According to Peter Schmitt, VP, Marketing and Business Development, DELMIA, Dassault Systemes (Auburn Hills, MI; www.delmia.com), “If I tell you what I mean, it doesn’t follow that you will get the meaning whereas, if I show you what I’m talking about, you have a higher probability of grasping the meaning.” In a nutshell, it is a simple explanation of the thinking behind parent company Dassault Systemes’ “3D Live” software suite, a web-enabled application that allows users to collaborate on projects through a common interface based on a defined product structure. “The idea is to take the information a company creates that is locked away inside of the engineering function, and make it available throughout the organization in an intuitive graphical format,” says Robert Brincheck, director, Automotive Business Unit, Dassault Systemes (Auburn Hills, MI; www.3ds.com).
Users of the software—which includes desktop connectors for the Smart Team, Enovia, MFG Hub, and 3D XML—navigate through the interface via a standardized compass-like control that gives access to 3D search, navigation, contextual buddy list, and an alert/dialog box at every level. A vehicle program, for example, starts with a completed car sitting atop a turntable that the user can view from any angle. Double clicking on the turntable breaks the vehicle into major subsections (body, chassis, interior, powertrain, electrical). Then users can drill down into each: “You can go as deeply into that section as you want—or your access will allow you—and dissect the vehicle by part, if necessary,” says Schmitt. “And, if you are unsure of where that part fits in the vehicle, you can see it in a ghosted view of the vehicle subsection.” Depending on how the information is associated within a company’s database, it is possible to follow that part back to the plant—for example, a stamping facility—and get real-time data from that particular operation, including output, downtime, and service records. “Because set-up requires you to associate the proper people to the part,” says Brincheck, “you reduce the number of redundant conversations and iterations, and you don’t have to search through the organizational chart because you have the contact information and a description of each person’s responsibilities.” This, he claims, makes it possible to reduce the filtering effect, so it’s less possible for subordinates to “hide” any issues from their superiors. (Not that they would…)—CAS