DESIGN SOFTWARE | M ODEL-BASED DEFINITION
ECNOHMAMNCUINNGIC DAETSIIOGNN
To communicate design intent, the
manufacturing sector has a legacy of using
2D drawings that move from design to shop
floor. A solution to this time-consuming design
finalisation process is Model-Based Definition.
According to independent
research, The 2014 State
Of Model Based Enterprise
Report by Lifecycle
Insights, approximately 98% of
manufacturers communicate using
2D drawings, 42% of which use 2D
exclusively while 56% use a mix of 2D
and 3D. Only 2% communicate using
only 3D annotated models.
Although the industry has found
a comfort zone in 2D drawing
techniques, it comes with its own
set of limitations, some of which can
have far reaching consequences
on the efficiency of the project. A
more comprehensive analysis of
the shortfalls of 2D design brings
up a pertinent question: How do we
eliminate, or at least mitigate them?
A powerful technique known as
‘Model-Based Definition’ or MBD
could be the answer. MBD helps
companies eliminate some major
design communication hurdles and
enable seamless manufacturing.
To fully understand what MBD
is and how it will help tackle the
challenges faced by designers
who are currently using traditional
communication methods, it’s
important that we first recognise
some of its challenges.
INCREASED
TURNAROUND TIME
In competitive markets, companies
providing the quickest turnaround
times win more projects. However,
much of the time on a project is spent
trying to create accurate production
drawings prolonging project duration.
Moreover, there are a lot of doovers
involved. Minor design tweaks
result in drawings having to be reworked
and re-distributed. It causes
chaos in record keeping but luckily,
it’s avoidable.
CASE STUDY 1
A global manufacturer of custom handling
and packaging systems was looking to
automate product development and
manufacturing workflows to increase
efficiency, improve communication, eliminate
reliance on paper drawings, and improve
quality.
The company adopted several products by
SolidWorks for design data management and
analysis to achieve a completely paper-less
design ecosystem.
RESULTS
■ 80% reduction in manufacturing release
times.
■ Digitised production drawings in form of
3D models
■ Ended strenuous printing, paper, and
administrative costs
CUSTOMISABLE OUTPUT
TEMPLATES
The tool comes with numerous customisable
3D output templates that can be moulded
by the designers as per the project
requirements. Apart from actual models,
these templates also come with other
complementary functions such as layout,
company or department logos; 3D viewport
and thumbnails; descriptions; Meta-property
links; and tables.
All of this information can be used to
entertain specific requests such as quotation,
audit reports as well as engineering
drawings. Companies can also make use of
these templates while formulating design
and communication guidelines for various
departments.
HIGH ADAPTABILITY
One of the major features of SolidWorks MBD
is its high adaptability to existing file formats,
outputting in widely accepted formats like 3D
PDF and eDrawings. These 3D files come with
strong encryption options and also support
manoeuvring movements like Pan, Zoom,
Rotate, etc.
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