Accelerating Innovations in Product design

Do we ever think of the processes involved behind developing silky design of cars that go beyond aesthetics? It's not creativity alone that go into the making of a car. There are several processes in the lifecycle of a product that it passes through from design to manufacturing. Plus, there are many design changes that keep happening thereafter. Typically, stakeholders of manufacturing companies are distributed across geographies. However, the ability to come up with frequent design changes with reduced production cycle time is very important for manufacturing companies to stay ahead of curve. They're in the constant pressure to downsize the iterative process involved in moving a product from design to manufacturing. Now how do you do this in a company whose manufacturing plants are strewn across countries? How do you ensure seamless supply-chain collaboration amongst stakeholders of your various projects to ensure you don't run behind schedule? Today, there are lot of project lifecycle management (PLM) solutions, which include 3D design platforms, available today in meeting these challenges.

A lot of products today are created in 3D design and simulation applications — right from to oil sachet to mobile phones to airplanes. All these products undergo a virtual existence in a 3D environment. The virtual 3D environment enables it envisage and share design and production processes, simulate crashworthiness and problems. This also enables manufacturers to manage resources before they get the actual physical model.

Currently, the market is populated by a diverse range of solution providers that include product design authoring, manufacturing process creation and management, digital simulation, product testing suppliers, ERP suppliers, and enterprise business solutions providers.

Accelerating innovations with PLM, 3D platforms

Today, product definition resides not just within an individual company, but also across an extended enterprise, including suppliers, partners and customers. PLM has traditionally existed within the walls of an organization. Now companies are integrating supply chain network with their PLM systems to get visibility into the entire gamut of processes involved. The core of PLM today is to integrate manufacturing applications with business apps.

To stay competitive in the marketplace, manufacturing companies are in constant pressure to accelerate the rate of innovations needed. This is where 3D and PLM software come handy for 3D modeling, content & simulation, social & collaborative innovation and information intelligence. And not to mention the increasing complexities of products that are driving manufacturers to look for cost effective and a collaborative lifecycle management tools. The 3D experience platforms not only offer manufacturers the ability to experience new innovations, solutions and products before they are completed, and even built.

Organizations today need to collaborate to include all stakeholders in every phase of processes - from concept development to compliance checks to high-quality, end deliverables. This requires domain and technology understanding in order to address the challenges that organizations may have. This is why collaboration is being embraced increasingly by companies to get together scattered teams of people to share information and rev up decision making across their organization.

There are companies that are offering PLM software as a service to help reduce cost and cycle times. Autodesk announced its move to move cloud PLM space. In coming days, more and more manufacturers would increase the adoption of cloud based PLM applications.

Indian market, the drivers of PLM

PLM and 3D based solutions are yet to make a mark in Indian market, although the scenario has changed recently and global brands like Dassault Systemes or Autodesk are set to see increased adoption of their compelling products by manufacturing companies. Players like Tata, Mahindra and Mahindra, Telco, Maruti have embraced the 3D based platforms to accelerate innovation in their products. Engineering industry is increasingly considering adopting collaborative solutions to bring together the global work force and reduce product cycle time.

PLM and 3D design solutions no more limit within the confine of high-end industries like aerospace, those solutions are being used in sectors like jewelry design.

In coming days more and more sectors will use 3D based solutions.

Optimizing the overall product design or even the product development process is the need of the hour for Indian companies to better manage its lineup of products. There are several drivers including technological challenges that are making adoption of PLM solutions widespread. This includes managing extended product lifecycle from idea to design to manufacturing, managing supply chain and ensuring global collaboration amongst scattered workforce. Plus, reducing product cycle time and adding to the range of products and solutions is critical for all manufacturing companies. And the advanced lineup of virtual 3D platforms and collaborative environments is a boon for this to happen. Innovation in product design to stay ahead of the competitors is another challenge, which is driving manufacturing companies to embrace these solutions.

Markets like India very well is a part of this move. There are many Indian companies which have global vendors. Dassault Systèmes', for instance, has a global customer base including companies spanning across eleven industrial sectors. This include automotive, aerospace, industrial equipment, high-tech, and even consumer packaged goods. The company served names like Tata, HPCL, Godrej or even aircraft. With 150,000 customers of all sizes, in all industries, in more than 80 countries, the group's vision is to enable everyone — from product designers, engineers, companies, suppliers to end-use consumers, and their respective communities — to create, share, and experience in 3D.