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As products and the regulations that govern them become more complex and time-to-market cycles shorten, the ability to simulate product performance in the virtual stage is increasingly critical. Manufacturers that want to survive and thrive can no longer wait until the physical prototype stage to discover issues, so they are conducting more virtual simulations than ever before and doing them earlier in the product development lifecycle.
When coupled with the modern realities of global product development, managing this important new wealth of intellectual property has become a challenge. How can companies ensure that analysis is being conducted on the latest data when the product is still in development and changing minute by minute? How can they manage simulation data so that each new iteration of a product benefits from what has been learned in the past? How can manufacturers make simulation data available beyond engineering so that users from Purchasing to Marketing can benefit from it?
These are just a few of the questions that CIMdata, the leading global PLM consulting and research firm, asked and answered in its new report “Simulation Lifecycle Management: More than Data Management for Simulation.” The study examines both the industry pressures that contributed to the development of SLM and how SLM is helping the companies that use it better compete in their markets.
SLM at Dana Holding
One such company is Dana Holding Corp., a leading automotive supplier of drive train and power technology products. The paper cites Dana’s success with SIMULIA SLM, which leverages the industry-proven Version 6 architecture to help Dana capture its simulation knowledge, deploy approved methods globally, and share simulation results enterprise-wide.
Since implementing SLM, Dana no longer runs the risk of conducting analysis on outdated product data, has standardized best practices in simulation worldwide, and has created clean, simplified handoffs between globally dispersed teams that specialize in four different phases of the simulation process. Version 6 also provides the flexibility to bring in non-DS tools as required or as the company’s simulation needs change.
Frank Popielas, manager of advanced engineering in the Power Technologies Group of Dana, told CIMdata that since implementing SIMULIA SLM, the quality of the company’s simulations has improved. “Analysts are following consistent standards for simulation based on the types of simulation being conducted,” the paper states. “There are standard templates and processes which are either executed automatically by the SLM system or that guide an individual through their assigned tasks. This has reduced time and errors. Input data is linked to the CAD models, ensuring that simulations are conducted against the current version of a design.”
A wide range of SLM benefits
According to CIMdata, benefits of SLM include improved design quality due to wider inputs earlier in the product development cycle; continuous product improvement and innovation due to inputs from a broader team; increased numbers of new products; ensured repeatability of analyses across multiple design iterations; increased efficiency; and reduced time-to-market.
By transforming product-related simulation and analysis (S&A) into a visible and accessible component of the product development process, SLM users unleash the information to help drive innovation throughout the full product lifecycle and across the extended enterprise.
