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Customer Testimonial / Case Study Writing Samples
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Interestingly, IGNITION used Pro/ENGINEER to design both a one-ounce data
interface for cellular phones and the fire apparatus "face lift" for Pierce's
21-ton fire truck.
"There are similarities among our projects regardless of the size, weight, or
complexity of the many products we design," Doug explains. "In every case,
Pro/ENGINEER and MECHANICA software from PTC enable us to quickly design and
test products on screen. We do that in less than 20% of the time it took us with
our old system, which wasn't solids-based. That includes time for static,
kinetostatic, dynamic, and inverse dynamic studies for mechanical devices,
depending on the product, and linear static, linear modal, buckling, contact,
and dynamic analyses for structural components, again depending on the product.
MECHANICA helps us optimize our products far more quickly than before, in some
cases allowing us to do things the other system couldn't do at all. This enables
us to show our clients actual cross-sections of their products, so they can
check manufacturing tolerances and see how interferences have been eliminated
and performance optimized. You can't do that with a surfaces based program.
"Some clients still ask for photo-realistic images of their products. We can do
that through new imaging software from Parametrics, but because we're still
working with true product databases, our photo-realistic images are much more
than a pretty face."
IGNITION routinely receives customer signoffs on new projects within a month
after they're launched, long before any prototype is ever built. "We don't
always build prototypes," Doug says. "We know what it will look like. We know
exactly how it will work, how it will be manufactured, what it will weigh,
what the bill of materials is. A prototype is necessary only if a client wants
to use it in connection with something else -- a presentation, a board meeting.
It's actually not necessary otherwise, in most cases."
Pro/ENGINEER, Pro/MANUFACTURING, and MECHANICA also expedite the transfer of
product data to the shop floor. "We can make master patterns for our CNC
machining centers automatically. Downloading approved product information to our
clients' manufacturing processes or to the to CNC machining centers is a quick
process, regardless of whether we're building a prototype or our customer is
using the product database we created to build his product."
Solid Modeling Capability Is Critical
"Our experience over the last several years reinforces our belief that solid
modeling is critical to effective, expeditious product design," Doug concludes.
"Because the product you're creating resides virtually in the computer, it's the
same as holding the part in your hand -- assuming the part isn't a 21-ton fire
truck! "We get everything we want from Pro/ENGINEER. It allows us to make
changes very fast, which shortens the development time for derivative products,
sometimes by as much as 50 to 60%.
"But the best part is that we're totally integrated with the product development
and manufacturing processes of our customers, worldwide. We can talk on the
phone, update part information, make changes and move updated electronic part
information to them instantly. It's like we're in their office, anywhere in the
world, giving them the solutions they need faster than they expect. That's a
very effective way to do business."
* * *
CUSTOMER TESTIMONIAL: PARAMETRIC TECHNOLOGY CORP.:
Bussmann Circuit Components Cuts Costs While Speeding Development of Custom
Electronic Components with Pro/ENGINEER
A creator of both stock and custom electrical connectors, industrial controls,
and related devices for the automotive, electronic, computer, and other
industries, Bussmann Circuit Components reacts instantly to complex design
requests from high-profile customers. Sean Ciesielka, Bussmann's CAD
administrator and himself a designer, credits PTC's Pro/ENGINEER with cutting
product design time in half on many projects, greatly speeding time-to-market,
and cutting the cost of design 30-50%.
"We started using Pro/ENGINEER five years ago," Sean recounts. "We now have five
seats which we use for all new product development, from concept to production.
The 3D software we used in the past had been difficult to learn and to use, and
didn't allow direct transfer of files to the stereolithography (SLA) process.
With Pro/ENGINEER we rough-in what we think the part is going to look like, add
dimensions, and Poof! -- there's our part. It's more intuitive, it's
faster, it's easier, it allows us to use SLA techniques, and it really helps cut
costs which is a great asset when we're out there competing for business."
With AutoCAD software, which Bussmann had used for some other projects, "It
would take many days longer to do some of the same things we can do in a few
hours with Pro/ENGINEER. We don't have time to wait like that. We save up to 20
hours per drawing using Pro/ENGINEER: 20 hours per drawing... that's a
lot."
Bussmann Circuit Components recently used Pro/ENGINEER to design a
disconnect-type terminal block for long-term client Westinghouse. It's an
industrial control device which acts as a quick disconnect within the motor
drive circuit. "We competed for that project against several other suppliers. We
came to the table with concept drawings and a first-generation 3D
stereolithography model, created with Pro/ENGINEER. That enabled Westinghouse
not only to visualize the product through the 3D drawing, but also to see,
touch, and hold an actual part created by Pro/ENGINEER. Most prospective vendors
submitted ordinary 2D drawings. Our ability to do 3D drawings and SLA quickly,
on a speculative basis, really helped us win that contract. And it took us less
than two weeks to create our proposal materials."
Once the contract had been won, Bussmann used Pro/ENGINEER's feature-oriented
design processes to complete the project. Bussmann typically uses a range of
Pro/ENGINEER modules to design plastic parts, form sheet metal, create dies, and
more. "We conceptualized about the disconnect block's size, fit, function, wall
thicknesses, and so on. We needed 2D drawings for production mold tooling, but
we use Pro/ENGINEER to create products in 3D because it's faster, easier, and
much more accurate, and it provides superior visualization. And once the 3D
drawing is done, you automatically get a 2D drawing. That speeds the whole
product creation process, and helps us quickly get quotes out for tooling."
Not only does creating in 3D save 20 hours of work per average part drawing as
Sean noted earlier, Pro/ENGINEER also quickly resolves all issues related to
fit, so it eliminates all make-good work due to fit mismatches. "That saves at
least another 40 hours of rework per project," Sean smiles. "Our scrap savings
on this one project were $2,000. Pro/ENGINEER usually gives us scrap savings in
that range for just about every project, compared to ordinary, less productive
programs.
"Perhaps most important to our customers is the fact that they can actually take
our SLA models and plug other components into them -- or plug them into other
components -- to prove to their satisfaction the fit of related componentry.
Customers love doing that."
In another instance, a customer over time made several major design changes to a
part, each of which was in effect a total redesign. "That happens as our
customers alter designs to respond to the needs of their customers, or to
respond to competitive pressures. With Pro/ENGINEER, it's no disaster at all.
Pro/ENGINEER's design associativity means that changes made in one part of the
design are accurately and fully reflected throughout the entire design.
Associativity enables us to painlessly and quickly create an updated SLA model
so the world does not stop every time a change comes along. Pro/ENGINEER makes
changes almost easy."
Although Pro/ENGINEER has helped Bussmann Circuit Components increase
productivity and cut costs throughout every aspect of the design process,
nowhere in that process is the impact greater than in tool design. "With
Pro/ENGINEER, creating prototype tooling costs about $8,000 for a typical tool
for our types of products," Sean explains. "That's $5,000 less per tool than
with the method we used previously. Add all the savings we realize from
Pro/ENGINEER from every aspect of the entire product process, and you see the
impact this one software product family has had on our profitability and on our
success. That's over and above all the business Pro/ENGINEER helps us win by
enabling us to create SLA models that blow the socks off prospective customers.
"We love Pro/ENGINEER. How could we not?"
* * *
CUSTOMER TESTIMONIAL: PARAMETRIC TECHNOLOGY CORP.:
LS Mold Uses Pro/ENGINEER To Enhance Productivity and Quality
And To Propel Furniture Creation Into The 21st Century
Of all the world's crafts, few are as ancient or widely respected as the fine
art of creating furniture.
Twenty-six years ago, when LS Mold was founded, creating molds for furniture
parts was a tedious, labor-intensive, sometimes frustrating bit of
craftsmanship.
But times change. Years ago, LS Mold selected a 2D CAD package to reduce time to
market, cut waste, and improve the quality and precision of its molds.
"We chose that CAD system to attract more business. We upgraded to Pro/ENGINEER
for exactly the same reason," recounts owner Lloyd Koning. That happened in
1993, when LS Mold -- with Lloyd assisted by both his sons, David and Larry --
graduated to Pro/ENGINEER and 3D modeling.
"A lot of factors moved us toward Pro/ENGINEER," David explains. "We compete to
win business from some of the country's top office furniture makers, along with
automotive and consumer product manufacturers. We have to be able to deliver
molds that are highly accurate, and the faster we can do that, the faster our
customers get their new products to market. Office furniture is like every other
business -- faster time to market with high-quality products literally makes the
difference between success and the alternative."
When LS Mold's customers started using 3D CAD for product design, Lloyd, Larry,
and David saw the future crystallize in front of them. "3D parametric design is
the future," Larry declared. "2D was fine in its time, but that's history.
Everyone is moving to 3D solid modeling simply because 3D models are more
realistic and accurate. The parametric nature of Pro/ENGINEER solids makes 3D
design much faster because the models are easier to manipulate. You also get a
much more tangible product to look at than you did with old 2D packages, no
matter how good they were."
Major Technical Challenge
There is no shortage of technical challenge in executing mold designs for
today's sophisticated, adjustable, ergonomic office chairs. Larry notes, "We're
working on functional pieces such as inner backs and inner seats, devices which
adjust the chair to the user, and outer aesthetic parts -- ergonomic sculpted
arms, stacker chair seats, and backrests. These are all complex surfaces. Most
of the major furniture manufacturers who are our customers already use
Pro/ENGINEER, which simplifies and expedites the entire product sequence from
design to introduction."
The quality of LS Mold products has always been good, but it's significantly
better with Pro/ENGINEER. "When we were designing products in the 2D world,
making changes was difficult, time-consuming, and expensive," David explains.
"With Pro/ENGINEER, we make changes 50% faster, since there's no need to
re-create everything. Pro/ENGINEER's 'associativity' changes all relative
geometry automatically.
"With Pro/ENGINEER, we no longer need patterns or duplicating aids. Parting
lines match perfectly every time, requiring little or no polishing," David says.
"Parting line mismatch is clearly visible in products made from inferior molds,
and is unacceptable in the industries we service which have aesthetically
demanding designs." (A parting line is the location where two mold halves meet.)
Pro/ENGINEER also makes possible the benefits of concurrent engineering. "We can
share engineering information with our customers early in a project. That means
that we can concurrently execute different aspects of the design process --
aspects which would normally follow one another," Larry offers.
"Pro/ENGINEER has enabled us to use all of our high tech capabilities more
efficiently," he adds. "We use Pro/MANUFACTURE to cut electrodes for our CNC EDM
machines. Each electrode can give our customer a visual representation of the
part before any steel is cut. If there are any concerns, engineering
enhancements can be made with little or no impact on the mold itself."
Mold quality is enhanced with Pro/ENGINEER. "With our old 2D package, it took
many steps to get molds ready for manufacturing," David explains. "Pro/ENGINEER
eliminates those steps, which reduces engineering lead time by up to 75% and
improves quality."
LS Mold has three Pro/ENGINEER stations and uses Pro/SURFACE, Pro/MOLD,
Pro/MANUFACTURE-Advanced, Pro/CDRS, Pro/MECHANICA, Imageware/Surfacer, and ICAM
post-processing to create its molds. "We develop designs on Pro/ENGINEER, use
Pro/MECHANICA for design analysis, then use Pro/MOLD and Pro/MANUFACTURE to
complete the process," says David.
LS Mold cut its typical 22-week lead time to just nine weeks from design through
initial "almost perfect" product samples (a 59% reduction) when the company
created a plastic injection mold for the fixed arm of an office chair for a key
customer. The chair subsequently earned the gold award for Best New Seating
Product at the NeoCon Office Furniture Show in 1995.
David concludes: "By using Pro/ENGINEER and its related design automation
tools, we've cut mold and engineering lead times by 50% to 75% while
dramatically improving product quality. That's a lot of benefit from one
product family."
* * *
COMPUTERVISION CORPORATION COLLATERAL:
CV Toolmaker: The Solution for Manufacturing Tools, Dies, Molds,
and Patterns
Manufacturing tools and dies -- whether for shampoo bottles, auto fenders, tail
light lenses, electric drills, or anything else -- involves promises you make to
people who depend on you. You can keep those promises easily with CV Toolmaker,
the most productive manufacturing tool you can buy.
A Proven Tool To Help You Succeed
Your company's success depends on your ability to deliver quality and
performance which meet or exceed customer expectations, delivery which is on or
ahead of schedule, and costs which are at or below budget. Indeed, these things
decide customer satisfaction -- and they determine whether you have a long-term
"customer" . . . or something less.
CV Toolmaker software helps you consistently produce and deliver tool and
die products which meet or exceed your customers' expectations. You'll find
specifics about your applications in the shaded area to the right.
Performance. Computervision has been involved in CAD/CAM software for
more than 25 years. Computervision's rich experience in what you do day in
and day out has yielded a product that brings great performance to every
aspect of tool design and manufacture, where speed, quality, accuracy, and
flexibility are absolutely critical.
Expandability. CV Toolmaker software is available in discrete components.
Buy only what you need to meet today's requirements, with the knowledge that you
can expand functionality as your needs grow.
Superb customer support. Computervision and Computervision Reseller
Technical Support personnel know CV Toolmaker inside-out. More important, they
know machine shops inside-out. Ask a "machine shop" question, and you get
a clear, unmistakable "machine shop" answer -- which works.
The materials assembled for you in this CV Toolmaker pocket folder detail
every aspect of the current Toolmaker product offering. What follows are
highlights of some of the most notable benefits available to you from CV
Toolmaker.
CV Toolmaker gives you the tools to deliver above your customers' expectations.
Toolmaker consists of five software modules:
CV Design and Drafting.
Design and Drafting gives you tools to construct 2-D and 3-D wireframe
models using geometric modeling techniques, and to generate standards-compliant
engineering drawings. This component also enables you to produce engineering
drawings from models created with CADDS 4X or CADDS 5.
NURBS Surfacing.
NURBS surfacing includes all the basic NURBS capabilities most often
required in the tool and die industry.
CVNC-M2/M3.
CVNC generates 2-, 2 1/2-, and 3-axis toolpaths to speed all toolmaking
operations -- including roughing, semifinishing, and finishing. This powerful
CV production tool is one of the world's top selling NC software packages.
IGES.
The CV Toolmaker IGES component delivers mature, reliable, highly
productive support for data exchange -- including complex contoured
surfaces and trimmed NURBS.
CVGP II Generalized Postprocessor.
CVGP II supports machine control data output for 2-, 2 1/2-, and 3-axis
mills, basic wire EDMs, and flame cutters.
Key CV Toolmaker Features/Benefits
Because Toolmaker has been designed and refined hand-in-glove with machine shop
pros, it uses language that's familiar to you -- not "computerese". Real
productivity starts quickly. And,
CV Toolmaker delivers what you really want:
Complete Data Exchange Capabilities.
Tool and die shops increasingly are called upon to provide intense support for
international design standards. CV Toolmaker gives you dependable, high quality
support for IGES, VDA, SET, and STEP, which means you can quickly begin work on
files transferred to you in every widely used format worldwide. When a customer
gives you 2-D or 3-D wireframe, surface, or solid models, you can readily work
with them to generate precise toolpaths quickly.
Stamping Dies.
Computervision's highly advanced software simplifies and expedites creation of
both 3-axis and 5-axis semifinishing and finishing toolpaths. And CV Toolmaker's
straight line and curved machining capabilities with scallop height control
enable you to produce finished die blocks quickly.
Forging Dies.
Sophisticated, productive software designed specifically for forging dies helps
you create precise 3-axis NC toolpaths which enable you to rough, semifinish,
and finish very complex die cavities exactly to required dimensions and within
specified tolerances.
Injection Molds and Die Cast Tooling.
CV Toolmaker enables you to machine hundreds of surfaces in one command, cutting
deep cavities using waterline roughing and finishing. In countless other ways,
Toolmaker makes you more competitive in high-stakes injection mold and die cast
tooling opportunities.
Patterns and Prototypes.
The speed with which you can deliver patterns and prototypes to your customers
directly affects their time-to-market. CV Toolmaker not only helps you deliver
patterns and prototypes quickly, it helps you deliver highly accurate parts --
which contributes greatly to long-term customer satisfaction and your future
business.
Faster Generation of NC Toolpaths.
Compatible with part databases from many different CAD systems, CVNC is a fast,
easy-to-use, and complete NC toolpath generator which supports every process
from 2 1/2-axis drilling to 5-axis milling, including 2-1/2 axis pocketing and
profiling. Toolmaker easily handles multiple-surface machining (many surfaces,
not just a few), profiling, and gouge and collision avoidance. And advanced
material modeling algorithms define uncut areas (after rough cutting) and then
machine only the remaining material, a great time savings. All of which means
fast, high quality results for your customers. Warning: One CADDS 5 CVNC/ CV
Toolmaker user admonishes: "Don't let the other mold builders in town know how
fast CADDS 5 CVNC is...."*
Parametric Associativity.
Any changes made to a parametric model is reflected at once within the NC data
-- which means manufacturing engineers and NC programmers will be able to use
their time more efficiently.
Totally Integrated from Design to Manufacturing.
Toolmaker ensures that what you create in the design process is precisely what
is manufactured on the shop floor. The database is the same; there is no
possibility of errors in translation between design and manufacturing. Design
data becomes manufacturing-ready, quickly. And on-machine prove-outs become
virtually unheard-of!
"Early Intervention" Can Cut Manufacturing Costs.
Because CV Toolmaker readily accepts a wide spectrum of electronic input from
your business partners, you can receive design databases earlier in the product
creation process. This enables you to make suggestions which can improve the
product's manufacturability, cut your customer's manufacturing costs, and
decrease their time-to-market -- all factors which help make you a more valuable
long-term supplier.
Expandability.
Toolmaker offers several important expansion opportunities:
- Additional Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline (NURBS) capability;
- CVNC Verifier, which simulates material removal to verify toolpath
accuracy;
- CVNC-M5 5-axis machining, which delivers high-quality surface finishing
and high removal rates, plus unique lead and slew angle control (for
optimal control over cutting processes), plus gouge avoidance to
ensure accuracy and prevent surface violations; and
- You can integrate turning capabilities to further expand the breadth of
CV Toolmaker applications.
Although your shop may not require any of these capabilities today, you can add
them gradually as your needs indicate. Buy only what you need at the
beginning. Expansion is fast. Increased productivity comes quickly.
Technical Support That Works.
CV Toolmaker experts are focused on helping you achieve maximum productivity. As
we said earlier, they speak your language because they've "been there . . . done
that." Help will be what you need, when you need it.
Look Inside. For details on any aspect of the design-to-manufacturing
capabilities of CV Toolmaker, see the materials assembled for you in the
literature pocket. For answers to specific questions or to see demonstrations of
Toolmaker, call your Computervision representative, conveniently located in
offices around the world.
(Boilerplate)
*Contact information available upon request.
* * *
Computervision Optegra Vault Data Sheet
To get to market first -- and beat your competition -- you must shave every
extraneous second off the product process, from design through manufacturing.
Computervision developed Optegra Vault to help you expeditiously store
and retrieve an unlimited amount of product information including CAD/CAM and
CAE drawings, models, raster images, technical publications, and SGML documents
regardless of the application they are associated with or the hardware those
applications run on -- Sun, HP, Digital-Alpha, IBM, NT. (Optegra means optimal
integration.)
Optegra Vault Overview:
Precise Project Management and Tracking
Optegra Vault manages, catalogs, and safeguards electronic data, thereby
enabling your engineering organization to easily track the progress of all your
product data electronically. It includes features such as electronic voting,
revision control, and messaging. Regardless of the number, size, or complexity
of your projects, Optegra Vault helps you clearly organize, secure, and manage
all the data from every project, quickly.
Perhaps the most important benefit of Optegra Vault is that it helps get the
right data to the right person at the right time -- wherever they are on the
network. User-definable flexible access controls, for example, enable
engineers to get analysis files and tooling designers to get assembly
information so these two primary development activities can proceed in parallel.
In addition to organizing the way you store and retrieve product data, Optegra
Vault helps automate the complete design review and release process. It enables
your engineering management team to create design review procedures
incorporating product graphics, through which those concerned can visually
monitor design status on demand. Key people receive current design information
for review, which keeps them up-to-speed and gives them an immediate ability to
express comments or concerns.
As it proceeds through its automated design review and approval process, Optegra
Vault quietly and dependably collects detailed reviewer feedback and tallies
review committee votes for part approval/rejection. Designs meeting approval
criteria advance to the next process step automatically, without
deadline-threatening and energy-wasting paperwork.
Optegra Vault's built-in electronic messaging capability ensures that every user
is notified of any design status change automatically, which helps projects
proceed without "surprises."
Highlights of Optegra Vault
Optegra Vault is built upon the conviction that to succeed, enterprises must
provide authorized personnel with shared access-on-demand to current, accurate,
precise, and complete product data, to facilitate product creation and greatly
accelerate time to market. At the same time, it must enhance data integrity and
never jeopardize it.
Optegra Vault:
- Simplifies the way any and all data is organized, through its ability to
classify, sort, and catalog information by owner, department, material type,
and any other user-defined attributes you business deems critical to its
product process;
- Provides capacity for an unlimited amount of on-line storage plus
production-proven methods of control over data files and objects;
- Enables you to distribute information over large networks, expediting
delivery to areas requiring specific information most frequently;
- Provides "concurrency" to an object and consistency to the design
process overall by enabling only one user at a time to update an object,
though others can access it simultaneously for review;
- Ensures that users always access only the most current version;
- Defines relationships among different items in the vault database
through user-specified "Binders", enabling you to create hierarchical
relationships among stored information objects and to organize data to
ensure expeditious access and review;
- Enables both serial and parallel review procedures, which guarantees
adaptability to the way you do business (no need for you to adapt to any
rigid, pre-set review system)
- Facilitates electronic voting and revision control;
- Automates recordkeeping, ensuring significantly lower
cost-per-transaction than paper processes (which lack both concurrency and
precision);
- Provides a Graphical User Interface to expedite set-up,
back-up/recovery, archive management, and system maintenance (see details in
this data sheet);
- Frees disk space for rapidly growing projects by automatically (and
transparently) archiving historical information to tape, where it remains
quickly accessible;
- Provides an online "audit trail" of user actions;
- Supports and expedites online messaging;
- Provides project-focused controlled access to all objects in the
database;
- Facilitates management of all system administrative functions through
simple UNIX and Windows-based Graphical User Interfaces;
- Provides MIS-quality data backup and recovery capabilities
Options
Optegra Workflow modules provide a streamlined workflow solution that works with
Optegra Vault, or independently
Some Optegra Vault Key Features, and How They Work:
™ Provides Networks of storage areas.
Optegra Vault provides data storage across the network which maximizes storage
capacity without loss of control. A balancing algorithm efficiently distributes
data among disk resources to prevent overloads. Customizing capabilities allow
project managers to, for example, place all released files in one disk drive or
optical storage "juke box."
™ Attribute Management Capability Helps Classify Data.
Project administrators can associate alpha-numeric information with any Optegra-managed
part or file, which means they can easily classify, notate, sort, and store
objects in scores of clear, memorable file types for rapid future access.
™ Backup and Recovery.
Optegra Vault protects and synchronizes two databases, one with product data and
the other with "metadata" which is stored in a Relational Database Management
System (RDBMS). Whenever an updated file is saved, it is time and date stamped
as the current version, and the prior version, stored elsewhere, is flagged for
backup. Multiple versions remain in place until an incremental or universal
backup is performed, which can occur while the server, database, and local
system remain operational. Non-current file versions are automatically deleted
during backup. Integrated recovery features protect against hardware or power
failures, network failures, user errors, and media failures. In every situation,
the objective is identical: preserving data integrity -- keeping data just as it
was immediately before the problem occurred.
™ Archive Management.
Infrequently used files can be archived off-line, with access location retained
on-line for fast retrieval on demand.
Optegra Vault provides a Graphical User Interface to expedite set-up,
back-up/recovery, archive management, and system maintenance.
Configuration
- Works with all other Optegra software server modules such as Distributed
Vault, Configuration Master, and ProcessMaster
- Compatible with all other Optegra enterprise data management products;
- Server module runs on many standard network servers;
- Standard TCP/IP protocol support
- Optegra Vault 7.0 host platform required
* * *
COMPUTERVISION CORP. COLLATERAL
CVship: End-to-End Shipbuilding Solutions For Long-Term Success, Not
Merely Survival
Spurred by rapid geopolitical changes, many military shipbuilding budgets have
dropped precipitously.
The removal of many restrictions on international trade has made the "global
economy" a genuine reality, substantially increasing the need for new, highly
sophisticated merchant vessels.
Meanwhile, rapid changes in shipbuilding and in related technologies have
enabled the best international shipbuilders to create, design, build, and launch
large, complex vessels in as little as 18 months total time -- from
design start to launch.
As their customers' demands grow ever more complex, the world's most successful
shipbuilders turn to CVship: the shipbuilding solution geared
specifically to meet every need of radically changed late-1990s-style
shipbuilding, with maximum productivity. Behind CVship is Computervision, a
major worldwide supplier of Computer-Aided Design/Computer-Aided Manufacturing
(CAD/CAM) and Engineering Data Management (EDM) software to the shipbuilding
industry.
Inside the literature pocket of this folder you'll find detailed specifics on
every aspect of CVship software.
Changing Processes, Changing Imperatives, and Constant Challenges
Computervision recognizes that shipbuilding today is immensely complex,
involving people in different companies, often in different countries,
performing related functions simultaneously. Each requires critical information
that is constantly changing and which is often controlled by someone far
distant.
- The processes by which ships move from concept to reality have changed
more in the last few years than in perhaps the preceding 50 years;
- More rigorous international ship safety and environmental regulations
have increased the complexity of the ship creation process; and
- Buyers are demanding far faster time-to-market, total responsiveness to
last-minute changes, superior quality, and absolute adherence to the latest
safety and environmental requirements.
At the same time, they are unrelentingly cost-conscious -- as they require you
to be, scrupulously.
To be awarded shipbuilding contracts in these times requires you not only to bid
low, it also requires you to design a ship which will cost its owners less to
operate. Further, the ship must be refittable economically, once the need
arises.
Couple these challenges with the fact that fewer ships are being built because
of military cutbacks . . . the fact that there are more shipbuilders, especially
from emerging economies. . . and you realize that competition and the pace of
change can only grow more intense.
One Solution: CVship
Having spent well over 20 years working intensively with most of the world's top
shipbuilders, Computervision has the experience and depth to help you respond to
these and to other challenges not yet defined.
CVship is a totally integrated end-to-end solution. Given vessel
requirements such as size, speed, objectives, and mission, CVship enables
you to:
- Design the basic shape of the ship
- Create a detailed structural design based on both your customer's needs
and on your manufacturing systems
- Break the ship into assembly components (all equipment and structures
including plates, bulkheads, stiffeners) compatible with your manufacturing
methods, for easier design, construction, and ultimate assembly
- Completely outfit the entire ship using mature, productive routines for
piping, HVAC, and electricity
- Create detailed designs of the engine and propulsion systems, including
engine room floor plans, all subsystems, and related piping even as design
and development of associated components and structures is underway
- Design both hydraulic and pneumatic piping by using capabilities unique
to CVship
- Create an open environment in which you produce a digital, "virtual"
product model which makes information about component geometry, assemblies,
and product structure available to the entire enterprise (within
user-defined security constraints), giving everyone in the process chain a
concurrent view of the product. (Engineering Data Management, Electronic
Product Definition, and Concurrent Assembly Mock-Up let you
"team-build" any ship as if everyone involved in the project were in the
same room at the same time, talking over the details, sharing information,
looking at each other's drawings as they are created, commenting on
different project aspects, and working off only one current, complete,
fully updated database.) Assembly Centric Design capability lets you
create design "blocks" or "zones" where teams concentrate their design
efforts. The net result of all this is that organizational effectiveness is
maximized -- easily.
- Design what you want to design, the way you want to design it,
seamlessly. Use parametric design techniques for certain components, and
explicit design techniques for parts involving external suppliers
- Design by systems if you wish (fire control, for example) and build
those systems by blocks, for faster, easier assembly
- Drive outfitting so component acquisition is directly related to
the ship's Bill of Materials. Specs go in the database first, which
constrains designers to adhere to standards. This data integration/design
tool is one of many reasons for the great efficiencies realized by
organizations utilizing CVship.
CVship...creates the kind of environment that encourages teamwork,
cooperation, confidence, and high productivity. Computervision's close work with
the world's leading shipbuilders has yielded hundreds of important software
refinements over the years.
Today, CVship is a cherished asset of top shipbuilders, greatly reducing cycle
time and effort while yielding superior-quality results.
For more information (segue to boilerplate). . .
* * *
Computervision Distributed Vault Data Sheet
Accessing critical product data quickly from huge databases can be a
frustrating, time-consuming experience -- one which can be orders of magnitude
worse if the database is scattered among many divisions or among many companies
"cooperating" on a project or -- perhaps worse still -- scattered in many
locations worldwide.
To find the data you need, you must know:
- Precisely what information you are looking for;
- Exact filenames or object names;
- The exact locations of all the files or objects;
- Whether you are formally "authorized" to access everything you need;
- Whether the data are up-to-date; and
- Whether you have to go through an equally agonizing process to get
related material....
Even if you are armed with search parameters which you think are complete and
correct, you may well encounter unforeseen obstacles in your search -- and the
additive delays that always seem to follow.
Optegra Enterprise Data Management Solutions
Product Data Management in multilocation enterprises has never been more
complicated or more critical. This is why, as part of its Optegra family of
Enterprise Data Management solutions, Computervision developed Distributed
Vault (TM). .
Using Distributed Vault, all authorized members of any multilocation
organization or multicompany venture can access current, up-to-date electronic
information about any aspect of complex projects seamlessly, enterprise-wide.
When questions arise about any aspect of a massive project, Distributed Vault
makes available answers which may allow the project to stay on deadline and on
budget.
All product data and metadata (attribute and control data) is manageable through
Distributed Vault -- documents, parts, assemblies, and all attributes --
through a process called Publishing.
On a practical basis, it is often the case that much product data and metadata
cannot be stored in one place because of its sheer size, which is often into the
terabytes.
Distributed Vault links Optegra vaults scattered in different locations,
perhaps even worldwide, into a simple, user-transparent archive which lets all
users store, manage, and easily retrieve product development information
regardless of location. Distributed Vault enables users to determine how
and where to store data and metadata, and how to manage and distribute it within
a multivault environment.
An Optegra Vault add-on module, Distributed Vault minimizes
time-consuming wide-area network transactions by maintaining up-to-date local
copies of documents controlled by other Optegra vaults. Accuracy is guaranteed
since Distributed Vault notifies users automatically if changes are made
to these documents. This is accomplished through a process called
Subscription, described in more detail later in this data sheet.
Overview: Transparent, Secure Access
To protect sensitive data and to streamline information access across the
distributed network, Distributed Vault lets project administrators define
vault-to-vault communications. The project administrator authorizes information
distribution. This helps guarantee the integrity and security of important data.
It is not necessary to involve any MIS administrators in this process.
Distributed Vault provides the flexibility for you to make some vaults
accessible to vendors and customers, while others are maintained strictly
off-limits. Or, accessibility can be flexibly determined on a file-by-file basis
At the same time, each local Optegra Vault retains its autonomy -- its own valid
users, metadata, vaulted physical data, user groups, projects, back-up
schedules, etc. You can restrict access to sets of files -- for example, those
in development, private files, and so on, until they are ready for "public"
view.
Distributed Vault uses the Optegra communications utility, NSM, which has
been providing secure data transfer with multiple checks of data integrity for
over 10 years. Moreover, users need not be logged into the server at all times
to execute transfers. Authorized individuals can quickly access what they need
regardless of the type of information involved or its location, through
Distributed Vault. There is nothing complicated about accessing critical
files.
Once data has been made available on the network, users can access just physical
data, such as drawings, documents, or spreadsheets, or physical data and related
metadata. Pieces of data or entire files can be copied or moved easily, by
authorized parties, which enables authorized users to move information where
it's needed, when it's required.
How It Works: "Registering" Files and Making Them Available
For Enterprise-Wide Access
Each originating vault in the Distributed Vault environment is assigned
to a Distributed Object Directory, which becomes a clearinghouse for
metadata for all included files (called "registered objects") from originating
vaults.
Once the project administrator decides that a file is ready for enterprise-wide
access, a data pointer to it is registered to that vault's Distributed Object
Directory. Users responsible for determining access also determine its scope
-- for example, whether the file will be accessible on a read-only basis. The
most important aspect of file availability is flexibility. You can
"distribute" files based on network, organizational, or process requirements, or
any other criteria . . . all of which provides a degree of access which you can
customize to the needs of your business.
The process of determining scope of access is called Registration. There
are five registration levels for files/parts:
1. Query. The registered file is listed in the Distributed Object
Directory but is maintained inaccessible.
2. Read. The file/part is available on a read-only basis. Any attempt to
"write" to the file will fail.
3. Write. The file is accessible for read/write.
4. Cwnable. In addition to being made available for read/write purposes,
the file is eligible for EXPORT MOVE operations. This capability, which is
usually treated as a special privilege, is used to move a file from one vault to
another.
5. Local. The implicit registration of unregistered files/parts is
"Local," under which the referenced part or item does not participate in the
Distributed Vault environment. (Parts can be easily reverted to the "local"
registration through re-registration.)
A Distributed Object Directory listing all accessible files
enterprise-wide is located at each Optegra Vault node, which makes access across
the entire distributed vault network completely transparent.
The Object Directory maintains a "near real-time" image of all the objects it
contains. Any activity involving any registered objects produces the altered
object for public view, and logs the current state of the object in the Object
Directory.
Users accessing information across a Distributed Vault network use
precisely the same query/access Optegra Locator interface as they do with
a local Optegra Vault. "Transnetwork" searches proceed automatically, with
simple point-and-click functionality and dialog boxes, helping users retrieve
requested data from the controlled storage area and electronically delivering a
copy to the user via the network. The Optegra Locator software, working
with Distributed Vault, resolves all issues of location and access, so
the user need merely "see and ask" to find sought-after files and data.
While in use by its requester, the file is locked from modification by other
users. Although others can view the file, no one can else can modify it until it
has been checked back into the database. This prevents time-consuming and
potentially costly data conflicts.
Also, when you access and while you are working on a file which is maintained at
a remote location, Distributed Vault allows you to maintain an up-to-date
copy of it locally, which minimizes WAN network traffic, expedites local user
access, and maximizes convenience network-wide. Because you are working on the
accessed file locally, you are not constrained by any WAN bottlenecks. The speed
of your work is controlled locally.
Further, an intelligent "check in/check out" feature of Optegra Locator
maintains revision codes so that released files and parts cannot be modified,
and only one in-work revision of a file or part can exist at one time. This
eliminates much wasted motion and the frustration that comes with it.
Using Subscription To Track Progress
Subscription notifies users when the state of a given "object" changes --
for example, when a file is released. Subscription links a data object
with an event and an action, all of which means that when something of
user-defined significance happens, the user hears about it. There are many
applications for this feature, all of which revolve around customized response.
Key designers or program management people can tell the system to let them know
when some very specific things happens, so important actions can be triggered.
It can be an important, highly leveraged management tool.
Controlling File Location
When files are moved from one location to another it's your decision who retains
control. When files are Copied, the original is retained in its vault
while a duplicate goes to the requester. Either can be modified, and each
retains reference to the other, to ensure accuracy and consistency.
Moving an object means permanently relocating it. A record of the move is
maintained in the originating Optegra Vault.
Replicating/reading an object means creating one or more copies at a
second location, where they are "read-only". Replicating/writing creates
a single copy at a second location, which can be modified. Although the original
object is locked against update, the modified copy can be submitted to the
originating vault for optional update.
All options have one common, critical thread: flexibility. Distributed
Vault gives you a framework for creating data accessibility throughout your
organization. Because there is enormous variability in when and how
organizations access, process, and dispense information, Distributed Vault
encourages you to custom-tailor accessibility precisely to your organization's
needs . . . and to change the nature of that accessibility, whenever
appropriate, as your organization changes over time.
Distributed Vault Highlights
- Maintains a worldwide object directory users can query without knowing
the vault where desired information is located.
- Provides controlled access and data security in a multivault
environment.
- Lets local Optegra Vaults function independently when other Distributed
Vault nodes are off-line
- Select local Optegra Vault "objects" for network-wide accessibility,
while controlling the nature and extent of access
- Copy, move, and modify files while maintaining absolute system and data
transmission security
- Allow specific events to trigger specific actions (Subscription)
- Distribute data for review among all appropriate vaults
- Send Optegra mail messages to users on any vault in your network
Configuration
- Distributed Vault is compatible with all Optegra enterprise data
management products
- Server module runs on many standard network servers
- Standard TCP/IP protocol support
- Optegra Vault 7.0 host platform required
LEGAL:
These drafts are copyright ©, JMB Communications, 2005. All trademarks are the
property of their respective owners. These writing samples were prepared by JMB
Communications for Parametric Technology Corporation and for Computervision
Corporation, which own copyrights to the final versions.
Updated 9/22/05
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