Product Data Management

Transcription

1 Product Data Management Introduction to Product Data Management Product data means in this context in principle all the information that is somehow relevant to the product. Under here are examples of product data [Philpotts, Martio]: Product configurations Part definitions and other design data Specifications CAD drawings Geometric models Images (scanned drawings, photographs, etc.) Engineering analysis models and results Manufacturing process plans and routes NC-programs Software components of products Electronically stored documents, notes and correspondence Audio and live video annotations Hardcopy (paper-based and microform) documents (by reference) Project plans Price catalogues Purchase orders Bill of materials Etc. Product data management (PDM) is a tool to manage all the abovementioned product data and also product development process. PDM systems handle the masses of data and information required to design, manufacture and/or assembly products and then support and maintains them. [Philpotts] There are other terms which are more or less synonymous with Product Data Management. These include Engineering Data Management (EDM), Product Information Management (PIM) and Technical Data Management (TDM) just to mention few. PDM however is the established generic term, and it encompasses all systems which are used to manage product definition information.[philpotts] PDM as a term shouldn t be confused with term product management. That term also includes business aspects, such as marketing, product policy and the introduction of new products. [Peltonen] Brief History of PDM PDM systems were first developed to manage and to control the massive amount of electronic data that were created by CAD/CAM/CAE systems. Engineers and designers were spending too many working hours searching for the information. Product Data Management - 1

2 PDM became essential especially for managing assembly information when parts were designed on different CAD systems. Local data managers in CAD system could handle data for that system, but putting it together with other systems data caused problems. PDM system linked together with other applications did very good job managing data in enterprise wide basis. The PDM capabilities were expanded to cover; in addition of design and engineering department, the purchasing, manufacturing and product support departments. The internet made PDM systems even more popular, because it provided universal, inexpensive and accessible use interface for it. [Lee] Who is using PDM? Typically the PDM users have been designers and engineers. But PDM systems have expanded to include people in many other areas, including manufacturing personnel, project managers, and administrators, as well as those in sales, marketing, purchasing, shipping, and finance. This makes it possible for those people who are usually left out of early phases of product design and development to participate. [Miller] PDM is useful for companies in every industry segment that design and manufacture products. These segments include for example: [Philpotts] Aerospace Automotive: assembly and components General mechanical manufacturing Electrical and electronic products Computer manufacturing Defence industries Oil and gas exploration and production Chemical and process engineering Food and drinks industries Pharmaceuticals Power generation Construction companies Transport operators; road, rail, sea, air Utilities: electricity, water, telecommunications Design and management consultants Central and local government. PDM Functions and features The classifications of PDM functions vary a bit depending on the sources. PDM system itself doesn t produce information or solve problems it enables companies to function more efficiently. PDM systems range from simple of-the-self packages to complex fully tailored systems. [Gascoigne] Product Data Management - 2

3 Figure 1: A functional view of a PDM system. Based on [Gascoigne] The most important tasks of PDM system is to move, store and control information. To make this possible, it needs to have basic set of functions. These functions are:[philpotts] An electronic vault or data repository A set of user functions A set of utility functions The functions that are defined under here are presented in terms of ideal PDM system. In real life, the functionality that companies need depends on many things, such as systems already in place, organization, type of products etc. Electronic Vault PDM system uses an electronic vault as repository to control all electronic product data. Some of the data is stored within the vault and some of it can be externally generated. In both cases users don t need to know the physical location of data, they use PDM to access the product information through password protection. There are two types of data stored [Philpotts]: 1. Product data, which is produced by various applications as CAD, CAE etc. Examples of this data are 3D-models, drawings, specifications and maintenance records. 2. Meta-data, which is data about data. In PDM systems meta-data is the data relating to PDM controlled information. Meta-data is stored into PDM database and it upholds the functions performed by the PDM system. Product Data Management - 3

4 User Functions These functions are divided into five categories [Philpotts]: Document management Document management together with electronic data vault ensures that product data is protected, up to date, correct and retrievable. Workflow and process management Workflow and process management define and manage product configurations, part definitions, relationships between data and data versions. It also controls review and approval process of product data. This enables PDM to record every step in process. Product structure management Product structure management facilitates the creation and management of product configurations, part definitions, part relationship attributes, bill of materials and ability to associate product definition data to parts. Classification Classification of parts according their attributes provides tools for searching and retrieving standard parts and existing product data. This is more efficient than looking parts from manuals and catalogues. It also helps designers and engineers not to re-invent wheel repeatedly. Project management Project management provides work breakdown structures and schedules resources. Figure 2: Example of process management and workflow. Utility Functions Utility functions support the user functions mentioned above and also simplify the use of system for users. Utility functions include [Philpotts; Gascoigne]: Communication and notification Handles communications within PDM system and also provides interfaces to external systems. The automated on-line notification of critical changes/events to all concerned parties, will help to keep everyone informed about state of the project. Data transport Provides tools for moving data between applications, from one user to another. Product Data Management - 4

5 Data translation PDM system can provide predefined tools for data translation. These tools can be used to convert data between applications and to formats for various display and output devices. Image services PDM system treats different images (raster, video etc.) same way as any other data. System provides viewing capacity for reviewing and mark-up capabilities that will enable wider audience than before to participate project easily. System administration PDM system provides system administrator tools to monitor, customize and manage system. These functions are typically: o access and change permissions o authorizations o data back-up and security o data archive. Most systems are tailored to conform corporate standards and to make their usage as efficient as possible. This often includes tailoring the user interfaces to show relevant data to different users. Figure 3: Tailoring the interface for the different users. Who provides PDM software? According the Wikipedia, most large CAD vendors have some kind of PDM offering. For example Autodesk has PDM functionality built into the CAD system. PDM systems can be industry specifics, for example textile CAD or not industry specific and be able to handle different CAD systems simultaneously. Product Data Management - 5

6 What are the benefits of using PDM? As a commercial application, PDM system needs to offer significant benefits for its use. PDM systems are becoming increasingly important especially for manufacturing companies because shortening product life cycles, growing product complexity and the need for a large number of product variants. [Peltonen] The PDM system provide benefits in a number of areas: [Miller,Philpotts] Enhanced co-operation: PDM system enables people, who are often left out of early project phases, possibility to contribute to product design and development. The results are faster work, fewer errors, less redundancy, greater cooperation, and smoother work flow. This leads to bottom-line cost savings and time reductions. The PDM system provides a platform through which geographically remote teams can work together. Integration tool: PDM acts as integration tool connecting many different areas. This means that it makes product data available throughout the enterprise, so that the right information is available to the right person at the right time and in the right form. This can form a basis for organizations to restructure their productdevelopment processes and implement initiatives such as concurrent engineering and collaborative product development. Faster Processes: As data is available whole time, there is no loss of time for waiting the right document to reach right person. Also time spent for searching correct document is reduced. Improved Productivity: Users of PDM don t need to reinvent wheel, as they easily find out if it is already invented. This increases productivity of designer. Improved Control: PDM systems ensures that the current data is available, so that the problems of working with old data are avoided. PDM system ensures that the only right persons can access the data and change it. Also it makes easier to handle large products where the amount of product data can be immense. Easier access and use: PDM system can provide interface, where users can see for example 3D model without having to use the right CAD program and review it. Improved Searching and Retrieving Information: Using meta-data in search criteria means that search and retrieval of data can be much focused. Product Data Management - 6

7 Integration between PDM and Other Systems To be truly useful, a PDM system must work together with other systems which will exchange data with it. PDM and Document Tools The user of PDM system doesn t usually use PDM system to work with document files. Document tools are used for this. It is convenient if at least the most common PDM operations, such as checkout and check-in, can be carried out directly within the document tool. This way the user does not have to switch between the document tool and the PDM system. [Peltonen] Interface is required between PDM system s document management functions and document tool. It is possible to avoid developing this interface individually for all combinations of document tools and PDM systems by using the Open Document Management API (ODMA) standard. [Peltonen] Essentially ODMA defines an interface that allows the open and save operationsof a document tool to fetch a document file from a PDM system and save a modifieddocument file back to the PDM system. ODMA also defines a number of document attributes, such as the name of the user who has checked out the document, the time of the check-out operation, the name of the latest version of the document, etc. A document tool can inquire which attributes are supported by the PDM system and then read and write the available attributes of a document. [Peltonen] PDM and Other Systems Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is one of the systems which can be integrated with PDM. If a company has both a PDM system and an ERP system, data must be shared between the two systems and this can cause problems. For example, the parts list of a product is needed in both systems and perhaps also in other systems such as CAD. To make sure that data stays consistent, it is imperative that one of the systems is chosen to store the master copy and decide how the modified data is transferred to other systems and back. [Peltonen] Other systems such as Customer Relationship Management CRM and Material Requirements Planning MRP are also possible to integrate with PDM. Product Lifecycle Management PLM is controversial term when talking about PDM. Most sources state that PLM is category which encompasses PDM. [Orr, Craffey] Product Data Management - 7

8 PDM Standards PDM systems are designed to comply with set of industry standards. These standards include IGES, TCP/IP, DXF etc. and other national and international standards. One standardization effort is the international standard for the Exchange of product Model Data, officially known as ISO and generally referred to as the STEP standard. The scope of the standard is very large because the goal is to develop a standard for the representation of all data related to products. Other standards are PDES and CALS initiatives. [Lee, Philpotts, Peltonen] References Craffey, M. What s the difference between PDM and PLM? www-document ces.pdf Gascoigne, B. PDM: the essential technology for concurrent engineering; World Class Design to Manufacture Volume 2 Number pp MCB University Press ISSN Lee, K. Principles of CAD/CAM/CAE Systems. Addison Wesley Longman inc ISBN Martio, A. Tuotetiedon hallinta, Helsinki University of Technology- SoberIT. Report. Miller, E. What is PDM, mechanical Engineering Magazine. www-document: s.html Peltonen, H., Concepts and an Implementation for Product Data Management. Acta Polytechnica Scandinavica, Mathematics and Computing Series No. 105, Espoo 2000, 188 pp. Published by the The Finnish Academies of Technology. ISBN ISSN Philpotts, M. An introduction to the concepts, benefits and terminology of product data management; Industrial Management & Data Systems 96/4 [1996] 11 17, MCB University Press, ISSN Orr, J. Joel Orr Commentary: PDM? PLM? What? www-document. Site=MDSite&catId=0 Wikipedia, free encyclopedia: Product Data Management, Product Data Management - 8