Dassault Systèmes reports that DELMIA digitalmanufacturing software is being deployed by Toyota Manufacturing UK as partof a strategy that is altering the way in which its cars are built byenabling the sharing of common real-time information throughout the enterprise.
This is a continuation of Toyota’s strategy, announced in 2002,to employ Dassault Systèmes’ 3D PLM solutions.“Toyota Motor Corporation has always maintained a centralized manufacturing design function in Japan,” explains John Grainger, Project Specialist in theProduction Planning and Control Division at Toyota Manufacturing UK.
”Teamsof engineers and team leaders would travel to Japan and spend several weeksunderstanding the designs for a new model and how to build it. Now, throughdevelopment of a tailored manufacturing environment involving software fromX, Y and DELMIA, design data is stored in a common repository and accessiblethroughout the enterprise, allowing Toyota Manufacturing in locationsoutside Japan to share in the design-for-manufacture process.”
With access to DELMIA V5 DPM Assembly, Toyota Manufacturing UK engineerswere able to optimize an assembly manufacturing process concurrently duringthe design phase. In addition, by implementing a DELMIA V5 Human add-on toexamine reach and motion, the UK group has been able to analyze themanufacturing feasibility of each and every different variant of its models.
Thanks partially to digital technology, the design-for-manufacture of somefuture models will take place entirely outside Japan. These models will bedesigned digitally and will also have all their processes, tooling and evenemployee training completed using advanced simulation, which then can beshared with Japan.
Although the management of all the data will becontrolled through Japan, each manufacturing department, from welding toplastics, will have access to the engineering data within the same DELMIA V5environment.
Grainger adds “In the UK, we have currently only hosted one digital design review, but as they increase in frequency, we expect our total expenditureto have paid for itself within the year. Trips to Japan will become less common thanks to the power of digital technology in shrinking the distance between global teams working towards a common goal.”