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CADCAM justification – look beyond the design office

Original article date: November 1997

Alan Griffiths of IIC Computing introduces a new independent guide to investing in CAD/CAM, which is accompanied by a financial analysis tool.

For nearly 20 years, CAD/CAM systems have been changing the ways companies approach design and manufacture. Despite the obvious benefits, managers still find it difficult to put together straightforward financial justifications for the investment required. Recognising this problem, 13 leading companies, all members of the CAD/CAM Forum of the Computing Suppliers Federation, have sponsored an independent guide to investing in CAD/CAM and an accompanying financial analysis tool.

Chapter 3 of the guide deals with measuring design productivity. Simple measurement of design activity, says the guide, will lead to a justification based on design productivity. There are two key areas to think about:

  • Limiting the fall in productivity during the early weeks or months of use; and
  • Optimising the productivity gain thereafter.

It is possible to limit the fall in productivity by training users in advance of or during system installation and by using on-site trainers who can transfer expertise to existing staff. Careful selection of the work to be done on the new CAD system and investment in appropriate hardware and software will also help satisfy the users’ performance expectations. It is found that users who work in 3D are on average 20% more productive than those who can work only in 2D.

To look beyond design productivity as the basis for justification it is necessary to have a vision of how CAD technology has got the potential to change the fundamental way a company conducts its business. It is a difficult task, but it is the start of making the company “world class” in its approach to design, manufacturing and support management.

Time-to-market is vital to competitiveness and, with today’s increased demand for product variation, there is a consequent reduction in the life cycle of products. A manufacturer can afford to go over budget in order to bring a product to market more quickly, more than it can risk the product being late to market. The effect is more than just “having a product to sell”, or “completing a project”. Those who move fastest realise higher profit margins and may even be the only ones who survive.

CAD can improve responsiveness to market changes by simulating the product electronically. This allows savings to be made in every step of the business process, from proposal preparation to design review and acceptance, through to manufacture and build.

Quality is usually treated as a cost. Improving quality is usually justified on the basis of reducing scrap and rework. But product quality is not a cost, it is a potential asset. Quality can be “built-in” at the design stage, hence it is essential to have a CAD system where more design alternatives can be tested and where significant analyses can be performed to assess the design and the quality of the design, at the design stage.

It is important to improve the potential CAD users’ perception of quality as a design criterion. Improved quality reduces costs in other areas:

  • less inspection and quality assurance
  • reduced warranty payments and service costs
  • a reduction in the need for contingency or safety stocks.

Manufacturability and the effective use of resources are a key second focus in CAD justification. Items that are easy to manufacture are hence cheaper to manufacture.

Other spin-offs of CAD include faster, more accurate and better presented proposals. There is a better chance of the customer getting what was asked for and CAD can eliminate unprofitable orders caused by inaccurate quotations. CAD helps with component standardisation, allows greater flexibility in the manufacturing process and reduces inventory and work in progress. All these benefits can (and should) be quantified.

As the number of regulations grows, it becomes increasingly difficult to conform and, equally importantly, to demonstrate conformance. CAD/CAM systems provide a means of recording the design process electronically, as the files are computer-based. Also, standard design elements and components can be stored on the system and re-used, meaning that they only have to be checked once and also that everyone will be using the compliant version. This is a good start towards ISO 9001. Many CAD companies also offer Engineering Data/Document Management Systems (EDMS) or Product Data Management (PDM) capability, which is useful when other documents and related data items also need to be managed. It is important, however, to remember that EDMS and PDM capabilities are not normally included in a CAD/CAM system and they should be evaluated separately.

Many companies have already installed or planned other systems such as analysis (finite element, kinematic, electronic), production (enterprise resource planning, computer aided process planning, numerically controlled machining) or data management (engineering document management, product data management, maintenance management). The strategic plan should take into account how these will be integrated with the chosen design systems.

Nowadays, it is a very straightforward task to transfer files from analysis to design to manufacturing systems and to achieve dramatic time reductions. If required, closer integration between systems can also be achieved, but careful planning and selection are needed.

November 1997

Added on 3 March 2009 at 2:32 pm | Read more cad articles