Outsourcing flourishes when based on 3D collaboration
By Staff -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 7/1/2006 12:00:00 AM
"Outsourcing has become a critical capability for manufacturers across all industries, which places a premium on the ability to foster communication with customers and suppliers," says Buzz Kross, VP of manufacturing solutions at product life-cycle management (PLM) solution supplier Autodesk. "Many of our customers—in industries ranging from industrial equipment to consumer packaged goods—improve supply chain communications using 3D designs."
That certainly has been the case at MJ Industries, a Livonia, Mich.-based manufacturer that builds fixtures and equipment used to assemble cars.
"Using 3D designs gives us a competitive advantage," says Jeff Miles, company owner. "Showing a customer a 3D graphic makes it easier for them to understand what we're talking about. And because we can get answers to design questions sooner, we significantly reduce design cycles."
Equally important, using 3D graphics lends itself to building a virtual prototype that drastically reduces associated time and materials spend. At MJ Industries, for example, Autodesk solutions contributed to a 50-percent reduction in build errors, which cut job cost by 15 percent to 20 percent, says Miles.
"Using the Autodesk software lets us virtually build a piece of equipment on the computer because we see how parts fit together," Miles says. "That visualization speeds design time and reduces costs because it promotes catching little errors—such as a hole on a flange that is too small and needs to be drilled out—upfront in the design stage rather than later in manufacturing."
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