Products PLM application for product and process development
The core of the PLM application usually consists of all the information and documents that make up a product specification, structured using the bill of materials for the product. The hierarchical structure typically used during the engineering phase is EBOM (Engineering Bill of Materials). It can be built manually from sub-assemblies drawn from existing bills of materials or automatically extracted from functional structures defined in the mechanical and electronic CAD tools used in the business.
The overwhelming majority of our clients develop products that combine mechanical, electronic and software components. With ENOVIA V6, the work of the multiple disciplines involved can be performed using the same single database, share a single bill of materials and manage configuration description issues, with options and variations if required. The primary benefits of this approach are avoiding duplicate bills of materials, making modifications easier to manage, and maximising re-use of shared components.
The EBOM approach also allows for information to help choose a supplier for components bought or manufactured externally. Decision-makers have reliable information available at all times, such as the AVL (Approved Vendor List) or obsolete component list, so ensuring potential suppliers are suitable. The combination of price criteria, supplier quality and sourcing site location enables business purchasers to reduce costs.
PLM application integrated with the most widespread CAD systems
ENOVIA V6 is integrated with the most widely-used CAD systems in industry: CATIA V6, CATIA V5, CATIA V4, Pro/ENGINEER, AutoCAD, NX, Inventor, Solid Edge, SolidWorks, Cadence Allegro, Mentor Graphics, Zuken, etc. Designers are also provided with easy-to-use and effective tools for managing, sharing and validating their data. In addition, they have a choice of working environment: 1/ CAD application where the main PLM management functions are available to them, 2/ ENOVIA V6 where a broader view of the project they are working on is available, and where they can participate in the cross-disciplinary product definition.
PLM application integrated with manufacturing
When a product enters the manufacturing phase, the way in which subsequent modifications can then be managed usually changes significantly. ENOVIA V6 provides our clients with predefined change management processes (ECR/ECO, Engineering Change Request/Order). Among other things, these enable management and tracing of the change request justification, analysis of the technical and financial impact, and implementation and validation of the items concerned. All product definition data affected by each change, EBOM and specifications, are then managed coherently together so as to best control the impact on production.
With ENOVIA V6, the parts list for manufacturing is called the MBOM (Manufacturing Bill Of Materials). It is usually defined using the EBOM, then altered to match the specific configuration to be manufactured, the production factory used, and suppliers chosen, etc. As with the EBOM, MBOM changes are controlled by a specific process known as MCO (Manufacturing Change Order).
The measurable benefits from a PLM application derive from, among other things, the business' capability to re-use parts of existing projects as much as possible and to comply with internal standards. ENOVIA V6 integrates processes for component library management and for verifying new references created, as well as fast as easy-to-use query tools. This makes it easier to re-use an existing part than to create a new one.
