Perceptron Works with Dassault Systèmes to Anticipate Potential Manufacturing Glitches

Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA, December 12, 2006 _  Dassault Systèmes (DS) (Nasdaq: DASTY; Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA), a world leader in 3D and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, today announced that Perceptron, a Plymouth, Michigan company that produces information-based process improvement solutions for non-contact measurement and inspection applications, has selected DELMIA UltraGRIP robotic solution for programming and simulation of its in-process or off-line, non-contact, vision-based measurement and inspection systems. Perceptron scanning systems ensure total dimensional continuity throughout the product manufacturing process to help improve quality, shorten product launch times, and reduce manufacturing costs.  Perceptron will use DELMIA UltraGRIP in the design of its systems to ensure that all robot motions and trajectories necessary to measure or inspect the parts can be achieved.

“DELMIA UltraGrip’s simulation models are extremely accurate with effective real-world matching,” says Perceptron’s Gus Giedraitis, director of field operations. “This is critical to us as our systems are built directly into the assembly line and must measure numerous dimensional features on every vehicle or component as it is produced at full line speed.”

To design and build its systems, Perceptron begins with CAD data received from its customers, which largely consist of automotive OEM and Tier suppliers.  It must then import this data, which comes from various CAD formats, into its system in order to assess where the robots and vision system can be placed within the customer’s assembly cell. “After evaluating a number of competitive products, we chose DELMIA UltraGRIP for its flexibility and accuracy,” adds  Giedraitis.  “Not only is it able to support all the various CAD-native languages that we work with, but it is very user-friendly, making it easy to implement as part of our standard design process.” 

Use of DELMIA digital design tools helps speed the deployment of Perceptron inspection technologies, which identify problems early in the manufacturing and assembly process to prevent problems from occurring further downstream, where they tend to cost more money. The goal with DELMIA UltraGRIP is to save the customer money, while improving product quality.

DELMIA UltraGRIP is a scalable robotic simulation solution for modeling and off-line programming (OLP) of workcells. Built-in robot libraries, automatic collision detection functionality, and device building capabilities deliver reductions in man hours and process engineering lead time while greatly improving program accuracy. Through its OLP capability, Perceptron can accurately program robotic systems off-line, minimizing the impact on production schedules.  Calibration tools also allow Perceptron to adjust the simulation model to accurately reflect real world device relationships.  It can then download the optimized simulation program directly to the automation devices using DELMIA UltraGRIP’s post-processors.