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Integrating CAD/CAM in a PDM/ERP environment

Journal: Manuscript ID: Submission Type:

2014 SNAME Maritime Convention SNAME-036-2014 Submittal

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INTEGRATING CAD/CAM IN A PDM/ERP ENVIRONMENT Paul Filius and Henk Kramer, Nupas-Cadmatic, Netherlands SUMMARY Many shipyards wish to have PDM software at the heart of their product management. However, implementing PDM systems at shipyards has proven to be a challenging task in many cases. One of the main advantages of using PDM software in shipbuilding is that the data of previously engineered vessels can be used easily for new vessels. A challenge that these global operating shipbuilders face is that each shipyard has its own requirements for production documentation. This paper will show the vision of Nupas-Cadmatic; using ready-made “building blocks” to create interfaces between dedicated PDM and CAD systems and the eShare module to visually show information stored in multiple systems. These solutions allow the shipbuilding industry to create processes suitable to their requirements. 1.

INTRODUCTION

b) re-use (parts of) existing designs for sister vessels and standard vessels;

In a modern shipbuilding organisation the need for managing information in design, engineering and production is becoming increasingly important.

c) build their designs at shipyards worldwide, each with their own specific building methods and facilities.

Integrating CAD/CAM with PDM is seen as “the” solution and a “must” for effective shipbuilding at modern shipyards.

2. SOFTWARE TRENDS SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRY

Two solution philosophies can be discerned from current market developments in this regard: • Single vendor systems that include design, engineering, production and PDM. • Multi-vendor solutions for design, engineering, production and PDM. Nupas-Cadmatic believes that a multi-vendor solution brings more benefits to all stakeholders in the shipbuilding and marine and offshore industry. It allows shipyards to work with specialists in every field and provides them with the flexibility to select dedicated solutions that exactly fit their requirements. The drawback of multi-vendor systems is that system integration for each implementation needs to be done. For this challenging task Nupas-Cadmatic has developed an integration method based on intelligent “building blocks” that are used to build various interfaces. For each interface a selection of “building blocks” can be used to tailor the integration. Interfacing with PDM and ERP is closely related to version management, production control, managing costs and planning of material and components. In this paper we will introduce a CAD-PDM interface solution that empowers global shipbuilding organisations to: a) manage design and build information easily and efficiently;

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IN

THE

Many shipbuilders are investigating or implementing PDM software. PDM software supports the PDM process, which is focussed on managing product data during the life cycle of a product. ERP and ERP software have been more broadly implemented already, in one form or another. ERP focuses on managing and control of the production process (planning, purchasing, logistics etc.) It is common practise today in many shipbuilding organisations that a part list from engineering is imported into the ERP software while a separate document management system takes care of the storage and labelling of the different documents, among others CAD drawings. Many shipyards wish to have PDM software at the heart of their product management. The PDM software should take care of storing all product related data and provide it to the right persons and processes at the right time. CAD software is closely related to PDM software and important interactions take place between these two. There are vendors that offer their own combination of PDM and CAD. Usually these are tailored for a certain use, and provide a solution in some cases. The drawback is that this limits the shipbuilders in their software choices enormously. In today`s market there are specialised PDM software suppliers and CAD software suppliers that fulfil the specific needs of shipbuilders very well. The supplied software has in some cases evolved into highly

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specialised tools that provide the shipbuilder unmatched economy of use, compared to more generic software. Nupas-Cadmatic is such an example. A key element in the development has been to generate ship design and production information in the shortest time possible. To be able to use the best of both worlds easy integrations between CAD and PDM are required.

3. CAD

can make better decisions regarding cost effective changes. Global engineering and production also plays an important role. Many shipbuilding organisations have operations around the globe. CAD and PDM must support this. Information should be available at all the needed locations and the interaction should run smoothly. The non-availability of fast net infrastructure is also still an aspect to take into account today.

IMPLEMENTING PDM IN RELATION TO

Implementing PDM systems at shipyards has proven to be a challenging task in many cases. Usually deadlines need to be stretched due to fact that the implementation of all details often takes more time than estimated. One of the aspects that influences this is that many processes need to be defined exactly, otherwise one is unable to set regulations for their incorporation into PDM systems. Integrating existing CAD software and a new PDM system, or the other way round, also has its challenges. This has in many cases to do with ownership and redundancy of the information. Before PDM software arrived it was very clear that the CAD software was the owner of all engineering data. This starts to change when PDM gets involved. From that point on ownership of parts of the information shifts to the PDM system, and CAD is allowed to use it. This requires again that processes are explicitly defined. One of the challenges here is to create processes that leave enough flexibility for the engineer, and thus support his creativity when engineering. During the engineering process many new items are created and changes take place. Moreover, today`s specialised shipbuilding CAD systems have a lot of associative functions that support the engineer in effective working. The term “topology” is also often used for this. The result is that when one part is changed many associative parts will change as well. This forms a very dynamic engineering environment and a decision needs to be made as to how this environment should interact with PDM software. On the one hand all changes should be traceable from the PDM system, on the other hand an overflow of data would render tracing unnecessarily complicated. One of the challenges is to define processes that combine the desired flexibility in engineering, and delivered from software tools such as Nupas-Cadmatic, with proper storage and traceability in PDM software. An aspect that should be taken into account in every implementation is feedback from PDM and ERP data to engineering. For example the status of a certain item (preliminary, approved, in production, etc.) should easily and unambiguously be directly accessible to engineering. With this information the engineer has better insight and

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Different CAD-PDM interface implementations are currently available on the market: • Part list data from CAD software to PDM software • 2D Drawing storage from 3D CAD software in PDM software. • Data from PDM software to CAD software (for example metadata for drawings, objects to be located in a certain space, etc.) • 3D CAD model management by PDM software. A trend in these implementations at modern shipyards is that they require elements of all 4 categories above.

4. RE-USING DATA AND WORKING WITH STANDARD VESSELS One of the main advantages of using PDM software in shipbuilding is that the data of previously engineered vessels can be used easily for new vessels. Working without PDM software requires implicit knowledge of engineers who know what was done in which vessel. And when they remember, the challenge is to revive old CAD projects and migrate the data to a new project. This looks simpler than it actually is in practise in most cases. Nupas-Cadmatic has strong tools for using older project data and tools for making changes. Finding the right data still remains a matter of experience without PDM software. When connecting PDM software to CAD software in principle all older projects should be stored so that they can easily be retrieved there. A practical solution can be for native CAD data to be stored in the PDM software database, or referred to, in certain usable batches for new projects. Nupas-Cadmatic has a functionality to easily incorporate data from other projects to a new project, including options for automatic adjustment to for example changed hull shapes. One step further is that for standard vessels the different elements of that vessel are stored in the PDM software. When designing a new ship of a standard type, based on the client`s requirements, the latest version of the ship structures, different ship systems etc. will be combined in the new vessel. Nupas-Cadmatic supports these working methods. It however requires good PDM implementation to ensure that the right data is available to make it work.

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5.

BUILDING AT DIFFERENT LOCATIONS

Today there are many shipbuilding organisations that build their vessels at different building yards. In some cases the building yard is not yet known when the engineering is ongoing, and in other cases the sister vessel is built at another yard. A challenge that these global operating shipbuilders face is that each shipyard has its own requirements for production documentation to function well. This is not limited to another language and the level of detail in the documentation, but also includes the available materials and yard layout. If, for example, the hoisting capacity of a yard is different than the designed block weights, either the yard can’t build the ship or it works ineffectively. If the result in the last example is a new block division, the impact on engineering and production data is massive. An automatic process seems ideal, but is not always desirable because of all the details that will be influenced. Nupas-Cadmatic has chosen a solution with tools that support the engineering process of making the virtual ship ready for building in other locations.

6. CAD-PDM INTERFACING APPROACH OF NUPAS-CADMATIC 6.1

Nupas-Cadmatic has developed a single interface for integrations with PDM systems. In order to fulfil the requirements as mentioned in the paragraphs above, the interface consists of different building blocks, each focussing on its own specific target. This provides the required flexibility for each desired interface between Nupas-Cadmatic and PDM. There are three categories of PDM interfaces: 1. Fully custom built: These interfaces require heavy investments in terms of time and money. In theory the interface can contain all the required functionalities, however in reality this is rarely the case. 2. Built from standard components: The optimal solution that combines the required flexibility with standard data connections. 3. Standard interface: Usually these interfaces are limited in their functionalities or are very complicated. The Nupas-Cadmatic approach fits into the second category. The idea is to have ready-made and configurable building blocks for the interface. A building block is a piece of software that does its thing. A combination of building blocks builds the required interface. This delivers a tailor-made interface within the shortest time frame possible.

NUPAS-CADMATIC INTRODUCTION

Nupas-Cadmatic software is a CAD/CAM engineering software system and virtual information management system for the shipbuilding and offshore industry.

6.3

AN INTEGRATION EXAMPLE

In Figure 1 a graphical representation of a part of the implementation of an integration is visualised.

Nupas-Cadmatic provides a complete solution for the entire shipbuilding process, from initial design, preliminary design, basic design, and detailed design, up to ship production information and support during production and maintenance. Nupas-Cadmatic significantly saves time during the production and engineering phases. It also reduces material costs during the production phase. The software is easy to learn and the fastest to implement on the market. The strategy of Nupas-Cadmatic is focussed on being the best in its class in the dedicated focus area of 3D CAD/CAM for shipbuilders, which includes interface options with surrounding systems.

Figure 1: Overview of an integration example

The data management system, Nupas-Cadmatic, the PDM/ERP layer and the information portal can be seen in the diagram. 6.2

APPROACH TO PDM INTEGRATIONS 6.3.(a) Starting a new vessel

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• The process of starting the design and engineering of a new vessel starts with using what is available from earlier vessels. From PDM this data is available, and can be used in the new ship. In some cases during the process data is copied to the new ship, in some cases it is referenced to the same source. The goal is to create as much data redundancy as possible. See figure 2 for the process.

Historical design data: e.g. parts of ships, modules, diagrams, data from earlier revisions etc.

Figure 3: Data from PDM Figure 2: Process of starting a new ship

6.4

STORING DATA IN PDM

The PDM software contains a database with the following data: • Components, eventually from mechanical CAD systems or suppliers. • Parts of vessels built earlier, or complete vessels (steel + pipes + components). • Standard modules (steel + pipes + components)

The following data from Nupas-Cadmatic is stored in the PDM database: • Drawings • Material listings • Geometry • Production information • Work breakdown structure

In reality the PDM database will be more and more complete after each vessel.

Each time data is stored in PDM the data can be used for the rest of the production process of the vessel, but can also be used for the design of future ships.

Nupas-Cadmatic provides tools to easily re-use existing data from different software versions at the same time. It also includes the intelligence to let the data adapt to the new surroundings, with reference to the original sources. This is shown for example when using structures related to hull shapes, which adjust automatically to the new situation.

In order to deliver the data in manageable chunks to PDM the control over the chunks is allocated to the work breakdown manager. At that point it is decided how to store the data, either as individual objects, a group belonging to the current vessel, a standard module or other possible entities.

6.3.(b) Data from PDM From the PDM software data in the following categories can be used in the new vessel. •

•

Material & Logistics: e.g. hull materials, piping and outfitting materials, specifications, systems etc. New design data: e.g. compartments, parts per compartment, drawing meta data, etc.

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To create the optimal balance between the flexibility to return to a certain stage of the project, and data storage, a system of full and partial updates is used. These updates stay within the framework of the data chunks defined in the work breakdown manager. Figure 4 shows that in each partial update drawings, geometry and material data are updated as revisions to PDM. A full model revision is done at defined intervals.

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Figure 4: Updates to PDM

6.5 PROVIDING DATA TO ALL PROJECT PARTICIPANTS Providing the right data to the right persons in an organisation is a major challenge. Shipyards and engineering companies need to utilize design and engineering information more efficiently in digital format. They need to collect, integrate, publish and share technical information (data, drawings, documents,...) easily in the network of all project parties. There is also a need to utilize digital information for ship production, coordination, follow up and reporting design, engineering and production activities easily.

Figure 5: Principle of eShare

As a result of this the objects’ data is shown directly from external databases, all in one overview, as shown in figure 6.

Most of the desired information is stored in the PDM and ERP databases. This data is in many cases hard to access, especially when coupled to 3D objects accessed through viewers. Nupas-Cadmatic has developed a solution for this called eShare. This software uses eBrowser visualisation functionalities combined with technology to access databases. eShare can ideally be used as a user application to access and examine data from PDM and ERP systems combined with the 3D model. eShare has the capability to use not only NupasCadmatic CAD models, but also 3D models from other sources can be viewed and even combined into one viewable model. Figure 5 shows the principle of how eShare works. It should be noted that the data is not copied to eShare, but that through the eShare server data from the external data sources is directly accessed. This has the major advantage of avoiding data redundancy.

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Figure 6: Showing data from different data sources

Another example is to visually show classifications of objects in a certain colour scheme. The status of objects from the “ERP system” can, for example, be shown. Various solutions can be used as an “ERP system”. On one hand of the spectrum one finds a companywide implemented ERP application, on the other hand an Excel sheet can provide the same info. Both work with eShare. With more and more adoption of registration techniques like RFID for object locations a new level of accuracy in object location registration, with less work can be reached. Figure 7 shows an eShare example of the different production stages of objects indicated in different colours.

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7.3

THE PEOPLE

The most important success factor for PDM implementation and CAD-PDM integration is people with knowledge of the combined domains. They are able to distinguish major and minor issues and work quickly to find a working solution.

Figure 7: Objects by production stage in eShare.

6.6

FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS

Unification of the platforms used for Nupas-Cadmatic will make the building of interfaces in the future an even easier task. The focus of Nupas-Cadmatic development is to continuously bring more user-friendliness to these interfaces. This is done to ensure maximum flexibility when working with Nupas-Cadmatic as CAD software.

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PREREQUISITES

To be able to build an advanced interface between CAD and PDM there are some prerequisites that can’t be ignored.

7.1

CAPABILITIES OF PDM SOFTWARE

The candidate PDM software should provide enough openness to integrate with CAD. Preferably the PDM system is object-oriented (as opposed to file-oriented), which offers more flexibility in creating relations between objects. Functionality for global design support is another important aspect of PDM software which is crucial for globally operating shipbuilders.

8.

CONCLUSIONS

Integrating CAD with PDM is an important goal of many shipbuilders around the globe. Nupas-Cadmatic stepped up by creating flexibility for users with tailor made interfaces between specialist software. Nupas-Cadmatic believes that dedicated software packages linked together through tailor-made interfaces are more likely to exactly fit the requirements of the shipbuilder. PDM implementation and interfacing with CAD systems require revisions of many parts of the shipbuilding process: shifting ownership of information, (re)defining process steps and the need to create the manageability of the newly formed information load. This is achieved while taking into account the ease to re-use data and the ability to build and engineer globally. With ready-made “building blocks” Nupas-Cadmatic is able to assist customers swiftly with this implementation and customisation. The multi-vendor vision of Nupas-Cadmatic has led to the design of Nupas-Cadmatic’s eShare module. eShare has been designed for managing the data load stored in multiple systems in order to provide the right data to the right person at the right time. A Ship’s development and lifecycle can be visually tracked with up-to-date availability of data within the 3D model of the ship itself. This ensures everyone is kept informed regardless of the department the users work in or the system the information is stored in.

The ability to store and handle huge amounts of data generated by the CAD system defines an important aspect of the usability of the PDM software.

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7.2

P. Filius holds the current position of Technical Director at Numeriek Centrum Groningen B.V. He heads the technical team at the Dutch headquarters of NupasCadmatic operations. He has 35 years’ experience at Nupas-Cadmatic in various technical development and management functions

SHIPYARD PROCESSES

The first phase of defining the interface starts with defining shipyard processes. This is a challenging task for specialists with an overview of the engineering process. It also requires good documentation, including drafts for user instruction, to be able to get an overview of the complete process. This includes not only the CADPDM interaction, but also has an impact on the use procedures for the different tasks of the CAD software.

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AUTHORS BIOGRAPHY

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