A fun part of being a consultant is that one gets to visit lots of different companies .

This allows us to compare and contrast organizations , and sometimes , to find organizations doing really cool stuff . But we also get to see where people perhaps still have room to advance .

By Stephen Cherlet – FarStar Consulting with Manoj Kumar – Inde Dutch Engineering & Aerospace

Services Ltd .

Good old days

Back when I studied engineering , everything was still pencils , tsquares , set squares , ovals and perhaps a flexcurve . In my first job at the aircraft factory , the print room worked with aperture cards and printed massive amounts of paper . Hard copy was the only way to check even a few dimensions . In those days , there was no such thing as looking at information on a screen except for standard items like for fasteners , washers , and rivets that could be viewed on microfiche or microfilm . Back in those days , 2D was expensive and 3D design tools cost small fortunes . I remember at various employers , we had two design teams – one with drafting tables and with a 3D CAD ( Computer Aided Design / Drafting ). As this was emerging technology at the time , the hardware and software was so expensive firms could not afford to convert all at once . Surprisingly , or perhaps not , a lot of “ paper ” drawings are still in use . Though I seldom encounter companies generating new paper-based drawings , the legacy data still remains intact as hard copy . Typically , the old prints and vellum has been scanned making the drawing available in an electronic format , usually Adobe PDF . These are typically old items that are not in production but needed for spare parts . They can be part of really old designs . When the need for change arises , these companies usually take the opportunity to redraw the part using a CAD tool . This slowly brings everything into a digital world . Depending on the item , firms may only recreate the part in 2D . This is especially true if the part is not used in a higher assembly , eliminating the need for 3D to be able to check for fit .

2D was the Rage

Eventually , the cost of both hardware and software came out of the stratosphere . Instead of

Assembly Validation .

paper and electronic design / drafting teams , we ended up with a combination of 2D and 3D teams . At least paper was slowly being phased out . With 2D , there was some improvement in overall drafting time . Derivative parts were easier to create . Electronic information sharing got simpler both internally and externally . Then , and often still today , companies print a hard copy for signature . This prolongs the concept of paper as the master data source .

Moving to 3D

Although some of the 3D design tools still seem to be as expensive as ever , at least there are some lower cost alternatives combined with much lower hardware costs . For the same number of dollars ( cost ) of a mid80 ’ s word processor , you can get a pretty good workstation today . Gone are the days of high-end ( read expensive ) RISC ( Reduced Instruction Set Computer ) workstations from the likes of Sun Microsystems and others . Now regular personal computer hardware , properly specified , can get the job done . Cost is no longer a real obstacle .

But what about the benefits ?

Beyond the original benefit of being able to model full assemblies to check for interference and fit , there is a cornucopia of tools able to import a 3D model for a variety of analyses . Although we have been referring to design applications , we cannot forget about industrial engineering . Computer Aided Manufacturing ( CAM ) software facilitates the creation of numerical control programs for the production of machined parts , laser and water jet cutting , EDM ( Electrical Discharge Machining ) and robotic welding among other processes . In addition to generating tool paths , the software can often check for interference between part and machine . If the fixtures have also been designed in 3D then the process team can often also check for machine , or tool , interference with the fixture as well . Not only is there in decrease in the cycle time to prepare for production there is a decrease in tool-part-fixture collisions potentially causing serious damage , injury or delay .