. 3. Inconsistencies between these data increase every time design changes are made, and eventually, no one knows which is the correct data. 4. Manufacturing floor staff need to reference diverse sources of data such as drawings, forms, and even CAD data in some cases. 5. The manufacturing floor has no access to information other than those provided on the drawings and if they have questions, they need to consult the very busy design department. 6. Quality might vary in global production where manufacturing processes are based on drawings. 7. Conveying updated information by paper takes a lot of time, and when the information arrives en masse, it is almost impossible to determine which information is correct.
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Figure 1.4. Using drawings and forms leads to inefficiencies and production delays

So what happens if data is sent to downstream processes by lightweight 3D data after CAD design?
As a more recent development, attribute information that was typically separated away from drawings and included on separate forms can now be added to lightweight 3D data. (Figure 1.5 shows the process.)

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(c) 2009. Lattice Technology, Inc.

1. The Critical Need for Digitalization in Manufacturing

AFTER INTRODUCING XVL

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XVL Web Master
XVL Web Master Versatile 3D on the Web
In a Simple Comprehensive Package
Communicate with 3D visuals throughout your organization or across the globe with XVL Web Master, a comprehensive web publishing package that lets you easily display the output of XVL Studio and XVL Converter -- stunning 3D models, assemblies, and animations -- into standard HTMLbased web pages. Communicating data via the web is one of the most visual and easy ways to deliver data. However, it has typically been difcult to post 3D on the web in a way that is easily viewed, doesnt require a lot of bandwidth and doesnt require years of expertise. XVL Web Master enables all of this and is relevant to: Sales Managers: Allow customers to make a visual verication of the product they have ordered by viewing the 3d data online. This results in faster ordering, and reduced sales support calls while a customer veries the correct part. Marketing Managers: Create strong brand awareness early by using 3D data online in a demonstration or product information, rather than having to wait for costly photography or graphic design processes. Customer Support Managers: Be able to create easily understood visual instructions for customers wishing to replace a part or solve a problem. Reduce the time and cost of support calls and be able to communicate more comprehensively with customers by having interactive 3D online. Internal Communication: Deliver internal assembly instructions, online BOMs, procurement instructions rapidly and quickly. PUT YOUR 3D DATA INTO A DIFFERENT SETTING: EVERYWHERE When you combine the visual impact of your 3D data using XVL with the communicative reach of the web, the possibilities are limitless. Employees in every department and on every continent can pull up a 360-degree view of any component immediately. Your customers can get a visual verication of their selections when ordering spare parts online. Your maintenance personnel in the eld can view animations of how to correctly repair machinery. Your marketing department can make an online demo without spending time redrawing the product. XVL Web Master is your key to these possibilities, and more. This product delivers an easy way to get whatever you create in 3D to your audience, whether it is inside your company, or worldwide. BRILLIANT 3D VISUALIZATION FOR ANY WEB PAGE XVL Web Master contains a wide variety of optional features you can embed within any standard HTML page, allowing page viewers to not only see XVL models, but also manipulate the image interactively. The application provides: Automatic HTML page generation with your choice of predened templates A cross-linked synchronization between 3D geometry display and corresponding entries in assembly tree, parts table, or SVG illustration Automatic explosion animation Integration with external database information

XVL
XVL Web Master
XVL Web Master Versatile 3D on the Web
In a Simple Comprehensive Package
Communicate with 3D visuals throughout your organization or across the globe with XVL Web Master, a comprehensive web publishing package that lets you easily display the output of XVL Studio and XVL Converter -- stunning 3D models, assemblies, and animations -- into standard HTMLbased web pages. Communicating data via the web is one of the most visual and easy ways to deliver data. However, it has typically been difcult to post 3D on the web in a way that is easily viewed, doesnt require a lot of bandwidth and doesnt require years of expertise. XVL Web Master enables all of this and is relevant to: Sales Managers: Allow customers to make a visual verication of the product they have ordered by viewing the 3d data online. This results in faster ordering, and reduced sales support calls while a customer veries the correct part. Marketing Managers: Create strong brand awareness early by using 3D data online in a demonstration or product information, rather than having to wait for costly photography or graphic design processes. Customer Support Managers: Be able to create easily understood visual instructions for customers wishing to replace a part or solve a problem. Reduce the time and cost of support calls and be able to communicate more comprehensively with customers by having interactive 3D online. Internal Communication: Deliver internal assembly instructions, online BOMs, procurement instructions rapidly and quickly. PUT YOUR 3D DATA INTO A DIFFERENT SETTING: EVERYWHERE When you combine the visual impact of your 3D data using XVL with the communicative reach of the web, the possibilities are limitless. Employees in every department and on every continent can pull up a 360-degree view of any component immediately. Your customers can get a visual verication of their selections when ordering spare parts online. Your maintenance personnel in the eld can view animations of how to correctly repair machinery. Your marketing department can make an online demo without spending time redrawing the product. XVL Web Master is your key to these possibilities, and more. This product delivers an easy way to get whatever you create in 3D to your audience, whether it is inside your company, or worldwide. BRILLIANT 3D VISUALIZATION FOR ANY WEB PAGE XVL Web Master contains a wide variety of optional features you can embed within any standard HTML page, allowing page viewers to not only see XVL models, but also manipulate the image interactively. The application provides: Automatic HTML page generation with your choice of predened templates A cross-linked synchronization between 3D geometry display and corresponding entries in assembly tree, parts table, or SVG illustration Automatic explosion animation Integration with external database information

1-415-274-1670

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Figure 1.5. Being able to use 3D design data directly allows fast, efficient processes to be rapidly implemented in the downstream areas of manufacturing

This means that the required information can now be entered within the 3D CAD system, and can be automatically converted and sent to the manufacturing floor using lightweight 3D, eliminating the need to write forms. Automatic conversion means less potential for human error. When a design changes, the revisions that have been made in the CAD data just need to be automatically converted and sent to the shop floor. People in the downstream processes can refer to the lightweight 3D data and obtain information on parts shape as well as related attribute information. Those at the product technology department are able to verify the 3D models from a manufacturing standard, and write comments on the models as feedback to the design people. At the manufacturing plant, 3D animation can be used to clearly explain the assembly procedure. Even in the documentation departments, they are able to create the required illustrations in instruction manuals by referring to the same 3D created by the design department, without waiting for the prototype. Sharing the same universal data between design and manufacturing achieves tremendous efficiencies. A particular die and mold plant discontinued the use of 2D drawings and separate forms, the basic tools of manufacturing, and adopted the process of adding required information to 3D models, which are then referred to by the manufacturing shop floor to make the molds. As a result, the plant has succeeded in cutting mold-making time by 30%. In another case, there is a plant which has dramatically reduced defective parts by cutting cross-sections and measuring dimensions on 3D models on the shop floor, allowing manufacturing engineers to access information that never used to be included on the drawings by designers. These are indeed cases of revolution in manufacturing by using digital information. In yet another plant, they are getting the younger staff to rewrite

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1. The Critical Need for Digitalization in Manufacturing

the work instructions currently contained on paper drawings into its relevant 3D specifications. This practice of visualization of work instructions helps younger employees to clearly understand the know-how of the more experienced employees. The preparation of 3D specifications not only helps educate the younger workforce, but also clarifies know-how that has not yet been shared. The result is the completion of work specifications with attached 3D data which everyone can understand and share. Part of Digital Knowledge is management literacy, and it has to enable the coordination of many smaller groups in the production line who are tasked to suggest ways to improve the quality of their work, report those ideas up to management, where changes are implemented company-wide to enable more productivity. The alternative approach used by many companies today is to enforce or dictate the needs of management onto the manufacturing shop floor. Some companies succeed with this method, but many others do not. The same applies when attempts are made to enforce digital literacy at the manufacturing shop floor. Resistance to accepting digital data on the shop floor is almost guaranteed unless the shop floor teams have already suggested it. Management also has to remember that simply using lightweight 3D data will not resolve all the problems at once. Lightweight 3D data is not a painkiller which acts quickly on one specific pain point, but is a long-term cure. In other words, 3D on the shop floor is a tool for changing work processes. Strategies for maximizing use, and acceptance, of the 3D data at the manufacturing floor are critical for success. Conveying manufacturing information using IT swiftly, extensively, and accurately to the manufacturing shop floor becomes more and more important as production becomes increasingly global. The manufacturing shop floor needs to get the information in realtime using IT and be able to discuss the fundamental information delivered while comparing it with actual production needs. Once the manufacturing floor achieves IT literacy, it should then be able to resolve any global issue or problem faced in the manufacturing industry with its new-found Digital Knowledge.

The Manufacturing Shop Floor of the Future


Japans manufacturing industry was able to rise to its preeminent position in the world by reducing or eradicating every unnecessary yen in cost and every second wasted. It falls into the Japanese saying of squeezing an already dry towel. The reach of the manufacturing shop floor is now far more extensive than ever before; i.e. it has to be successfully supported by many small and medium companies located globally to be successful. As you will see from this book, manufacturers in Japan have made great strides in using and applying manufacturing technologies. Revolutionizing digital manufacturing job skills has been proven to effectively enhance quality, delivery deadlines, and reduce costs even more. Many manufacturers are seeing success in their use of digital information at the manufacturing shop floor by leveraging the 3D data accumulated at the design

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1. The Critical Need for Digitalization in Manufacturing

stage, exploiting high speed network infrastructures, and having more PCs installed inside plants. The saying squeezing an already dry towel means even though the towel may be dry, you should try to wring out yet more water by using the knowledge already you have. Likewise, people involved in manufacturing must engineer the best information strategies by using their IT to create knowledge from the information available. To survive, the manufacturing industry must learn from leading successful companies, improve on-site work methods by combining wisdom and expertise, and use IT as a tool in these efforts when required.

About Improving Lean Manufacturing Through 3D Data by Dr Hiroshi Toriya. This book, one of several published by author, Dr. Hiroshi Toriya, discusses how Japanese manufacturers are addressing the critical need to continually improve manufacturing processes across the entire enterprise. In the cases highlighted in this book, manufacturers are turning to 3D data practices and processes to enable greater leanness of manufacturing. This book discusses why this is a necessity in the current economic conditions and discusses real world examples through in-depth interviews with manufacturers of all kinds. Originally published in Japan in 2008 by JIPM Solutions, this book is available in english via e-book from Lattice Technology, and is available at www.lattice3d.com

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(c) 2009. Lattice Technology, Inc.

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