PROSTEP INC Blog 
Joseph Lopez
Joseph is an experienced marketing professional with a demonstrated history of working in the engineering and information technology and services industry. He is skilled in marketing strategy, search engine optimization (SEO), copywriting and web design. With a Master of Computer Information … More » PROSTEP joins the ASAM AssociationFebruary 4th, 2020 by Joseph Lopez
PROSTEP has joined the Association for Standardization of Automation and Measuring Systems (ASAM), which concerns itself with the new standards for the digital validation of autonomous driving functions. We want to become involved in the work performed by committees in new business areas like autonomous driving and help develop the necessary standards. ASAM is a non-profit organization comprising leading OEMs, system suppliers and engineering service providers in the automotive industry as well as renowned research institutes. Their shared aim is to develop technical standards that will enable all the tools used for software development and the testing of control devices in vehicles to be linked together in a way that makes the end-to-end exchange of data possible. PROSTEP’s experts will primarily be involved in the simulation project groups (OpenSCENARIO, OSI, etc.), the associated transfer projects and in the activities currently being established. All standardization-related activities for the digital validation of autonomous driving functions converge at national level in ASAM. The standards provide the basis for uniform methods and tool chains for the validation and verification of highly automated (Level 4) and autonomous (Level 5) vehicles in urban environments, which are being developed in the sponsored projects V&V and SET Level 4to5. PROSTEP is playing a key role in both projects as a mediator between industry and the research community. PROSTEP sees autonomous driving as a key future technology and a promising market for the company’s wide range of consulting and solution offerings. As a member of ASAM, we will be able to help develop appropriate standards together with experts from the major carmakers and system suppliers. We also want to further expand our expertise in the fields of electronics and software development and systems engineering within the framework of committee work.  By Steven Vettermann
To stand still is no option for usFebruary 2nd, 2020 by Joseph Lopez
It is an oft-cited piece of wisdom going back to Confucius that to stand still is to go backwards. But not all movement represents progress: It all depends on the direction. And identifying the direction is far from easy for companies in a new age characterized by a global lack of certainty. The difficulties facing the management of companies are often described with the acronym VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity). And agility is the key to mastering these difficulties.  There are plenty of examples of companies that failed to heed the signs of the times and have as a result either lost their supremacy or even disappeared from the market completely. Success often leads to sluggishness. At PROSTEP, we have learned that we constantly have to reinvent ourselves if we are to remain successful. Without neglecting our existing solutions and services, we have continuously updated our service portfolio and will probably have to do so even more frequently in the future, as digital transformation is inexorably piling on the pressure to change. And we, too, must respond with even greater agility. Some 80 percent of our current portfolio of services has been built from scratch over the past ten years, and the process has not always been entirely smooth. Developing new services such as PLM strategy consulting and launching them on the market takes time, especially if they are aimed at new customers. We have now also made a name for ourselves as a competent PLM think tank in the fields of mechanical and plant engineering and have been able to acquire big-name customers such as Trumpf and Festo for our consulting services. We can and intend to build on these successes. In software development projects for major customers in the automotive industry, we now take on different and more demanding tasks than we did a few years ago. We use agile software development methods to support Daimler and others as they restructure their PLM landscapes. These methods enable a fast and flexible response to new requirements. The acquisition of our new subsidiary, BHC, means that we are expanding our range of services to include PLM integration of E/E (electrics/electronics) and software development. Here too, we now offer the full range of services from strategy consulting, through the design of concepts and architectures and right up to the implementation of the technical solution.  In order to be able to react swiftly to the constantly changing requirements, we have to be right at the forefront of new developments and fully attuned to our customer’s needs. Our close collaboration with the prostep ivip Association and our active participation in standardization bodies such as the ASAM (Association for Standardization of Automation and Measuring Systems) help us to understand the challenges companies face and how we can help them to respond. We are involved in numerous sponsored projects on relevant topics that will shape the future, and these give us important impetuses for the further development of our range of solutions. For example, as part of the recently launched ProProS project, we are working together with the Lürssen shipyard group and RWTH University in Aachen to develop a digital twin for proactive production control in shipbuilding. Research and development provide us with an important source of new ideas for products and services. This is why our colleague Martin Holland, as member of PROSTEP’s executive board, takes explicit responsibility for R&D and ensuring technology transfer to our company when research findings are available. This clear commitment did not only lead to our leading role in the SAMPL project, which led to the development of a blockchain-capable platform for the forgery-proof exchange of 3D print data, but also to our active participation in the current sponsored projects for the digital validation of autonomous driving functions V&V and SET Level 4to5. Within the scope of these projects, we are among other things developing a demonstrator for a solution that is intended to ensure traceability during the simulation and homologation of automated and autonomous vehicles.  For us, the sponsored projects represent a massive investment in the development and expansion of our expertise in areas that we consider essential for our future business development. They also ensure that PROSTEP is perceived by the market as a competent partner for the issues that arise in the context of digitalization. We are also investing in the further development of our existing range of solutions, for example by making it possible to use our proven PLM integration platform OpenPDM in hybrid cloud scenarios. To stand still is no option for us, because the digital transformation of industry demands new answers. And we want to continue to keep abreast of these changing demands in future. By Karsten Theis OpenPDM makes 3D data available worldwide at BroseJanuary 27th, 2020 by Joseph Lopez
Engineers at numerous companies still prepare their 3D data manually in order to make it digitally available to colleagues in purchasing or production planning. Not so at the Brose Group. The manufacturer of mechatronic components and systems for the automotive industry has completely automated the preparation, conversion and provision of CATIA data in JT format using PROSTEP solutions.  With 26,000 employees and annual revenues of 6.2 billion euros, the Bamberg-headquartered Brose Group ranks among the world’s top 40 automotive suppliers. Every second new vehicle that rolls off the production line worldwide is equipped with at least one Brose product to increase safety, comfort and efficiency. The core competence of the company, whose success story began with a crank drive for retracting car windows, is the synthesis of mechanical, electrical, electronic and sensor systems. The product range includes door systems, liftgates, adjustment systems for front and rear seats as well as electric motors and drives for a number of different of uses in vehicles. The (autonomous) driving experience of the future begins as soon as you get in a vehicle – with doors that open automatically, provided that there is nothing in way, seats that adjust automatically to whoever is driving and a preheated vehicle interior. Door, closure and seating systems are thus becoming complex, mechatronic or even cyberphysical systems whose development not only requires new tools, methods and processes but also a more efficient use of existing information. “Far too much information is still contained in TIFF and PDF/A documents and is therefore not available in digital form to downstream processes,” says Walter Redinger, head of Development and Production Systems/Information Systems at Brose. The IT department has therefore defined a clear digitalization strategy together with the company’s business operations. In addition to the automation of design processes using assistance systems and the virtual validation of prototypes, it also involves an approach to OEM collaboration that is oriented to a greater extent towards, for example, systems/model-based systems engineering (MBSE) and the use of new technologies such as augmented reality (AR). The objective is to have a digital master that not only includes the 3D models but also the electrics/electronics (E/E) information and software versions and makes all this information digitally available. Multi-layer PLM landscape Redinger goes on to say that the key to digitalization is an end-to-end PLM tool chain that covers everything from requirements management to designing the software, printed circuit boards and mechanical components through to test procedures and simulation, including digital production planning and control. “The aim behind this end-to-end digitalization is to integrate the individual disciplines more tightly and enhance the core efficiencies in the processes. This not only requires cultural change in the organization but also places new demands on our PLM landscape.” The PLM landscape at Brose comprises multiple layers. The PLM backbone is a SAP system that is used to create parts, materials and BOMs, approve drawings and manage changes. It is closely integrated with MS SharePoint, which 5,000 Brose employees worldwide use to handle their customer projects. ENOVIA VPM, the team data management (TDM) system used for mechanical and E/E development to date, is currently being replaced by the 3DEXPERIENCE (3DX) platform. The software developers are currently still using Virtual DOORS software and the Rational Suite set of tools for application lifecycle management (ALM) but will gradually be switching to codeBeamer ALM software solution. As Redinger says, OpenPDM assumes the role of a hub for connecting the different environments within the PLM landscape. This applies in particular to the successfully implemented project for ENOVIA/3DX-SAP integration, which allows CATIA data to be converted into JT format and made available worldwide. Brose has used the integration platform and PROSTEP’s services in the past, for example to provide joint venture partners with selected data and synchronize it at regular intervals. The solution was also used when the company took over Continental’s electric motor division and the division’s PLM data had to be extracted from Continental’s environment. “PROSTEP is a long-standing and reliable partner with well-functioning tools and very experienced staff,” says Redinger. 3D data for downstream processes Unlike other automotive suppliers, Brose uses its own CATIA environment for mechanical development rather than the system used by the respective customer. All the engineers at the 25 development sites – i.e. approximately 1,000 employees – use a uniform methodology and apply the same standards, thus making it easier to collaborate on cross-site development projects. “Working in the customer’s environment would be easier for the departments, but would make it more difficult to exploit the synergies offered by standardization and data reuse,” says Redinger. The IT department nevertheless maintains about 30 different customer environments in order to prepare the CAD data and convert it into the respective customer formats. PROSTEP’s OpenDXM GlobalX data exchange platform has been managing data conversion and exchange for a number of years. Up until now, only 2D drawings derived from CATIA were transferred to the SAP document management system as TIFF or PDF/A and approved there so that they could be made available for downstream processes such as procurement or production planning. Only then did the engineers approve the associated 3D models in ENOVIA. When buyers or suppliers needed 3D models in addition to the 2D drawings to process requests for quotation, engineers had to prepare them, filter out certain details if necessary and convert them to the supplier’s preferred format. The manual processing was not only time-consuming but also had the disadvantage that the purchasing department could never be sure that all suppliers had received the same level of information. In order to simplify the enterprise-wide use of 3D data, Brose implemented a solution with PROSTEP’s support that automatically triggers JT conversion when 3D data is approved in ENOVIA, or in the future in 3DX, and transfer the JT models to SAP. The solution is essentially based on OpenPDM with connectors to ENOVIA/3DX and SAP as well as PROSTEP’s newly developed batch processing framework (BPF), which manages the third-party converter for converting CATIA data into JT and other formats already available at Brose. When it comes to automatically importing data into the PLM backbone, the data exchange platform accesses SAP web services that ensure that the JT models are correctly linked with the BOMs and can be automatically updated and versioned if changes are made. If a part or assembly is modified, a JT file with a new index is created once the part or assembly has been approved so that its development history is retained in SAP. PROSTEP has adapted the solution so that the individual process steps, from exporting the data to converting it and importing it into SAP, can be performed in parallel and independently of each other. The reason for this is that Brose also wants to gradually make 3D data from projects launched before the solution went live available in SAP. This will significantly increase the volume of data to be converted. As Redinger says, between 100 and 150 JT files are currently being uploaded to SAP every day.  Savings in downstream processes Redinger admits that the fact that Brose needs individual parts as well as subassemblies and assemblies converted leads to certain redundancies. “But it has the advantage that the JT models can be exchanged more easily and used for downstream processes. The buyer can send them directly to the supplier, at least when requesting quotations. JT is ideal, especially in the early offer phase, because it is a uniform format with a reduced data volume that does not disclose too much know-how. It is also enjoying growing acceptance in the automotive industry.” The information contained in the 3D models made available in JT format can be used in a number of different downstream processes since relatively few details are filtered out during conversion. Although product manufacturing information (PMI) is not yet embedded, the JT models are extremely helpful to production planners when they want to obtain a quick overview of the shape of certain components without having to always bother the engineers. If, however, the 3D models are to be made available earlier in the process, generating them in JT format would have to performed separate from approving drawings, says Redinger – possibly with a restriction note or for a selected group of users. In general, all employees with access to the PLM backbone also have access to the JT models. A simple JT viewer is available in SAP for displaying the models. The IT department provides fee-based visualization tools with an extended functional scope to users who want to use the JT data to carry out clash detection analysis for example. However, this only applies to internal users. In the case of suppliers, Brose recommends that they use the free JT2Go viewer. The company’s objective is to get all its suppliers to start using JT over the course of the next few months so that it can do away with manual conversion entirely. It is not only the engineers who benefit from automatic JT conversion. “We are seeing significant savings in the downstream processes – thanks in part to the format’s clear-cut structure,” says Redinger. He expects additional benefits from more widespread use of JT data in other application scenarios such as review processes, which are currently performed on the basis of CATIA data. The availability of 3D data in SAP lays the groundwork for the digital master, which now of course needs to be rounded off with other information that fills any gaps.
 By Udo Hering
Digital integration of manufacturing at thyssenkrupp Marine SystemsJanuary 21st, 2020 by Joseph Lopez
The shipyard thyssenkrupp Marine Systems has commissioned PROSTEP AG’s shipbuilding experts to draw up a roadmap for the shipbuilding production area in Kiel to digitally integrate manufacturing. The shipbuilders want to make the coordination processes in development, production and assembly more digitally integrated and thus accelerate manufacturing of steel construction.  Today, the departments and companies involved in shipbuilding generally still exchange their product information on the basis of drawings and often even paper, which makes coordination time-consuming and error-prone. Consistent information models and the use of digital technologies can significantly improve the integration of cross-departmental processes. A prerequisite for this is the reliable identification of interruptions and bottlenecks in the information flows. Starting from the existing enterprise architecture, PROSTEP used a standardized method of capability-based potential analysis, which is based on value stream mapping, to create a capability roadmap for shipbuilding production. In a sense, it describes the target status and allows our shipbuilding experts to identify potential for improvement in the information flow and IT support for the communication processes between design, work preparation and steel production. Together with the project team at thyssenkrupp Marine Systems, PROSTEP’s shipbuilding experts have identified three key areas of action with 20 concrete measures. They are to be implemented in the next project steps:
The interdisciplinary team not only identified the measures, but also prioritized them and arranged them in a roadmap. After a project duration of only six weeks, it was able to present the project results to the central production management of the Kiel shipyard. This was a complete success for the shipbuilding production division, which hopes that it will be able to prioritize its digitization projects at the Kiel location more effectively.  By Lars Wagner
Software is the key to the future of the automotive industry An interview with Philipp HasenäckerJanuary 17th, 2020 by Joseph Lopez
Around a year ago, PROSTEP AG acquired a majority shareholding in Bartscher & Hasenäcker Consulting GmbH in order to enhance its expertise in the area of PLM/ALM for E/E (electrics/electronics) and software development. In this interview, Philipp Hasenäcker explains what E/E and software mean for PLM/ALM and what synergies he expects to achieve from working with PROSTEP.  Question: Bartscher & Hasenäcker Consulting specializes in PLM/ALM for E/E and software. Was this your business model right from the start? Hasenäcker: Our current specialization was not originally an explicit business model. Instead, it has evolved over time. To start with, we were involved in a wide variety of PLM projects for a large carmaker, but we were always very close to the departments responsible for development. And it was here that we also became aware of the shortcomings in E/E and software development. The various organizational units for mechatronics development had their own custom processes and methods and the system landscape was extremely heterogeneous, having many isolated solutions that lacked a unifying framework. We then had the good fortune to be able to participate as external consultants in a major PDM project for E/E thanks to the expertise we already had in the OEM’s PLM toolchain and our sound reputation in the organization. We very quickly recognized that this was a crucially important issue for the future, and from that point on we focused all our energies on this area. Question: What is the significance of E/E and software in today’s automotive industry? Hasenäcker: From long years of experience, all the major carmakers know how to produce high-quality, first-class mechanical products. Increasingly, however, the things that really make a difference are mechatronic assistance systems, smart features and, more recently, digital services and the fusion of the vehicle with its environment. It is a sign of the times that a highly innovative technology such as the MBUX multimedia system is first introduced in the A-Class rather than in the S-Class in order to attract new, digitally-minded target groups. As Daimler CIO Jan Brecht once said at the EDM Forum, the company must transform itself from a product-oriented to a service-oriented group, and software, whether as a component of mechatronic systems or in the form of digital services, will be the decisive driver for this transformation. Against this backdrop, I am firmly convinced that it is hardly possible to overstate the importance of E/E and software for the automotive industry. Question: Doesn’t the amount of software in the vehicle sometimes scare you a little? Software is never free of errors and can be hacked. Hasenäcker: In my opinion, and the statistics back me up, the many different assistance systems have made driving significantly safer. In 2019, there were fewer fatalities on the roads than at any time since statistics began more than 60 years ago. Quite apart from that, we nowadays have few qualms about boarding a commercial aircraft in which the autopilot takes over a large part of the flight, using state-of-the-art avionics and highly complex software. Future success will undoubtedly crucially depend on whether we are able to master the heterogeneity in the development and management of software – over the entire lifecycle of vehicles.  Question: What are the particular challenges in E/E and software development? Hasenäcker: To start with, the number of people involved in the development of mechatronic systems is much larger and more heterogeneous than in the traditional mechanical environment. The hardware developer, for example, usually doesn’t even know who is developing the software. There are complex supplier relationships and many different responsibilities, and all of these combine to ultimately ensure that the system functions robustly and consistently. This results in a considerable level of complexity that has to be managed in one way or another. Question: What are the concrete challenges regarding PLM? Hasenäcker: In our experience, one of the core challenges is compatibility management, in order to make potential conflicts transparent for all parties involved at all times. We are talking about networked mechatronic systems with many dependencies that have to be compatible with each other both internally and externally. The whole issue of traceability is another challenge. It must be possible to trace back the huge volume of information in mechatronic systems and components, and it all needs to be documented and versioned along the lifecycle. It is no secret that software develops far faster than, for example, the housing of an ECU or the PCB. An unbroken traceability chain continues to be an essential aspect of verification and certification processes, and it becomes all the more important the more the industry considers highly automated or autonomous driving as of level 3 and higher. Question: Why are there still no suitable IT systems available for this? Have PLM vendors been caught napping? Hasenäcker: PLM vendors will undoubtedly disagree, but I do not see PLM as a monolithic system, but rather as a composite made up of processes, methods and ancillary IT applications. The challenge in such a scenario is to combine traditional PLM and ALM capabilities and functionalities. ALM (application lifecycle management) has to be tightly integrated in this environment in order to manage the software artifacts appropriately. The interface between ALM and PLM is highly individual. In other words, a custom solution is always needed for the customer’s particular ecosystem, product profile and requirements. Question: What kind of solutions do you develop in customer projects? Hasenäcker: Our approach involves first working with the customer to build a joint understanding at the level of business processes in order to reveal the heterogeneous nature of the company’s operations. In a second step, we make use of our experience and best practices to help the customer design the actual solutions. In other words, we are not simply process consultants: Our proposals go far deeper, encompassing concepts and specifications, right down to the attribute level in the data models of affected IT applications. The only thing we do not do ourselves is realizing the software for the IT applications. In this area, we work together with partners and now, of course, also with PROSTEP. Question: So you design integrated tool chains for E/E and software based on the process requirements and the IT systems used? Hasenäcker: That’s right. We are particularly concerned with the integration of existing applications and the way they communicate with each other and exchange information. However, custom software is also used in a significant number of our projects because there are no suitable off-the-shelf solutions. Incidentally, the PDM project for E/E mentioned above also resulted in a fully customized software application.  Question: So the PDM project on E/E for a carmaker has been your most important customer project to date? Hasenäcker: Yes, I think that’s fair to say. The project provided huge impetus for us because we were able to have a positive impact in some development domains. As a result, we are now at home in the entire field of E/E and software management, with a clear focus on all software artifacts that are in some way significant for the ECUs. And we are extensively involved in the design of E/E release management. This is a core E/E integration process that ensures that up-to-date versions of E/E components, complete with hardware and software information, are made available for testing and validation in a coordinated way at defined points in the vehicle development process. Question: What synergies are you hoping to achieve together with PROSTEP? Hasenäcker: Up to now, our biggest challenge has been our focus on a single large carmaker. We hope that working with PROSTEP will enable us to acquire new customers and projects in the automotive and other industries, as the company is a highly respected partner for PDM and PLM throughout Germany and beyond. We are working together intensively to firmly establish our range of solutions for E/E and software in the PROSTEP Group so that we can use the enhanced profile to acquire new customers or address new fields with existing customers. Question: Is this already making a noticeable difference to day-to-day business? Hasenäcker: At operational level, there are already a number of projects in which we are bundling our strengths. For example, we had a contract to develop a solution for extended functional testing in the field of E/E in which we brought PROSTEP on board as a development partner. The staff at the Polish location programmed the software for us so that we were able to offer the customer an overall solution from one provider. And there are already two joint projects for another large OEM in which we want to become more deeply involved in the future. Together with colleagues from PLM strategy consulting, we have also expanded the capability landscape to include E/E-specific aspects so that it can also be used when dealing with questions relating to mechatronic products. Question: Are you also involved in the subsidized projects for the digital validation of autonomous driving functions, in which PROSTEP is playing an important role? Hasenäcker: Up to now, our involvement has only been peripheral, but we have already taken steps to intensify our collaboration in this area as well. I attach great importance to these projects because we need common standards for autonomous driving. Standards are essential if German carmakers and suppliers want to continue to be strong in the future. Mr. Hasenäcker, thank you very much for talking to us. (This interview was conducted by Michael Wendenburg) 
About Philipp Hasenäcker: Philipp Hasenäcker (born in 1980) heads up Bartscher & Hasenäcker Consulting GmbH (BHC) in Böblingen, which is part of the PROSTEP Group. Hasenäcker hails from Paderborn and studied industrial engineering in Detmold. He has been working as an external consultant for PLM/ALM for E/E and software in the automotive industry for more than 15 years. Since 2016 he has been co-owner and managing director of BHC. PROSTEP presents the OpenPDM connector to Aras Innovator at Aras ACE EuropeDecember 21st, 2019 by Joseph Lopez
At Aras ACE Europe 2019 in Munich, PROSTEP presented the OpenPDM integration platform with the connector to the Aras Innovator PLM platform. Integrations between Aras and other PLM systems are now on the Aras price list. Through the intensified cooperation between Aras and PROSTEP, users of the Aras platform will be optimally supported in realizing complex multi-PLM integration scenarios in the future.  OpenPDM is the world’s leading platform for the integration of various PLM, ERP, Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) and simulation data management systems, which also supports the integration of IoT platforms. It serves as a neutral intermediate layer through which metadata and structures between different enterprise applications can be automatically exchanged and synchronized. The standards-based connectors help to minimize the integration effort and facilitate the quick integration of new systems into an existing system landscape. Thanks to its modular architecture and the use of microservices, OpenPDM can now also be used in hybrid cloud scenarios. PROSTEP has been offering a powerful OpenPDM connector to Aras Innovator for some time now, which makes it possible to integrate the Aras platform into heterogeneous PLM system landscapes. Aras has now added PROSTEP integration solutions to its price list, underscoring its interest in continuous further development and maintenance of the integration module. The connector supports Aras Innovator from version 11 and can also be used with the current version 12, which has been available since the middle of the year. Thanks to the large number of available connectors to other PLM systems, PROSTEP’s integration platform offers good support for companies that want to use Aras Innovator as a cross-system PLM backbone for merging data from different enterprise applications – one of the typical application scenarios in the Aras customer base. But the dedicated connection of a single other PLM system to Aras Innovator can also be optimally implemented within the OpenPDM solution suite based on predefined use cases. Around 380 customers worldwide currently use the Aras platform – mainly larger companies with relatively complex PLM installations in the automotive, aerospace, mechanical and plant engineering, high-tech and medical device industries. This is exactly the clientele that PROSTEP addresses with its range of consulting and solutions. This is the reason why we want to try to work more closely with Aras and its partners on customer projects in the future.  By Peter Pfalzgraf
SAMPL becomes a prime example for the industrial use of the blockchainDecember 17th, 2019 by Joseph Lopez
The Secure Additive Manufacturing Platform for the secure exchange of 3D print data, which PROSTEP has developed together with partners, is becoming a prime example of the industrial use of the blockchain. No matter where we present the results of the SAMPL project, the solution is very well received. At the IoT Solutions World Congress in Barcelona, we demonstrated how it can be used to print licensed spare parts for the Mars Rover. Hamburg – Berlin – Barcelona – Frankfurt were the stops on our SAMPL tour. First, we presented the results of the BMWi-funded joint project together with our partners at the User Day at the Centre for Applied Aviation Research (ZAL) in Hamburg. More than 70 participants from industry, research and development were able to convince themselves that the blockchain-based solution for the forgery-proof exchange of 3D print data and the unambiguous identification of printed components is ready for industrial use. This was demonstrated by the experience reports of users and service providers in the field of 3D printing technology. For example, Weidmüller, the manufacturer of control cabinet systems, was the first industrial user to produce a component on a metal-based 3D printer from SLM Solutions using the SAMPL Chain of Trust.  At the Mechanical Engineering Summit in Berlin, we presented the project to over 700 participants. We had intensive discussions with many of them about the use of the technology, which showed the growing interest in the SAMPL Chain of Trust. In order to present them to an even broader, global public, PROSTEP took part for the first time this year in the IoT Solutions World Congress (IoTSWC), the world’s largest event for industrial IoT applications. Over 16,000 people from 120 countries attended the event, where over 350 exhibitors from all over the world presented their IoT, AI (Artificial Intelligence) and blockchain solutions. In 200 lectures, discussions and presentations they could inform themselves about the current technological trends in the field of the industrial Internet of Things and about the previous experiences with IoT solutions. We took the opportunity to present the SAMPL project to the visitors at the blockchain Conference in a 45-minute lecture. Many listeners wanted to learn more about how they can protect data with the blockchain against subsequent manipulation.  SAMPL was also the secret protagonist of the joint testbed stand where PROSTEP, the prostep ivip Association, the International Dataspaces Association, innovalia METROLOGY and FIWARE Foundation demonstrated the interaction of IoT applications, model-based systems engineering and industry 4.0 using the example of the Mars Rover. The model of the remote-controlled vehicle for exploring the red planet, which PROSTEP developed on the basis of data provided by NASA and supplemented by sensors and actuators, serves as an open testbed for testing digital twin scenarios. It was one of the eye-catchers of the organizers, as the video of the third day of the event shows. The spectators were amazed at how the Mars Rover itself triggers the licensed and automated 3D printing process for a defect component. This was made possible by the integration of SAMPL and an AI-based solution into the testbed.  Our solution for the tamper-proof exchange of 3D print data and the unambiguous identification of printed components has also impressively demonstrated its practical suitability in Barcelona. The challenge now is to bring the application to industrialization. PROSTEP intends to work closely with manufacturers of 3D printers and 3D printing service providers in the industrialization process. At the User Day in Hamburg, several companies exhibited SAMPL-enabled 3D printers, including 3DMicroPrint and SLM Solutions. The company NXP demonstrated how components in 3D printing can be identified without a doubt by automatically inserting an RFID chip. In order to intensify the contacts to existing partners and to establish new contacts, we travelled with the SAMPL Chain of Trust this year also to the formnext in Frankfurt. formnext is the world’s leading trade fair for additive manufacturing and next-generation intelligent industrial production. The use of the blockchain in 3D printing met with great interest among the manufacturing specialists and brought us into conversation with potential customers who are faced with the question of how they can safely integrate additive processes into their global manufacturing processes.  During the discussions, we were also approached with new requirements from the field of medical device technology for which the documentation of process data or the materials used is of interest rather than the licensing of print jobs. Ensuring that this information cannot be changed is a key component of blockchain technology. In this way, blockchain integration also opens up new areas of application for our OpenDXM GlobalX data exchange solution. All essential prerequisites have been created for the implementation of a blockchain demonstrator. Contact us if you would like to find out more about the possibilities of the blockchain. The importance of the blockchain was underlined not least by the publication of the blockchain strategy of the Federal Government in September. In addition, the EU Commission has just approved a new technology fund worth two billion euros for AI and blockchain technologies. By Martin Holland PROSTEP uses LeanIX for sustainable PLM strategy consultingDecember 11th, 2019 by Joseph Lopez
PROSTEP has entered into a partnership with the manufacturer of the LeanIX enterprise architecture suite with the aim of providing customers with optimal advice on the development of their enterprise-wide PLM architectures. As a certified LeanIX partner, we can now offer our customers our proven methodology of capability-based strategy consulting in a model-based form, thus ensuring the sustainable management of their enterprise architecture (EAM).  PROSTEP has been pursuing an EAM-based consulting approach in PLM strategy and process consulting for some time, which is oriented to customer-specific PLM requirements from the as-is analysis to roll-out planning. Based on our many years of experience as PLM consultants, we have developed a capability map that covers the applications of the digital product lifecycle from systems engineering to digital twin. On this basis, we work with our customers to develop individual heat maps (prioritization) from which the further development of the PLM architecture can be derived. One of the challenges in consulting projects is to document the current status of the enterprise architecture in such a way that the documentation can also be used for the further development of the PLM architecture and can be easily updated during adaptations in order to maintain an overview of the development and its anchoring in the business processes at all times. As a certified LeanIX partner, we now offer our customers the opportunity to map their enterprise architecture in the LeanIX EA suite and thus document their business requirements, PLM capabilities, actual and target architecture in a sustainable manner. If you are not already using the EA suite, you can purchase a license for the duration of the project at a reduced price. LeanIX offers its EA software as a service from the cloud (SaaS). It enables companies to make transparent IT decisions faster and on a solid data basis. More than 250 customers worldwide use LeanIX software, including leading automobile manufacturers and suppliers such as Audi, Bosch and Volkswagen, as well as well-known brands such as Adidas, DHL, Vodafone and Zalando. Founded in Bonn in 2012, the start-up employs more than 170 people worldwide and has a US headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts. It is growing very dynamically and is now considered one of the relevant players in the EAM market. This is demonstrated not least by the large number of participants at the latest EA Connect Days in Bonn, where PROSTEP was also represented as a freshly certified LeanIX partner.  With this partnership, PROSTEP is breaking new ground in holistic and comprehensive PLM strategy consulting that also considers the corporate strategy and organizational level of digital transformation. With the help of LeanIX’s EA suite, we are building a bridge between corporate and PLM strategy and activating the EAM potential for engineering. Our customers can use the consulting results directly and document the lifecycle of their PLM architectures traceably with LeanIX even after the consulting project has been completed. By Martin Strietzel What’s the Future of Product Life Cycle Management?December 10th, 2019 by Joseph Lopez
The future of PLM is characterized by smart networked products and new, data-driven business models that extend the product life cycle into the operating phase. For us, this future has already begun with important decisions such as our acquisition of Bartscher & Hasenäcker Consulting and our planned participation in groundbreaking research projects for the validation of autonomous driving functions. “PLM is back in,” my fellow board member Karsten Theis wrote correctly in the editorial of the last newsletter. But a different kind of PLM that takes into account the challenges of interdisciplinary, model-based system development and the integration of E/E (electrical/electronic) and software development into classical, mechanics-oriented PLM processes. For us as one hundred percent PLM specialists, this means that we have to deal intensively with these challenges and build up additional know-how for E/E and software development. A few months ago, we took an important step in this direction by acquiring a majority stake in Bartscher & Hasenäcker Consulting. Our new PROSTEP Company specializes in PLM consulting for electrical/electronic and software development and currently supports companies in the automotive and mechanical engineering industries in the design and implementation of corresponding solutions for mechatronic and E/E-dominant products. This will enable us to significantly expand our know-how in an area that is of central importance for the automotive industry, especially with regard to e-mobility and autonomous driving.  Bartscher & Hasenäcker Consulting was founded three years ago and will continue to operate as an independent brand on the market. Together we offer our customers a more comprehensive range of consulting and solutions and address demanding topics such as conception, requirements engineering, software quality assurance or application lifecycle management. We have already proven in joint projects that we can optimally support customers in their daily work with these topics.  We expect the new PROSTEP Company to strengthen our market position as a vendor-neutral PLM consulting and software house. Without know-how in the areas of E/E and software, we will not be able to maintain our claim to be the leading PLM think tank in the long term. The combination of our 25 years of experience in PLM consulting, system integration, migration and collaboration with the special know-how of Bartscher & Hasenäcker Consulting in E/E and software development enables us to support our customers even more comprehensively in digitizing their PLM processes. In addition, the acquisition of Bartscher & Hasenäcker Consulting strengthens our position in pioneering research projects in Advanced Systems Engineering and in the verification and validation of autonomous driving, in which we intend to participate. We see these fields as a promising market for our PLM consulting and solutions offering, which we intend to develop into a strategic business area, not least with the support of our new colleagues. We will consistently expand our know-how in the areas of Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), E/E and software development, but also by hiring additional employees. In keeping with our guiding principle “How Integrate the Future”, they can actively shape the future of PLM at PROSTEP. By Bernd Pätzold, PROSTEP AG PROSTEP presented the new Service Content Portal at tekomDecember 7th, 2019 by Joseph Lopez
The use of 3D content for technical documentation and after sales was one of the central topics at this year’s tekom annual conference in Stuttgart. PROSTEP presented the new Service Content Portal to visitors to the congress trade fair, which is primarily attended by experts from the world of technical communication. The portal offers the possibility of providing 3D spare parts catalogs and other service documents online on the Web.  At this year’s tekom annual conference, many exhibitors were represented with solutions for the preparation of 3D information for technical documentation and other subsequent processes. Obviously, the topic that PROSTEP has been dealing with for many years is in line with the trend of the times. Our stand was correspondingly well attended, and there were surprisingly many new interested parties who wanted to find out more about our range of HTML5 and 3D PDF-based service content solutions. The focus of our trade fair appearance was our new service content portal and the extended possibilities of embedding 3D content for the service not only in 3D PDF documents, but also of publishing it in HTML5 format on the Web and thus facilitating access via mobile devices. The solution now offers companies the greatest possible flexibility in the provision of 3D spare parts catalogues and other service documents. Above all, however, it distinguishes itself from other solutions by the high degree of automation with which 3D data from design can be published together with structural information and other metadata. Recently, service engineers have even been enabled to enter comments into the portal, which are linked to the 3D data and stored on a server, enabling feedback from the field to quality assurance or development. In addition to our service content portal, our 3D PDF-based solution for 3D assembly planning also met with great interest among tekom visitors. It offers machine and plant builders the opportunity to plan assembly at an earlier stage using 3D models from the design department and to calculate assembly costs reliably. Companies can make the assembly instructions available to their assembly workers in paperless form and even illustrate the assembly of complex assemblies with the aid of 3D animations. The high degree of automation of the solution, which can be easily integrated into the existing IT infrastructure, not only accelerates the creation of assembly instructions, but also their updating after changes.   By Timo Trautmann
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