To control process costs and ensure they can meet future demands, manufacturers themselves are turning to new technologies and work models that help them deliver increasingly complex products faster and in a more streamlined manner.<\/p>\n
Topping the technology list is digitalization, a system in which digital technologies are integrated into all business processes, creating an end-to-end digital thread of product<\/a>, production system and process data, from design through production. Available to anyone at any time, the digital thread allows product engineers and operators to work concurrently because they have immediate access to the information they need. An electronics engineer can work on components while a software engineer writes code, for example. One doesn\u2019t have to wait for the other to finish.<\/p>\n Digitalization also makes it possible to incorporate new, innovating ways of working as a multi-disciplinary team, such as using generative design and Convergent Modeling<\/a>.<\/p>\n Generative design<\/a> is a breakthrough capability in product design. It leverages algorithms based on previous design knowledge and high-performance computing to autonomously deliver optimum designs based on specific shape and performance parameters. Mimicking nature\u2014only faster\u2014generative design can deliver more options<\/a> than feasible with traditional design tools and, likely, many options that engineers wouldn\u2019t have considered. This enables engineers to experiment more and yet determine a final design more quickly, compared with traditional approaches.<\/p>\n Convergent Modeling comes into play with the inevitable need to combine generative design models, which are faceted, with traditional models that are b-rep. Siemens\u2019 Convergent Modeling solution allows designers to combine facets, surfaces and solids in one model without converting data, previously a time-consuming, error-prone process.<\/p>\n Digitalization, generative design and Convergent Modeling are integral to effective multi-disciplinary design, which brings together engineers from different disciplines to work together on a product that encompasses multiple types of systems. By enabling mechanical, electrical, electronic and software engineers to work quickly and concurrently on a product design no matter the model source language, these technologies, combined with multi-disciplinary design, can shrink timelines and accelerate speed-to-market and customer responsiveness.<\/p>\n Further, such a model enables:<\/p>\n \u2022 Quality control, by reducing errors caused by redundant versions and missing information Ultimately, the approach tames complexity by bridging the gap between design planning and execution by reducing the manual effort and cost of managing and tracking product data. With such a system, manufacturers can focus people on the right tasks, with the right data, to make the right decisions at the right time.<\/p>\n Companies that are adapting multi-disciplinary design by bringing together humans, high-performance computing and an end-to-end generative design thread, across the design lifecycle, are setting the pace of innovation. In the race toward the seamless integration of the cyber and physical systems, early adopters will not only deliver complex designs more quickly<\/a>, they\u2019ll upend industries as they perfect and accelerate speed-to-market for differentiating innovation.<\/p>\nGenerative design and Convergent Modeling<\/h3>\n
The benefits of a digitally empowered multi-disciplinary design team<\/h3>\n
\n\u2022 Visibility and accessibility to the data throughout the product life, which provides the foundation for standardization of processes, as well as incorporation of personalized user interfaces that provide guidance at each step
\n\u2022 A ready model for adding transformative technologies such as additive manufacturing, embedded sensors and data analytics to processes and products
\n\u2022 The ability for engineering teams to exploit the trade-offs between and among the disciplines to quickly identify the optimum design<\/p>\n
![\"Multidisciplinary](\"http:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2019\/09\/Multidisciplinary-Design_Post-3-1.png\" "\\"Multidisciplinary")
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