Digital factories, as a medium for product design and manufacturing, are gradually becoming a new type of production organization. They are based on relevant data throughout the product lifecycle, relying on real data to simulate, optimize, and reconstruct the entire production process in a virtual environment.
Digital factories are data-driven, acquiring product-related data from existing CAD and PLM systems, and production planning data from ERP systems. Based on simulation and virtual reality technologies, digital factory technologies rigorously plan, simulate, and optimize the actual product manufacturing process in a digital environment. The analysis and optimization results are then fed back to relevant systems to verify feasibility and system production capacity. By predicting the production process, processes are optimized, and ultimately, production decisions are made. Popular digital factory solutions include Dassault Systèmes' DELMIA and Siemens' Tecnomatix.
Dassault Systèmes Digital Factory Solutions - DELMIA Product Interpretation
DELMIA software, developed by Dassault Systèmes, is an important component of the Dassault 3D Experience Platform. DELMIA first combines the design data from the CAD system with the resources (2D/3D) of the manufacturing site, then uses a 3D graphics simulation engine to simulate and analyze the entire manufacturing and maintenance process, finally obtaining optimized data in terms of visibility, accessibility, manufacturability, maintainability, and optimal performance.
In 1997, Dassault Systemes acquired Deneb. In 2000, Dassault Systemes integrated the solutions of Deneb, Delta, and Safeworks to form DELMIA. DELMIA subsequently became Dassault Systemes' digital manufacturing solution.
DELMIA includes several functional modules: DPE for manufacturing process design, QUEST for logistics analysis, DPM for assembly process analysis, Human for human-machine analysis, Robotics for robot simulation, and VNC for virtual CNC machining simulation.
Based on the modules mentioned above, DELMIA software forms a comprehensive suite of solutions, including process planning and simulation, robotics solutions, ergonomics solutions, CNC machining solutions, composite materials solutions, work instruction creation solutions, shop floor execution solutions, and discrete manufacturing logistics analysis. These solutions can be connected via PPRHub (Process-Product-Resource) to form a complete solution from design to manufacturing. It has already been successfully applied in the aerospace and automotive industries. It provides complete digital solutions for digital enterprises, primarily managing data to enable collaboration between data from different domains and providing simulation control for maintenance processes and complex manufacturing.
Siemens Digital Factory Solutions - Tecnomatix Product Overview
Tecnomatix is a digital manufacturing solution provided by Siemens PLM Software. It connects manufacturing planning, including process layout planning and design, process simulation and verification, manufacturing execution and product design, to enable the design of manufacturing processes in a 3D environment; to verify the feasibility of product manufacturing processes using digital means; to analyze the future performance of production systems in advance; and to quickly output various customized process documents.
In 2005, Siemens PLM Software acquired Tecnomatix, gaining access to a complete digital manufacturing solution. In the years following the acquisition, Siemens PLM Software focused on integrating Tecnomatix's digital manufacturing solution with the Teamcenter product lifecycle management solution, achieving significant results. Siemens PLM Software integrated the original Tecnomatix Process Designer module with the Teamcenter Manufacturing module, forming a unified digital manufacturing management solution on the Teamcenter platform: Teamcenter Manufacturing Process Management (MPM). This solution, part of Siemens' product lifecycle management solution for the manufacturing industry, aims to establish a digital production environment, manage product manufacturing data, and achieve integrated design/process management. It is currently one of the most comprehensive manufacturing solutions on the market. The benefits include allowing designers and process engineers to share design and process data on a single platform, enabling them to perform design, simulation, and management tasks independently.
Analysis of DELMIA's Main Solutions
1. Process planning and simulation
The process planning and simulation solution mainly includes DPE (Design for Manufacturing Processes) and DPM (Design for Assembly Processes) modules.
DPE is a database-based system used in process and resource planning (PRM) applications. It supports data integration with PLM platforms, directly receiving data from the PLM system and managing BOMs and product structures with configuration information. Using EBOM or DMU data generated in the initial product design phase, it can also compile or reuse existing processes to generate overall process design plans (separation surface division), process charts, detailed process plans, process routes, etc., indicating the sequence and relationship between processes and resources. It also plans process-related applications such as plant and shop floor workflows and timelines. It has 3D visualization capabilities for EBOMs and can automatically generate MBOMs.
DPM (Dual Process Planning) is a solution for assembly process planning and verification. It provides a detailed process planning and verification application environment that combines the structures and diagrams generated by DPE (Dual Product Engineering) with manufacturing rules to create a 3D virtual manufacturing environment. Using a 3D (or DMU) model of the actual product, it constructs a 3D process flow, analyzes the product's manufacturability, accessibility, disassembly, and maintainability, and achieves a truly concurrent engineering environment that synchronizes 3D product data with 3D process data. It also enables digital factory layout design. Designed for product manufacturing and maintenance processes, it allows process engineers to view the assembly process sequence and connect process steps with manufacturing resources. Furthermore, it facilitates assembly feasibility studies, maintenance feasibility studies, 3D process planning, and assembly process writing.
DELMIA Process Planning and Simulation
DELMIA's process planning and simulation solution enables assembly process feasibility verification, process visualization, tooling and equipment availability verification, analysis of each operational step, problem identification and tracking, production team training, manufacturing sequence analysis, and more, achieving virtual manufacturing.
2. Robot Solutions
Primarily focused on robot simulation, this is a Robotics module, a professional industrial robot modeling, simulation, and analysis software. It allows users to create robot motion mechanisms, study feasibility, perform offline programming of single or multiple robots, and send robot programs to the factory floor. It boasts a mainstream standard robot library with over 800 validated robot models, continuously updated. Major robot solutions and partner solutions cover key machining processes, such as continuous trajectory control machining/edge trimming, multi-point machining, and surface finishing.
Robotics Solutions
3. Ergonomic Solutions
The Human module, primarily focused on human-computer interaction analysis, allows for the creation and maintenance of virtual 3D human models. These models are used to study accessibility and visibility during human-computer interaction in a virtual environment, analyze static forces, comfort, and joints during interaction, and investigate operator comfort and risks. The module also simulates complete human-computer tasks, studying feasibility, identifying unpredictable risks, and analyzing energy consumption and task completion time statistics.
Ergonomic solutions
4. CNC Machining Solutions
The VNC module, primarily designed for virtual CNC machining simulation, provides a virtual simulation of the cutting process, capable of simulating the entire machining process, including machining equipment (machine tools) and auxiliary equipment (tool changers). This allows for the analysis of the feasibility of CNC machining code and ensures the quality of CNC machining.
CNC machining solutions
5. Composite Material Solutions
DELMIA is an end-to-end composite materials solution that enables change management and concurrent engineering in the product design, process planning, and production execution of composite materials, and has significant application value in the aerospace industry.
6. Work Instruction Development Solution
This solution is primarily based on Dassault Systèmes' 3DVIA product, using 3D models and process data acquired from the PLM system to create assembly process work instructions. The advantage of this approach is that it allows for rapid execution even if design or process planning changes, enabling timely updates to work instructions, providing operators with the latest data, and minimizing the impact of data lag on production.
7. Workshop Implementation Solutions
The main components include operations management and intelligent analytics. Operations management primarily synchronizes shop floor operations, issues work instructions, displays work instructions on the shop floor, tracks serial numbers, data, and records the production process. This module connects to the manufacturing database and distributes 3D work instructions with configuration information to the shop floor. Intelligent analytics mainly monitors and analyzes shop floor data to identify hidden causes of out-of-tolerance issues and prevent scrap and rework.
8. Logistics Analysis Solutions for Discrete Manufacturing
The main approach is to build and run a system model of an assembly workshop based on the QUEST module for logistics analysis. By analyzing the simulation results, the system can be identified as having bottlenecks, and the system can be optimized.
Analysis of Tecnomatix's Main Solutions
1. Parts planning and verification
Tecnomatix Part Planning and Validation involves developing manufacturing processes for parts and the tools used to manufacture them, including NC programming, process sequencing, and resource allocation, and then validating these processes. Specific applications include creating digital process plans, routing and shop floor documentation, simulating manufacturing processes, managing data across all processes, resources, products, and the factory, and providing NC data to the shop floor. It provides a virtual environment for planning and validating part manufacturing processes, effectively reducing planning time and significantly improving machine tool utilization.
Component planning and verification
Our main products include: parts manufacturing planners, machining line planners, stamping line simulators, virtual machine tools, and products connected to production lines.
2. Assembly Planning and Verification
Tecnomatix Assembly Planning and Validation provides a virtual manufacturing environment for planning, validating, and evaluating product assembly processes and methods. It checks for errors in the assembly process and collisions during part assembly. It combines product, resources, and process operations to analyze the assembly sequence and workflow. Furthermore, it validates assembly tooling, simulates fixture movements, and simulates the product assembly process within the assembly manufacturing model, verifying the manufacturability of the product assembly and achieving the goal of early problem detection and resolution.
Assembly planning and verification
3. Robotics and Automated Planning
Tecnomatix's Robotics and Automation Planning Solution provides a shared environment for developing robotic and automated manufacturing systems. This solution meets multiple levels of robot simulation and work cell development needs, handling both individual robots and workbenches as well as entire production lines and production areas.
Robotics and Automated Planning
Our main products include: process designers, process simulation tools, and Robcad.
4. Factory design and optimization
Tecnomatix's plant design and optimization solutions offer parametric 3D intelligent objects, enabling faster plant layout design. By leveraging virtual 3D plant design and visualization technologies for plant layout design, and analyzing and optimizing plant logistics, as well as simulating production volumes, it improves the ability to identify design flaws during the planning process, preventing problems from being discovered only during on-site construction. Material flow, handling, logistics, and indirect labor costs can all be optimized using material flow analysis and distributed event simulation.
Factory design and optimization
Our main products include: FactoryCAD, FactoryFlow, factory simulation, and context editor.
5. Quality Management
Tecnomatix's quality management solution links quality specifications with manufacturing and design areas, including process layout and design, process simulation/engineering design, and production management systems, to identify critical dimensions, tolerances, and assembly processes that could lead to errors.
Quality Management
Main products: Dimension planning and verification, error analysis (VSA), CMM inspection
6. Production Management
Production management solutions extend PLM to the manufacturing floor, enabling real-time collection of floor data and optimization of production management. Areas involved include Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) – used to monitor ongoing work, control operations and workforce, and provide feedback on production data; Human-Machine Interfaces (HMIs) and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) – collecting real-time information from equipment and other sources at the factory and feeding it back to upstream systems.
Main products: MES, HMI/SCADA, FactoryLink Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition
7. Manufacturing Process Management
Manufacturing process management is a functional module of Teamcenter, which mainly manages manufacturing data, processes, resources, and factory information, laying the foundation for process management.
Manufacturing process management
Main products: Resource Management, Teamcenter Manufacturing Access, Teamcenter Manufacturing Release
As can be seen from the Tecnomatix solution above, Tecnomatix not only realizes functions such as process design, process verification and optimization, but also Teamcenter's MPM can manage process information. Through the integration of Tecnomatix, NX, Teamcenter and SIMATICIT (Siemens MES product), an end-to-end digital manufacturing solution is provided for enterprises.
Comparative Analysis of DELMIA and Tecnomatix Functions
In general, DELMIA and Tecnomatix can achieve essentially the same functions, but their applications differ in some professional fields, and their market share varies in different industries.
