Laser equipment maker uses Omnify PLM for central product information database launch
By Jim Fulcher, contributing editor -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 1/1/2007 12:00:00 AM MST
As our image-conscious society continues to focus on appearance, the demand for all types of skin rejuvenation procedures is reaching new heights. And the equipment makers that serve noninvasive medical practitioners are reporting explosive growth all their own.
"The aesthetic treatments market is estimated at 20-percent to 25-percent growth annually," says Dave Mackie, executive VP of operations at Cynosure, a Westford, Mass.-based manufacturer of laser systems, light-based energy equipment, and solutions to remove hair, treat vascular lesions, and rejuvenate skin. "Considering the market's growth, technology that helps us get product to customers faster is critical."
Given all the growth, Cynosure recently turned its focus to streamlining design and manufacturing processes to shorten product development cycles and improve collaboration with suppliers. Since product information was inaccessible to manufacturing teams, Cynosure needed a centralized location to store product documentation such as drawings and bills of material (BOM). It also needed to automate engineering change order (ECO) processing.
The solution was found in a product life-cycle management (PLM) system. Mackie looked for technology that would facilitate automated links with design tools—in this case, SolidWorks and OrCAD—and aging business systems, and enable uploading data to ERP systems. Finally, establishing secure access to product information for suppliers and contract manufacturers was a fundamental requirement. Even more specifically, Cynosure wanted advanced scripting features to enable data imports, data validation, and error checking earlier in the design cycle.
Cynosure chose a PLM solution from Omnify Software to directly integrate with SolidWorks and OrCAD.
Mackie says seamless integration with SolidWorks has been a boon, given Cynosure's heavy focus on mechanical designs. And while not as initially significant, the OrCAD integration is proving beneficial by shortening design-data import times and increasing overall information accuracy.
"We've decreased the time required for documenting change, and improved the quality and accuracy of product data," Mackie says. "That allows our engineers to spend more time engineering products and less time documenting them."
PLM deployment also led to enhanced supplier communication since housing past and current change activity in a single electronic location saves considerable time locating files, and eliminates the need to manually transfer files to external suppliers.
For instance, functionality such as ECO redlining speeds changes. The ability for subcontractors to get redline details and BOM compares makes it easier to put in changes at the subcontractor's site, which shortens product development time and time-to-market.
"When we release an ECO, suppliers are automatically notified by email, and they are responsible for implementing that change," Mackie says. "Redlining eliminates manually scanning the 200 or so line items looking for changes. Instead, the supplier can quickly scan the change notice looking for redlined items. Getting redlined changes made with suppliers now amounts to a matter of hours."
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