Nov 30, 2015 -- With the recent launch of SolidWorks Model Based Definition (MBD), there’s a big relief for manufacturing companies to better define, organize and publish their Product and Manufacturing Information (PMI) with industry standards.
As most manufacturing firms today, are under the pressure to shorten their product development time, the MBD’s drawing-less product definition concept proves to be highly productive and cost-effective. While 2D drawings have their own importance in the manufacturing process, there are few shortcomings, considering the present requirement to build products faster and with greater accuracy.
Shortcomings of 2D Drawings
Costly and time consuming to create and maintain
It is estimated by the Office of the Secretary of Defense in US, that around one-third of engineering dollars are spent in developing and maintaining 2D drawings. Moreover, around 60% of these 2D drawings do not match with 3D designs, which remain one of the vital reasons for production waste due to dimensional errors. The time required to develop these 2D drawings is more compared to 3D modeling, which again affects the development time and the product launching schedules.
Complex to Understand with Greater Chances of Misinterpretation
2D drawings are essentially the reconstructed form of 3D designs, and as such it is quite complex at times to interpret the design features accurately with 2D drafts. This misinterpretation can turn out to be extremely costly due to operational errors. It is required to accurately convert the 3D design into 2D projections, in order to avoid any manufacturing errors. However, shop floor engineers do require them at some point, with 3D models, communication becomes a lot easier.
How Can MBD help?
Model Based Definition solves the problems of 2D drawings by communicating product manufacturing information directly in 3D, and thereby avoids the time consuming process of developing 2D drafts.
With MBD,
- Production processes can be streamlined accurately by minimizing costly and time consuming 2D drawings
- Chances of errors are reduced due to 3D interactive models with rich meta properties
- It becomes easier to comply with industry standards
- Time required to re-model parts based on 2D drawings is eliminated completely
MBD is now being increasingly seen as a beneficial method for major manufacturing industries. As a matter of fact, the U.S. Department of Defense recently published a revised Military Standard to define the requirements of model-based deliverables for entire supply chain.
General Electric’s Measurement and Control Group reduced their cycle time to 30% by conducting 20% of their production directly from 3D models. Apart from major firms, it is evident that every production unit, irrespective of size and scale can witness significant reduction in development costs by minimizing rework, scrap, tooling and fabrication costs.
About Author:
Nikunj Patel is a design engineer working with Hi-Tech CADD Services - CAD Design Services for the past 4 years. He loves designing specialized industrial equipments and can always be found in the lab discussing, brainstorming & tweaking designs. He has also worked on architectural projects taking interest in every aspect of design & analysis.