The PLM User Group e.V. and the world's leading manufacturer of tablet presses, Fette Compacting GmbH, hosted the Model Based Definition Autumn Conference 2023 at the end of October.
Over the course of two days, the event offered many exciting presentations which, although very varied, focused on the topic.
Fette Compaction GmbH opened the event with Ms. Johannsen and Mr. Erdeli as an internationally positioned medium-sized company with a far-reaching PLM rollout perspective, especially on CAD and MBD topics. The audience showed great interest and the thirty-minute Q&A session was definitely necessary. The factory tour that took place on the same day at the host company was very impressive - professional one-off and small series production to the highest standard; high-precision measuring machines weighing several tons with a granite base such as the Leitz/Hexagon PMM-F could be admired in action. Of course, the fast tableting machines were also shown live. They are capable of producing tablets accurate to a tenth of a percent by weight and, depending on the model, at a rate of over one million tablets per hour.
The presentation by thyssenkrupp Marine Systems, represented by Mr. René Nieprasch, was also exciting to listen to. It was about how tkMS managed to make paper drawings a rare phenomenon with a clear initial announcement from the management - and that in the highly complex production of shipbuilding. PMI, NX, JT are the buzzwords that many in the service provider sector, like us, have long been familiar with and know how to implement, but unfortunately are still far too rarely used in such a consistent manner. It shows that if management is willing to pursue strategic goals, great, sustainable success can also be achieved in the PLM sector.
Other outstanding speakers followed:
Ms. de Sá Brant from Capgemini and Mr. Klöppner from MTU Aero Engines AG showed that each PMI is a separate, revisable object in Teamcenter. With all its advantages - nevertheless, an expectedly large number of objects gave rise to many questions in the subsequent discussion.
As an "old hand", Helmut Zeyn (formerly Siemens PLM), who has been self-employed as Zeyn Consulting since 2019, knew how to give a presentation with impressive nonchalance that was well-rounded, entertaining and educational at the same time. It was about additive manufacturing - and the question of why such an advantageous process is still so rarely used.
Bosch was represented by Mr. Bessey. His starting position was a very drawing-dominated model definition. It was noticeable that the starting point - with its own revision of the drawing - was conceivably complex. The audience was fascinated by the serious consideration of ISO 16792 and its classification levels, as well as the associated practicality, in the prospect of a model-based definition. In future, non-geometric information will be separated into separate datasets in order to separate the large amounts of non-geometric information present on the drawing.
Mr. Karcher from Janus Engineering and Mr. Fieß from BCT Technology AG demonstrated efficient measuring machine programming with model-based data in NX CMM - as we saw on the factory tour beforehand. It was interesting to see that a wide range of requirements from personnel skills to media breaks or classic aspects such as machine capacity were covered. It was also nice to see the simulation of the measurement in NX, but also the realization that the current PMI capabilities without attribute extensions are sufficient to operate the measurement processes. Of course, the requirement to maintain the PMI in the model also applies.
Max Müller-Reisenauer from Siemens Digital Industries Software concluded the conference with the topic of standard-compliant (MBD) working methods in NX. He showed the ideal image that Siemens "draws" and thus an optimum that can be a worthwhile goal for many companies in order to efficiently bring developments into production.
Overall, the conference provided an opportunity to see and discuss the many facets and challenges, but also the results of a successful implementation of model-based design.