It’s a fact: jobs, missions, methods, organization, tools and work habits, … everything seems to oppose the Design Engineers and the Process Engineers, and this happens within many companies. The two entities often do not operate in the same environment and are geographically distant. The lack of interaction between the two departments can sometimes create what we speak of: a “border.”

However, at the time of Industry 4.0, where connectivity and communication in all directions are a strategic necessity.  The divide between the IT department through the manufacturing department tends to become a structural issue for the company’s performance.

Let’s discover how the TopSolid digital solution can break down these walls!

1) Design Office VS Process Office: two entities often in opposition within a company

A) Reminder of the missions of each

Design Office

Between engineering and expertise, the mission of the design office revolves around advice, recommendation, and control: 

• As a subcontractor, the design office receives and evaluates the feasibility of its entrusted external projects.
• As an integrated department within a manufacturer, the design engineer is responsible for designing projects for their company’s customers.
• Project management also falls within the scope of the design office, which must ensure compliance and traceability.
• Finally, the design office draws up a detailed plan of the design and sends it to the process office.

An innovative mission dedicated to service

Process Office

As the linchpin between the production line and the design office, the process office is responsible for implementing the project from the design office. Its mission has several facets:

Validation of the product’s feasibility after studying elements such as modeling, average dimensions, the geometry of the raw material, or machining assembly. 

– Industrialization: it is the study of the means (tools, machines, operators, materials, and equipment) and the solutions to be implemented in the manufacturing process.

– Optimization of work organization (flow management, access, handling, etc.) and machining (time and cost management) to increase productivity.

They monitor machinery and equipment: reporting the need for maintenance or replacement.

– Management of the conformity of the production about the operating procedures (order of operations, tools used, number of people, and time required to carry out each task).

A multi-faceted mission at the heart of which is naturally a strategic need for communication with the design office.

However, often these exchanges between departments are far from being fluid and collaborative.

B) Two worlds that can clash

Creative on one side, functional on the other, and incompatibility of opinions … the reality is hardly subtle. Moreover, the lack of geographical proximity can also factor in.

It so happens that the mission of the Design Office lies in the conception of innovative projects resulting from R&D and consequently presenting a very elaborate technical plan. As such, the department can misrepresent these gratifying aspects, with other departments or subcontractors, thus obscuring how the projects will be industrialized… or even the project feasibility! 

However, the Process Office is in charge of industrializing the projects issued by the Design Office … an endemic situation inevitably puts the two departments in opposition, with the Design Office defending innovation and considering the Process Office as the “brakes” on design and creativity … the Process Office, for its part, is not always able to respond favorably to the conceptual project because of a proven lack of solution.

Should we accept this state of affairs as inevitable and “deal with it”?

2) The disadvantages of a two strong opposition between Design Office and Process Office

One thing is sure; the two departments speak the same language: that of 3D modeling, average dimensions, raw materials, machine set-up, and tolerances. There is no shortage of opportunities to exchange information for the smooth running of the project: information needed for industrialization from the design office to the manufacturing office, as well as requests for clarification or revisions before launching the machining, from the manufacturing office back to the design office.

But when the border between the two departments is unbridgeable, a cascade of dysfunctions harmful to the entire organization ensues:

• Waste of time in post-design discussions; each defending their own position.
• Increased risk of errors and data loss if there is no direct exchange interface.
• What about the automatic recovery of part properties and manufacturing characteristics for process office or design office patches?
• And then … we talk about the work atmosphere and motivation?

It is mainly from this cumbersome operation that tensions arise. The loss of time due to a lack of reliability and traceability is the number one enemy of efficiency. A situation that increases standard costs potentially decreases the quality and puts a heavy burden on productivity… not to mention the delay in deadlines!

In short, the exact opposite of what is expected to meet the company’s strategic challenges. How, then, to create the bridge between the design office and the process office to close this counter-productive border?

3) TopSolid: the solution that links the two worlds

Going from a product idea to its industrialization implies, in the current context linked to Industry 4.0, the practice – and if possible, the mastery – of several so-called “basic” requirements:

• a shared thinking process on the global project scale
• a single, reliable, shared information, to frame and manage exchanges
• fluid and factual communication
• a reactive decision-making process
• a genuine and synergistic collaboration

Also, to connect and rally the two departments falls under a logic of synergy of the processes, the objective being to achieve the rigorous management of the geometrical data, the orchestration of the flows, and the collaboration. An ambitious challenge that TOPSOLID takes up with brilliance!

TopSolid’s CAD and CAM solutions are developed on a common database (PDM) with an intuitive user interface and are associative. In addition, the design process integrates all the tools in line with the manufacturing process: the updates of the parts follow in CAM, and the process office can even make slight modifications in agreement with the design office.

With this highly successful CAD/CAM software solution, TopSolid meets the needs of today’s companies:

• Data control: the PDM of the solution manages both the technical data of the design office and the manufacturing office, thus allowing the full recovery of the “parts and manufacturing” characteristics.
• Traceability: TopSolid automatically transfers CAD modifications to CAM, managing common modification indicators.
• Streamline and secure the exchange of information: with TopSolid, file conversions, data entry, and risks linked to errors and data loss are over.
• Efficiency: By merging the design and manufacturing processes, the collaboration between the design and manufacturing departments is improved, thus boosting efficiency and motivation.
• Increased productivity and improved quality.

Suppose this new configuration of the relations between the design office and manufacturing office requires to know how to manage the change (company culture, working methods, tools, …). In that case, it also constitutes the beginnings of digital continuity, so essential to the industrial requirements of tomorrow.

As you understand, fluid and collaborative communication between the design office and the manufacturing office allows the border between the two departments to be erased… And because data volumes are increasing and work flows need to be justified, it has become difficult for industries to pass up a software solution. TopSolid, through its CAM, CAD, PDM, and ERP applications, enables the simplification of exchanges between the design office and the manufacturing office, ensuring the coherence of projects, and secures the design and manufacturing processes while reducing their cost. The time saved is colossal, and the efficiency of the design and manufacturing teams increases. In the end, it is the company’s productivity that improves… A successful challenge!

It’s not a secret, just an industrial logic: process fluctuations during the machining of a part are detrimental to competitiveness and profitability. They are a source of errors, machine stoppages, scrapping due to manual adjustments and controls, resulting in colossal time and material losses. As a result, quality and labor costs skyrocket, delivery delays occur, and poor traceability. A probing system allows us to understand these process variations and correct them to achieve consistent, automated, and productive machining.

Now, let’s go further and imagine a CAD/CAM solution that allows you to program and simulate your probing cycles – preparation, control, quality, safety – guarantees optimal reliability… This is the package offered by the TopSolid’Cam CAD/CAM solution, which we invite you to discover …

I – Machine probing: what are we talking about?

The touch probe is a tool that works mostly by switches, which, when activated by contacting a workpiece surface, allows for adjustments and control during machining operations. The geometric data returned is accurate and repeatable. This means that it shows any errors found by probing the workpiece in different directions and any deviations when examining a workpiece repeatedly in the same order.

The objective of probing on a machine is to obtain parts that conform to requirements and optimize the machining process. The probe is used, in general, for dimensional measurements (metrology) or on three-dimensional coordinate measuring machines (CMM) to calibrate parts or tools. However, it can also benefit the entire manufacturing process, as the dimensional information collected during machining is valuable. We are thinking of the automatic adaptation of machine tools for the entire machining process, the limitation of human interventions, increasingly precise production, and the possibility of dimensional control directly on the CNC machine tool. 

An obvious must-have, it would seem …

II- Machine probing with TopSolid’Cam: why?

In the era of (almost) manual operation, the operator would have to read the part print and enter coordinates for probing, inheriting all the risks of misinterpretation and typing errors that this manual process entails.

With TopSolid’Cam, the control and verification processes are carried out before and after the machining operations. The simulation and trajectory of the probe are carried out in the digital machine environment, safely and securely, using the part’s actual geometry as points to probe.

Efficiency and reliability meet!

III- What are the benefits of this feature?

The benefits of using TopSolid’Cam to program machine probing starts with preparation and control, both are definitely “quality” oriented.

Example:

During the preparation operation in the machine space, the part is precisely positioned within a zone of plus or minus ¼” from the position programmed in TopSolid’Cam. The software identifies the part and detects the presence of blank stock or fixtures, such as a screw or clamp, in order to avoid risk of collision. Finally, the location measurement is done automatically.

The generated machine output control report, identical to one produced by a CMM, considers the geometric defect of the latter: the tool is thus corrected dynamically. Therefore, the machine is dynamically corrected, and a correct dimension is obtained without interpretation, reading, or typing errors. With TopSolid’Cam, precision is at the heart of the control process.

Quality as a result: obtaining a conforming part in the geometric state of the machine is 100% guaranteed!

IV- More productive probing with TopSolid’Cam

Using the TopSolid’Cam solution, the operator avoids possible errors when defining part origins, the risks of crashes or collisions due to the presence of undesirable elements in the machine, or the scrapping of parts resulting from an erroneous tool offset correction, are all eliminated.

You stop wasting time.  Your material costs, direct labor and shop support costs, are all reduced – therefore you deliver – on time: your machine output is better, and your productivity is radically improved!

Conclusion

Because it combines programming and simulation and is perfectly integrated with the Post Processor, TopSolid’Cam represents a unique solution on the market to problems related to probing. Machining is more consistent, qualitative, and productive by reinforcing automation and minimizing human intervention during the process.

In short, TopSolid’Cam boosts your machining capacities, both in terms of quantity and quality, enabling you to respond better to the needs and requirements of your market. This means that you can accept new contracts, work on innovative concepts and possibly offer your teams more proactive technical roles. Think about all the possibilities!

The divide between design and manufacturing processes is the norm in companies most of the time. And if the reasons are diverse, they seem less and less legitimate. Indeed, some companies have already taken the step of managing these two stages together and merging the associated software. As such, they put forward the undeniable benefits in terms of competitive advantage, reliability, timesaving, and productivity.

In the era of Industry 4.0, is it still relevant to question the advantages of a single CAD/CAM solution? To understand the stakes and decide to take the plunge, follow us!

1/ Design and Manufacturing: processes are not systematically linked

Organization, work habits, investment, etc. how can you explain this real gap between the two processes?

The historical reason is one of the main answers. Indeed, a company that develops progressively, is not always able to produce its own designs. Therefore, it subcontracts the manufacturing process and limits itself to the role of assembler by habit and comfort for sometimes several years. The possible merger of the company’s design process and the subcontractors’ manufacturing process the remains a non-topic in the Monday morning management committee meetings.

Corporate culture also plays a key role. Some companies have invested in manufacturing tools or have created groups of “preferred partners”. This action is not correlated to associate design and manufacturing. Indeed, it is more a question of not being dependent on defaulting subcontractors (late delivery, penalties charged by the customer, etc.), and on the evolution of the cost of the markets.

Manufacturing, is it putting brakes on design and creativity?

There is an assumption that the Process Planning Department is a subcontractor of the Design Department. The designer, in the creation of his masterpiece, does not seek to know how the product will be manufactured. After all, it is neither his problem nor that of his customer, each to his own trade! However, the brakes originate with this type of thinking… a work based on exchange and collaboration, presenting on the contrary beautiful opportunities of synergy.

Of these three reasons, one thing is clear: the merger process cannot take place without a solid transformation project, supported by the management committee. And it has to happen since rapid increase of advanced technologies, volume of data transiting between the various departments and the outside world, as well as the notion of the digital chain. These variables are undoubtably calling for a merger!

2/ Merging CAD and CAM: what are the good reasons?

Let us be consistent. Insofar as your design department designs parts and your company has its production tool, the question of streamlining flows arises at one point or another. And to do so, the solution is radical!

On the one hand, minimize the use of subcontractors to control the manufacturing process. It is indeed a question of optimizing the purchase costs compared to the manufacturing, the margin on the selling price of the product delivered to the customer as well as the production time for delivery and invoicing in the pre-defined time.

On the other hand, stop designing and developing products that cannot be manufactured within the company. You need to manage the machine resource: by this, we mean the “capacity” to manufacture or not, and the occupancy time (workload compared to the set deadlines). Note also that you pay back your machine investments, your ROI thanking you in the process!

However, do not forget the designers, by offering them a wider range of products adapted to their customers, since they will be able to have them manufactured directly in their company! By taking into account the production requirements, and the elements allowing you to industrialize the products more quickly, they will naturally be part of an increase productivity approach.

In short, be convinced that your company’s know-how is based not only on your design skills but also on your ability to create, manufacture, assemble and deliver products on time. However, be aware that to achieve this, it is essential to master all internal processes.

This is where merging CAD/CAM is essential. End of the demonstration!

3/ How to get started and finally merge design and manufacturing?

The merging of the design and manufacturing processes is the result of will, coupled with a real company strategy. It requires a change in mentality, the implementation of new or better-adapted work methods, and tools allowing good inter-departmental communication, etc., a perilous change of culture, but quite feasible.

Choosing a software to enforce strategy and facilitate communication is one of the best solutions, and as such, you have two options.

• Design department and process planning department work on software from different publishers, not having a direct exchange interface:

Although this configuration is entirely possible, it nevertheless requires additional efforts from the employees and imposes significant constraints. Firstly, the possible loss of geometric data, during the transfer of information between the two solutions, will require a correction in the process planning department, without any guarantee in the long term. The other major disadvantage is the impossibility of automatically retrieving the properties of the parts and the manufacturing characteristics without specific development.

This operation highlights a real lack of reliability and traceability, as well as a proven cumbersome action and waste of time. That is a lot, isn’t it?

• The second option and this is, of course, the one we recommend: you switch to a fully integrated software solution!

In this case, we are talking about the TopSolid tool and its CAM, CAD, PDM, and ERP applications which, on a single user interface, ensure solid and coherent data management between the design department and the process planning department. The native transfer, the CAD/CAM associativity, and the common database have advantages …

• fully recover data concerning the “parts and manufacturing” characteristics;

• automatic transfer of CAD modifications to CAM (with the index management of common modification),
• total traceability of the projects
• deletion of file conversions via interfaces and successive data entry
• deletion of risks related to data loss

In the end, the entire design and manufacturing process is secure and reliable, with phenomenal gains in time and productivity!

With TopSolid, the merger of manufacturing and design is part of a logic of digitalization and continuous digital chain. The unique software and its native integrations allow for a rapid learning curve as well as a reduction in costs and implementation timeline.

Very quickly, you will notice the positive effects. Exchanges within the company, particularly communication between the design and process planning departments, are facilitated, standardized and secured. Better coherence of the projects between design and manufacturing which saves time, optimizes flows and improves quality and efficiency. In an increasingly competitive context, you will appreciate this way of increasing productivity!

The furnishing and design sector present an infinite creative range. In addition, the demand is characterized by needs as varied as they can be complex. An efficient design and manufacturing tool is therefore essential. The question is how to find the rare pearl, adaptable to both customer requirements and project constraints, but also capable of preserving efficiency, reliability, and – the most important – respect delivery deadlines.

With TopSolid’Wood, a solution specialized in furnishings, TopSolid SAS reveals the five features that are necessary for CAD/CAM software to meet the challenges of the sector.

1) Intuitive modeling features

Design and produce, this is the main answer to which a CAD/CAM software worthy of the name must respond. It is therefore important that it offers highly relevant features to cover all the user’s needs. For the woodworking industry, such features include material removal, configuration of assemblies between parts, parametric 3D modeling, as well as advanced software customization to allow for greater benefit and ease of use. And the list goes on.

Imagine a tool that is easy to use, providing you with a range of tools adapted to meet your needs.

The TopSolid’Wood solution includes all those features and more: the application works in real-time and provides results that are as realistic as possible, whether the designs are simple or specific and complex, and all this while saving considerable time!

Slot function

Profiling function

2) Scalable component libraries

Most CAD/CAM software offers “turnkey” component libraries designed to increase productivity. However, there are very few norms or standards for the design industry, as each company has its own specific needs, even for the most obvious components. How then, can you increase productivity by using component libraries that are certainly rich and easy to use, but that do not take into account the unique character of each designer when the point is to bring out the DNA of the designs?

The answer lies in the ability to create your own scalable component library capable of growing daily, by integrating, new methods or different means of production. It is important to understand that it is the company’s practices that enrich the software library, and make it possible to create, capitalize and then factorize know-how. This is not possible with turnkey solutions.

In short, customization and configuration power of a component library are essential criteria for choosing a CAD/CAM software. Think about it when the time comes!

Scalable component libraries

3) Real-time visualization of the changes made

In the vast CAD/CAM software market, keep in mind that most tools use a polyhedral engine to model designs. Can such a process provide an accurate and precise representation of 3D designs? Of course not.

Moreover, these same tools are not advanced enough to design in an associative way. This means that the design department has to anticipate and redesign a potentially large number of elements for each modification request. No need to mention the colossal loss of time and the countless possible sources of error!

In a context where project requirements are as demanding as they are complex, real-time feature is an unequivocal imperative.

Thanks to its accurate 3D modeler, TopSolid’Wood allows you to visualize the modifications made in real time and to make changes to dimensions without having to check each element. Therefore, the operation of the chosen design rules, as well as the conformity of the rendering based on the customer’s wishes, are verified on the spot and with reliability. Not to mention that drawings, bills of materials, and machining programs are also updated automatically: invaluable comfort and time saving for the design department!

Real-time visualisation of modifications made with TopSolid’Wood

4) Perfect management of the modifications to be made to a project

Bigger, more storage, shallower and less expensive if a scalable component library allows the user to quickly decline a project while respecting the initial specifications of his customer which are likely to evolve often and quickly! In short, a “normal” design department life which can seriously call into question the very composition of a project.

To be able to make the various adjustments requested by the customer at a moment’s notice and with a smile, configuration tools are required. But be careful, not just any tools! Indeed, the solution used must allow you to modify various functional or aesthetic aspects of the project, either locally or globally.

Must I remind you that drawings, bills of materials, and machining programs are also updated automatically?

In this respect, the TopSolid’Wood software offers mechanisms for the interchangeability of components and sub-components, coupled with configurators, which allow this type of action.

5) Automation of the digital chain

TopSolid SAS’s approach is to ensure continuity between design and production, i.e., not to break the digital chain between the design department and the workshop. Not only is the risk of error considerably reduced as there is no need for post-processing, but also the time saved is invaluable! TopSolid’Wood is one of the few software packages on the market to offer this essential advantage. 

One software to meet CAD/CAM needs

Intuitive modeling, scalable component libraries, associative design, real time feature, and digital chain continuity: five necessary and non-negotiable essentials for your furnishing CAD/CAM software.

TOPSOLID SAS, one of the world leaders in CAD/CAM/ERP publishing software, offers one of the most advanced solutions on the market. Customizable and dynamic, it allows unlimited creativity without sacrificing the efficiency and fluidity of the processes. By integrating design, manufacturing, and ERP, the tool allows perfect management of your furnishing or design projects. From design to production, you save time, develop everyone’s skills, and factorize your know-how!