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The Case for 3D in Leveraging Manufacturing Efficiency

- Improving Lean Manufacturing Through 3D Data
by Dr Hiroshi Toriya

3D digital data, which until now has been limited to design-related departments, provides six clear solutions for enhancing work efficiency downstream in the production cycles. These include design review, mechanism simulation, process design, process animation, parts list, and illustration.

(c) 2009. Lattice Technology, Inc.

5. The Case for 3D in Leveraging Manufacturing Efficiency

The Case for 3D in Leveraging Manufacturing Efficiency

Until now, use of 3D data in the manufacturing industry has mostly been restricted to the design department. However, as the cases discussed in previous chapters have shown, 3D data is gradually being used effectively in various downstream processes such as manufacturing, transforming the manufacturing process itself. This chapter discusses the advantages which the manufacturing industry can expect through more comprehensive use of 3D digital data, and to what extent the effects of 3D have been felt thus far. This chapter is divided into the following two sections, discussed from the standpoint of developers. Six requirements of manufacturers for 3D data, and software for realizing them. XVL solution tools delivered by Lattice Technology

Chapters 6 to 10 of this book bring case studies of various manufacturers who are successfully using 3D data in many more of their business activities, and where XVL tools play an important role in contributing to changes in manufacturing processes using IT. This chapter helps readers understand why these tools were used and what problems they address.

Editing the Right Information for Manufacturing

As described in Chapter 3, at first lightweight 3D data in XVL was invented to enable 3D shapes to be viewed easily. However, in order for 3D data to fully contribute in manufacturing, there is also a need to describe design intentions and manufacturing instructions clearly and accurately within the 3D models. For this, software applications that make 3D data much more lightweight had to evolve first. In the process of this evolution the author, and others in his team, developed editing functions for manufacturing activities. A 3D shape is designed and dimensions are defined using CAD in the design division. However, it is impossible to define the processes required for manufacturing and create animations of the assembly process using CAD, in terms of costs, function, and performance. As shown in Figure 5.1, the most realistic way of doing this would be to convert the CAD data into lightweight data, send it to manufacturing engineers so they could edit this data, add manufacturing information to it, and allow it to be checked by others using a freeware viewer. (*1.)

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5. The Case for 3D in Leveraging Manufacturing Efficiency

Figure 5.1. Potential uses of 3D data in manufacturing

Figure 5.2. XVL Studio Standard as a Manufacturing Information Authoring tool.

Figure 5.2 illustrates this concept. With conventional job techniques based on drawings, the design department would prepare drawings after design using 3D CAD is complete, and create reports. This preparation of drawings and reports after the design process is completed is a waste of time for the designer. Staff at the manufacturing floor must refer to both drawings and reports in their manufacturing work, which can be a hassle. In the event of a design change, often only the drawings are revised, while the other data is not updated. This causes inconsistencies between the data, leading to confusion.

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5. The Case for 3D in Leveraging Manufacturing Efficiency

Instead what is needed to resolve this is a tool which can import required information into the lightweight data, edit it, and transmit the data (*2). This tool would allow required information, usually held in 2D CAD drawings, to be conveyed as part of the 3D data file using lightweight data, and thus eliminating all use of paper drawings. Parts lists and other external data are automatically incorporated into this 3D data from which spreadsheet reports can be automatically created. Such an environment has already been established by several mold manufacturers, with some manufacturing floors already using zero paper in their operations. Another useful tool would be one which could deliver 3D models with process animations added. Since these animations could then be viewed using a freeware viewer at the manufacturing floor or maintenance department, the use of 3D data in manufacturing will further increase.
(*1) XVL Player: Freeware viewer for displaying XVL, able to display animations. (*2) XVL Studio: Software for displaying and editing XVL. Can also create and edit animations.

Solutions Sought in the Manufacturing Industry

The ideal uses of 3D data proposed by the author are shown in Figure 5.3. First, use lightweight 3D data for automating design reviews in the design departments, and for sharing of information outside a department. When the design is approved, save the 3D CAD data in a database which manufacturing personnel can reference, together with the lightweight 3D data. In downstream processes that do not have CAD systems, lightweight 3D data can used as reference tool. In the production engineering department, 3D XVL data can be used for reviewing processes and preparing assembly instructions.

Figure 5.3. Ideal uses of 3D data in manufacturing

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5. The Case for 3D in Leveraging Manufacturing Efficiency

At the shop floor, by linking 3D XVL data to parts lists, parts shapes can be viewed easily. Work schedules, specifications and parts lists created here can also be added to the XVL file and used by all production centers including those overseas and by partner companies. The reports typically used by manufacturing and inspection departments can instead be turned into reports that contain lightweight 3D data, making 3D data a useful tool for manufacturing. Software applications that realize these needs are already available through my company, Lattice Technology, and as seen in Chapter 4, they are already contributing enormously to enhancing workplace efficiency for manufacturers. Now, information which could only be distributed in paper form can become digital and distributed across the workplace in easy-to-understand formats, by anyone, in real-time.

Six Solutions for Enhancing Manufacturing Industry Activities Using Lightweight 3D Data
So how and where should digital data, especially 3D data, be used in the manufacturing process after design in order to produce significant results? It is all about using the right tools: Naturally, processes such as design should be done using CAD these tools are ideal for this. But using that data downstream demands other solutions. The most important difference between lightweight 3D software tools and CAD applications lies in the fact that massive data files can be handled easily with lightweight 3D software. The author therefore suggests that the following six solutions for using lightweight 3D can deliver major contributions to the manufacturing industry (Figure 5.4).

Figure 5.4. Six key tasks resolved by XVL and its applications

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5. The Case for 3D in Leveraging Manufacturing Efficiency

Design Review

This solution checks for interferences between parts to verify whether the designed product shape is correct. (*3.) While CAD can be used for checking interference in units of sub-modules which consist of only a few parts, lightweight 3D data is useful for checking interferences of large assemblies and for interferences within an entire product. Since products that are made up of many parts often involve numerous parties, parts interference problems are frequently encountered in the initial stage of design and are problems which have to be removed in the design phase. (*3) XVL Studio Pro - Software for reviewing designs using mass 3D data assemblies. The highest level of software in the XVL Studio series, it comes with functions for automatically calculating interference, checking clearances, and outputting results reports. One way of eliminating interferences, especially when handling large 3D data, is using lightweight 3D data software to automatically detect interferences, list the issues found, and decide the appropriate solution by reviewing 3D models and cross-sections of the interfering parts, while keeping records of the results. Like interferences, it is also important to verify clearances to ensure that parts are not too close to each other. As shown in Figure 5.5, it is easy to display clearances in different colors according to the clearance width, which enables designers to understand complicated parts relations intuitively. Even with complicated assemblies composed of numerous parts such as automobiles and airplanes, interference checks help establish and ensure high design quality in every part of the upstream design process.

Figure 5.5. Visualization of clearances by XVL Studio Pro for Design Review

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5. The Case for 3D in Leveraging Manufacturing Efficiency

Mechanism Simulation

Recently, end-user products which use mechatronics functions have been rapidly appearing on the market. These products control electronic and mechanical functions to achieve complex mechanical motion such as those needed in medical equipment. As these mechatronics products have become more and more complex, verification of the design, simulations of the mechanisms that drive these products, and software for controlling these mechanisms also become increasingly important. In this context , the use of 3D data is important for supporting the control software design. Particularly with medical equipment and semiconductor manufacturing machines, product shapes are complicated and 3D designs are large scale. If virtual 3D models that are used for verifying these products are realistic and accurate early in the design stage, they would contribute significantly to reducing prototypes. While interference checks are usually performed in a stationary state, in mechatronics the products movements also need to be checked for interference. First, the designer needs to define which parts of the 3D model are connected or linked, and whether these parts rotate or slide sideways. It is also necessary to define in timing charts how a part moves when and for how long. If this can be achieved, the movements of the machine can be reproduced virtually as simulations and dynamic interference checks can be run. (*4). By checking dynamic interferences in this way, it is possible to verify problems caused when movable parts move and thus to create correct timing charts (Figure 5.6). For instance, by sending the timing chart in the tabular CSV format to the software verification tool, operations of the movable part can be checked.

Figure 5.6. Support of software design using mechanism options

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5. The Case for 3D in Leveraging Manufacturing Efficiency

By embedding constraint definitions between the 3D shapes into the lightweight data, the data can be used for verification. Until now, machine designers have had difficulty communicating details of mechanisms to software designers, but by using this mechanism function, they are now able to check operations, as well as convey correct information to them by applying correct timing charts to the model. (*5.)
(*4) XVL Studio mechanism option: Defines mechanisms and reproduces mechanical move ments (*5) Vmech - Able to receive timing charts generated by software verification application by Interdesign Technology, Inc. (Currently only available in Japan).

Process Design

Process Design is a way to verify designs for manufacturing efficiency prior to moving into manufacturing. When verifications of the design itself are complete, the 3D data is then used to check if the product can be manufactured easily, if tools can be inserted, if assembly is straightforward, if unnecessary burdens are imposed on the workers, and so on. Many of these can be quickly verified if the entire shape of a product can be easily viewed. These design reviews from a manufacturing perspective contribute to smooth production at the plant. The actual design assembly process consists of simple steps; viewing shapes using 3D data, obtaining cross-sections, and checking interferences. As long as there is information on the product shape and tool shape, these functions can be verified from the manufacturing standpoint.(*6.) Furthermore, attribute information corresponding to each part can also be listed and edited while comparing 3D designs (Figure 5.7). After the verification process, lightweight 3D data incorporated with manufacturing attributes can be created and distributed across the workplace.

Figure 5.7. XVL Studio Standard for editing various manufacturing information

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An important key for improving manufacturing efficiency is in being able to define the assembly process. When complicated products are being assembled, it is necessary to plan maybe thousands of assembly steps, defined by how many parts are used and in which order. It is important to match processes with the parts used. Although this may seem simple, it is a hugely labor-intensive task for products that are made up of countless parts. When the data volume is huge, the job of matching thousands and thousands of parts with thousands of processes is extremely difficult. However, by defining process data using lightweight 3D data and converting this to animation, the manufacturing work can be visualized virtually, far faster and with far greater accuracy. (*7.)

Process Animation

Using the process animation solution in XVL, lightweight 3D data with assembly animations can be converted to formats that can be shared on the Internet. (*8.) Since lightweight 3D data can also be easily shared externally, it means that work schedules that include process animation can also be shared and widely used. Figure 5.8 illustrates this idea.

(* 6) XVL Studio Pro: Used for reviewing assembly processes using parts layout and interference functions. Attribute information corresponding to parts can also be listed and edited while comparing it with the relevant 3D shape. (* 7) XVL Studio Standard: Animations and processes can be defined. Process definition is done by matching processes and the parts used for them. This software is also able to create animations of these processes automatically. Furthermore, by using the animation editing function, animations can be displayed from clearer viewpoints and sizes. (* 8) XVL Web Master: Automatically integrates 3D shapes, exploded views, and attributes of parts composing products, and converts to formats which can be shared on the Internet. Results can be displayed using Internet Explorer and XVL Player.

Parts Lists

In addition to work processes, it is desirable to share parts lists on the Internet to build greater accuracy in the manufacturing process. Conventionally, parts lists have been managed by relating parts numbers, names, and design information but using separate documents both on paper and in digital format. Lightweight 3D data changes the situation. 3D can be added to the parts lists, and also allows shapes which are hard to identify on drawings to be easily distinguished. Using digital information, parts can be displayed in 3D, associated with illustrations, its individual parts listing and other related information. The use of paper drawings can be completely eliminated by using 3D parts lists as product assembly drawings at manufacturing departments, allowing the manufacturing floor to obtain the required information quickly. (*9.) Such information is useful to both maintenance departments and sales dealers as well and this method can also be used for quickly creating parts catalogues.

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Figure 5.8. Automatic creation of work process tables and parts lists using XVL Web Master

Illustrations

In manufacturing, many documents are distributed on paper, including instruction and service manuals and these contain countless product illustrations. The aim of digital manufacturing in this case is to use 3D data to create those illustrations. Conventionally, illustrations are created by first disassembling an actual prototype, photographing the disassembled parts and then sketching them. In this process, illustrations cannot be started unless the actual product or prototype is ready. However, with the use of 3D data, illustrations can be created directly from the 3D data as soon as product design is completed. By creating documents with illustrations early, the lead time to delivery can be shortened. Simultaneously, if the disassembly procedure can be recorded as a disassembly tree, the exploded view can be automatically created. (Figure 5.8) (*10, 11.) The tree format is intentionally used to keep track of design changes. If you then merge new XVL data which contains updated data with the old XVL data which defines the disassembly procedure, then illustrations on the updated disassembly procedure can be generated automatically.
(* 9) XVL Web Master: By switching the template, work schedules can be created from the XVL process information. Using information on the XVL disassembly procedure, then parts lists comparing the exploded view and 3D data can be generated. The ability to link such information and display them on the Internet is the greatest feature of this software. Unlike conventional paper information, job skills are built by using information based on 3D shapes. (* 10) XVL Studio illustration option: As shown in Figure 5.9, the disassembly procedure can be saved in the XVL file as a disassembly tree, and exploded views are automatically created based on this. Parts lists corresponding to the disassembly tree can also be extracted from the XVL, and used directly for paper parts catalogues. (*11) XVL Web Master: Using the disassembly tree, exploded views can be output and distributed on the web.

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5. The Case for 3D in Leveraging Manufacturing Efficiency

Overview of the XVL Software

The author and others have been pursuing the development of software using XVL through intense research and development over the past ten years aiming at the effective use of 3D data in manufacturing. The software products discussed in this book are those which have contributed to the digitalization of the manufacturing floor. The following summarizes key XVL software applications, their targets and roles. First, the following graphic illustrates how XVL software is typically used in manufacturing. Procedures for achieving the effective use of 3D data in workplaces without CAD facilities can broadly be divided into the following three steps; *Convert 3D CAD data into XVL *Edit generated XVL *Use the data for collaboration and automated report-production at the manufacturing site.

Figure 5.9. Creating illustrations using XVL

XVL Converter is an application which converts 3D CAD data to XVL data. This converter comes in two types: one which is incorporated in the CAD platform and converts data sequentially (XVL Converter Plug-in) and another which converts CAD data collectively outside the CAD platform (XVL Converter Server). If the amount of CAD files is small, the XVL Plug-in converter is recommended. The XVL Converter Server is recommended for the collective conversion of multiple CAD files. The converted XVL data includes shape information defined by the CAD platform, product configuration information, parts attributes defined by CAD properties, and so on. Software for editing XVL is also important. For XVL, this consists of applications for editing interactively, and applications that perform batch-edits. The tool for batch-editing is the XVL System Toolkit with which attribute data can be added to multiple XVL files simultaneously. XVL Studio applications deliver a range of software tools for process-

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5. The Case for 3D in Leveraging Manufacturing Efficiency

ing, authoring and editing XVL data interactively. The applications consist of three levels: Basic for basic editing, Standard which provides animation and process-editing functions, and Pro for calculating interference issues in design reviews. XVL Studio also has options for creating illustrations directly from 3D, and for defining virtual mechanisms for machine operations and movements. Figure 5.10 shows XVL Studio Basic, which is the base-level application. It is capable of dimensional measurements of XVL data, generation of cross-sections, creation of annotations, editing of colors and texture, and saving of editing results. These functions allow information other than shapes to be edited, information required for manufacturing to be added, and XVL data to be saved. XVL Studio Standard can define animations and processes, and edit parts attributes, thereby allowing manufacturing information to be visualized and conveyed. In addition, the Pro version can check interference and clearance issues across major 3D assemblies. XVL Studios 3 levels of applications deliver a lineup capable of design review, process design, process animation, and illustration directly from 3D data.

Figure 5.10. XVL Studio Basic for XVL editing and display

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Figure 5.11. Main XVL software programs

The most-used application is XVL Player which can check 3D shapes, measure size, and create cross-sections, even playing animations saved in the file. At the manufacturing site, it is an important tool for extracting and viewing 3D data and related information easily on low specification PCs. Lattice3D Reporter enables reports to be prepared easily using 3D data especially where it is linked with component information, and delivers that data in Microsoft Excel. XVL Web Master delivers parts lists attached with 3D data in HTML which can then be immediately shared on the Internet. XVL Studio is used to define the manufacturing information related to the 3D data, and the other applications enable that data, simulations and animations to be sent out in the formats listed above. Because lightweight XVL can be used easily by anyone, it also allows everyone access. Security applications were therefore developed to enable many levels of security and encryption for the 3D data. These applications are XVL Signer for controlling password access to files and XVL Staff for setting security at system levels. With the set of applications described above, XVL data can be generated and edited, and security highly controlled, to enable efficient but secure use of data in manufacturing work. There are also three software programs which are especially important for data conversion and editing, and promoting smooth use at the workplace. These three applications are used for creating 3D digital reports, automatic processing of mass XVL data, and ensuring XVL security. They are described further down in this section.

3D digital reports

Paper reports are often used at the manufacturing site, and most companies use Microsoft Excel to prepare reports such as parts specifications, assembly specifications, maintenance manuals, etc. With complicated products, this work can be time-consuming. After they are ready, they need to be sent out concisely and quickly.

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Lattice3D Reporter, shown in Figure 5.12, is an application which meets these needs but also incorporates 3D data into the reports. It is able to read 3D shapes into Excel, for viewing, measuring, zooming, and so on. By clicking the 3D data in the spreadsheet, a user can pinpoint specific parts, entire assemblies, and view it from any rotation or point of view. Lattice3D Reporter is able to extract configuration information, parts lists and process information contained inside the XVL file and display it interactively in the same Excel spreadsheet. It allows parts names to be selected from the list and for that part to be immediately displayed, and can replay 3D process animations with corresponding work instructions. Using manufacturing information embedded in XVL, digital reports with 3D shape information can be created freely. Lattice3D Reporter was developed with the aim of delivering reports required at the manufacturing site in easy to understand forms using 3D.

Figure 5.12. Lattice3D Reporter easily creates 3D Reports

XVL System Toolkit for automated processing of large amounts of XVL data

When use of 3D in manufacturing commences, XVL data starts to accumulate quite rapidly. Processing this data manually is time-consuming, so the XVL System Toolkit was developed to enable batch processing of the data in an automated environment. This toolkit is composed of the following three software applications.

XVL Filter

Converts XVL data into other XVL files, and thus is able to batch process multiple XVL data and integrate them into one XVL file. This makes it convenient for batch pro cessing the overall design data, especially when it is from disparate sources, into a single file.

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XVL Processor

An application that reads parts and process information from outside sources into XVL data. It is also possible to write annotations and dimensional information in XVL to external data. The application can be easily integrated with external databases and IT infrastructure systems (ERP, MES etc) for inputting/outputting information, reducing the hassle of data input.

XVL Reducer

When the 3D data load is heavy due to large and complex shape data, etc., XVL Reducer automatically deletes any internal 3D information that is not needed as well as removing subtle (or at certain times unnecessary) shapes and holes. It is best used for creation of CG images or for sending shapes in rough shape for security purposes.

Security

Lightweight XVL data can be sent via email, and also displayed easily using the freeware XVL Player. Security control therefore becomes critical particularly when exchanging information with overseas suppliers. With this in mind, many companies are focused on implementing security control measures during any exchange of information abroad and with outside suppliers. XVL Signer is designed to easily define passwordonly access at the file level, and will display and edit data according to the security level set. XVL Staff manages more comprehensive levels of security at the system level. Developed jointly with Hitachi Software Engineering, XVL staff is capable of sophisticated security control, by controlling access to XVL data on the server, and where attempted access by suspicious individuals can be monitored and controlled. This application can disable XVL data after certain defined activities, so that XVL data that has already been distributed can become unavailable. This function was achieved by integrating the XVL applications with Adobe Systems Live Cycle Policy Server (Figure 5.13). This variety of options for security are becoming indispensible in todays environment of data and intellectual property theft. Through more than 10 years of research and development, the author and others in his team have worked tirelessly to realize effective use of 3D data in the manufacturing industry. During the process, we realized the fundamental importance of having very lightweight 3D data, low memory consumption, and high speed display of the data, to achieve effective use of 3D data on general PCs at the workplace. This realization led us to focus on the development of the basic performance of XVL technology. After that first stage, we then focused on increasing the range of XVL applications, not just for browsing 3D shapes, but as a tool for adding and editing required manufacturing information into XVL data. We developed software applications for the six areas that can leverage manufacturing efficiency by using 3D digital data; interference checks, mechanism simulation, process design, process animation, parts list, and illustrations, and tested their practical use at manufacturing companies. We believe that each of these software programs are improving and contributing to manufacturing activities. Although 3D software applications are not the only means for enhancing processes in the manufacturing industry, the use of 3D data undoubtedly plays an important role.

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Figure 5.13. Security control by XVL Staff

The following chapters discuss how manufacturers have been able to successfully reform their business process using digital information.

About Improving Lean Manufacturing Through 3D Data by Dr. Hiroshi Toriya. This book, one of several published by author, Dr. Hiroshi Toriya, discusses how Japanese manufacturers are addressing the critical need to continually improve manufacturing processes across the entire enterprise. In the cases highlighted in this book, manufacturers are turning to 3D data practices and processes to enable greater leanness of manufacturing. This book discusses why this is a necessity in the current economic conditions and discusses real world examples through in-depth interviews with manufacturers of all kinds. Originally published in Japan in 2008 by JIPM Solutions, this book is available in English via e-book from Lattice Technology, and is available at www.lattice3d.com

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