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News Release from: Tecnomatix Technologies | Subject: Manufacturing process management software
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 30 April 2002
MPM software aims at 100% 'right first
time'
Rolling stock builder aims at 100% 'right first time' manufacture with the help of manufacturing process management software solutions.
Tecnomatix Technologies, the leading provider of manufacturing process management (MPM) software solutions, today announced that Bombardier Transportation, the world's leading manufacturer of railway vehicles, placed an order in Q1'02 with Tecnomatix for eMPower Quality software valued at over US$140,000 Bombardier Transportation will initially use the Tecnomatix eM-TolMate product at their site in Derby, U K, as part of a pilot project that will establish and refine the design processes to be used on all new vehicles produced in the future
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 27 Jun 2002 at 8.00am (UK)
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This project will study all the proposed design procedures and systems used, from initial concept through final production, with the aim of streamlining the assembly process before components enter production.
eM-TolMate will be used to simulate component assembly prior to manufacturing, leading to a better understanding of the implications of tolerances on individual components and enabling Bombardier to rule out potential manufacturing problems while still at the design stage.
The construction of railway rolling stock has traditionally been a construction engineering activity in which physical components are brought together and made to fit by manually reworking the part on the shop floor.
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This wasted effort can be reduced by improving component design, taking into account the way parts fit together, especially in regard to the allowance for tolerances.
Until now, a manufacturer's ability to achieve required assembly tolerances has been compromised by the complexity of managing the collective effect of bringing parts together within an assembly.
Incorrect tolerance allowances can lead to variations in the build standard.
For example, if one component is on maximum allowable tolerance and the other on minimum, or if tolerances are too tight, physical components have to be reworked manually to make them fit.
Traditional drawing tolerances are often ambiguous, requiring interpretation and extra information for such functions as quality and assembly.
Geometrical dimensioning and tolerancing allows precise and unambiguous communication of tolerance data.
eM-TolMate enables designers to manage tolerances throughout the manufacturing process using a single model set.
In operation, eM-TolMate simulates the capability of assembling components, allowing design tolerances to be tested and validated.
Engineers can also decide on the most effective and efficient assembly sequence prior to manufacture.
Bombardier plans to use eM-TolMate to optimize three aspects of vehicle design: control features, aesthetics and assembly.
Control features ensure that all elements of the vehicle are manufactured within acceptable tolerance levels.
Following this, the aesthetic appearance of a vehicle is significantly enhanced if all parts are designed to fit together as closely as possible.
Finally, optimization of the assembly process ensures that, from the first manufacturing run, all parts actually fit together correctly.
Once this is achieved, the need to make engineering changes after a vehicle or component reaches the shop floor can be greatly reduced.
According to Thomas Edwards, director of advanced engineering for Metros at Bombardier Transportation, "Bombardier selected Tecnomatix eMPower tools to improve product quality; we also recognize that eM-TolMate is the leading software available for tolerance management and analysis.
We fully expect it to help us reduce the number of tolerance-related design changes." Edwards continued, "By earlier validation of our design tolerances using eM-TolMate, we aim to get 100 percent of parts to fit right-first-time every time.
This will result in significant savings in assembly times and therefore costs." "Tecnomatix MPM solutions are helping our customers achieve significant savings throughout their design and assembly processes, while ensuring higher standards of quality and dramatically shortened time-to-market for new products," said Harel Beit-On, chairman and CEO of Tecnomatix Technologies.
"We are confident that Bombardier Transportation's pilot eMPower project will help Bombardier maintain its strong competitive lead in the world's transportation manufacturing industry.
Tecnomatix is proud to be working in concert with Bombardier on this important pilot project, and we look forward to helping them make their design and production processes more efficient, raising their quality threshold and contributing to significant time and cost savings.".
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