the

difference
between

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN: software platforms that support
design, manufacturing, analysis, data

Design and management, supply chain, and

more.
Read on for more about these two

Manufacturing roles and how integrating both of

them brings better products to market
more efficiently.
Much has been made of the rivalry between design engineers and
manufacturing engineers. Starting at the time of the Industrial Prototyping
Revolution, the two roles have been seen as separate functions: Many designs begin with
designers inventing products that manufacturing personnel would prototypes. In the old, siloed
then produce, using paper drawings or verbal instructions. approach, designers would
create a design, culminating in 2D
IN RECENT YEARS, there “maker” movement. Manufacturing drawings that could be transmitted
has been greater collaboration engineers and machinists are to manufacturing. Prototypes of
between designers using computer- expanding their capabilities into the designed parts could be made
aided design (CAD) software and product design. At the same time, in-house or outsourced to a third
manufacturing engineers using designers are venturing into the party.
computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) prototype shop or production floor to The emerging concurrent
software. This has been driven, in bring their concepts to life. Personnel and integrated approach sees
many cases, by pressure to be more at all points in the product pipeline designers using rapid manufacturing
efficient with time and manufacturing are taking advantage of common techniques like CNC machining,
resources. However,
the two types of
software were
seldom integrated
into a single
environment that
permitted seamless
collaboration.
Today, a new
model is emerging
in which design and
manufacturing roles
are increasingly
combined. This is
true in the world
of smaller, startup
businesses as well as
in the independent

1
Sponsored by
 the
difference
between

sheet metal fabrication, injection
molding, composite layup, and 3D
printing to create prototypes faster
and quickly gain an understanding
of manufacturing challenges. For
example, engineers at Ring Brothers,
a Spring Green, Wisconsin, store
that restores classic cars and
manufactures custom auto parts,
built their business by taking designs
straight from the digital drawing board
to a 3D printer or CNC machining
center.
CAM programmers and machinists
have also entered the prototyping
field, innovating designs based
on their detailed knowledge of
manufacturing combined with their
unique creative talents. One example
comes from Walsh Engineering in
Norfolk, Massachusetts, where owner
John Walsh started out machining
tools for injection molding. He built his
understanding of the manufacturing
process and 3D visualization skills into
a company that creates 3D models,
finite-element analysis, and rapid
prototypes of both molds and finished
molded parts.
All engineers, whether they started
out in a design or manufacturing role,
are now under pressure to perform
multiple functions ranging from
manufacturing to mechanical design
to electrical design to programming.
Production
When design and manufacturing
were separate efforts, a design
needed to be frozen in order for
manufacturing to do its work.
This could be accomplished by
manufacturing using 3D CAD models
linked to the 2D drawings provided
by design or by recreating a 3D
model from 2D data. Either approach
required data export, import and
repair to generate a usable model.
Manufacturing then needed to
interpret the design using CAM
software and create CNC code and
other manual planning documents.
2
Designers would not be involved
in manufacturing issues unless
there was a problem like a missing
dimension or a tolerance.
Once a design is frozen, usually
late in the product development
cycle, introducing a design change
is disruptive to manufacturing and
other downstream departments. CNC
programs, inspection documents, and
other technical documentations may
have to be thrown out and recreated
from scratch.
The emerging concurrent and
integrated approaches are much more
flexible. Common software platforms
for CAD and CAM eliminate the
hassles of exporting and importing
files. They also create an improved
workflow for cost estimates, shop
floor documentation, and inspection.
Modern software also supports
model-based design and product
data management (PDM). These tools
seamlessly flow changes to all linked
products including manufacturing,
technical files, and inspection
documents without the need for
manufacturing personnel to start their
work over.
Supply Chain
The old, siloed approach to
engineering and design affected
operations further down the supply
chain, as well. In many cases, the best
way for companies to communicate
designs to outside suppliers was to
convert 2D drawings to PDF files.
These files could not be converted
into 3D CAD data to support
manufacturing. Therefore, outside
vendors needed to use manpower
to completely remodel the design
in 3D. In addition, both the original
manufacturer and the vendor needed
to be vigilant about version control
since the new 3D data is not linked to
the original design.
Although this situation persists
in many OEM-vendor relationships
today, more and more are adopting a
concurrent and integrated approach
that uses a common platform from
design to ship. In the integrated
model, designers, manufacturing,
vendors, inspectors, and even
marketing personnel can use the 3D
CAD model with assurances that any
changes are immediately flowed into
the views they are using. A common
platform also creates a common
CAD language that makes it easy to
communicate across disciplines.
Conclusion
Even though design and
manufacturing functions once
existed in separate silos, the lines
between disciplines are blurring, and
more integration is expected in the
future. Organizations are stressed
by shortening product development
cycles and pressures on the bottom
line while they are buoyed by a culture
of innovation fueled, in part, by the
maker movement.
In response, engineers are
taking on mechanical, electrical,
programming, manufacturing,
prototyping, inspection, and even
marketing roles, regardless of their
initial training. This integration opens
up myriad opportunities for seamless
collaboration and cross-pollination,
especially when supported by design
and manufacturing software designed
for the entire product development
lifecycle.
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