Sanyo Machine Works Selects Dassault Systèmes' DELMIA Automation

Auburn Hills, Mich., USA & Tokyo, Japan – September 16, 2008 - Dassault Systèmes (Nasdaq: DASTY; Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA), a world leader in 3D and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, today announced that its DELMIA Automation platform was selected by Sanyo Machine Works, Ltd., a leading industrial automation systems provider based in Kitanagoya City in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.  With this deployment, Sanyo Machine Works completes the integration of the manufacturing validation process from product design to digital manufacturing.

Sanyo Machine Works initiated an enterprise-wide digital manufacturing project in 1991 using Dassault Systèmes' PLM solutions, designing innovative products with CATIA and verifying automated assembly lines and welding lines with DELMIA. Now, to further improve its product quality and streamline the product development process, Sanyo Machine Works decided to adopt DELMIA Automation. The solution will enable the Sanyo Machine Works' control system design team and mechanical design team to collaborate by sharing information at an earlier stage, making it possible to virtually validate production control systems before they are installed.

"Validating our entire design and manufacturing operations through simulations has been our long-standing goal," says Mr. Keita Horiba, managing director at Sanyo Machine Works. "Now that we have the capability to virtually verify our production control processes, we feel we have attained true frontloading, meaning that all of our production issues will be resolved even before manufacturing actually starts. That would also add value to our design operations."

With DELMIA Automation the user can debug a PLC program weeks or months before it is installed by connecting to the actual PLC. Previously, production control systems could not be tested and optimized until they were actually installed. With this improvement, virtual tests in advance can replace physical tests, which significantly reduce product development time along with any potential adjustments at physical facilities.

Mr. Masatoshi Ohshima, Executive Managing Director at Sanyo Machine Works, shares Mr. Horiba's enthusiasm: "If any unsolved issue were to be discovered after the production system has gone online, it would be very difficult to reconfigure the equipment on the spot. By proactively iterating the cycle of virtual debugging and verification, we can totally eliminate rework."

"We are pleased that Sanyo Machine Works has chosen DELMIA Automation to virtually verify the controls of their automotive assembly and welding lines," says Bertrand Saint-Martin, President of Delmia Japan, Ltd. " Sanyo Machine Works will leverage DELMIA Automation’s unique technology on the market to debug the controls and validate the industrial performance of their production systems months before physical build and integration happens. With DELMIA Automation customers can virtually commission their production validating as many ‘what if’ scenarios as needed to fully debug the controls and by properly training operators in a safe environment.” This means the same virtual simulation can be used to train operators on production tasks and work instructions.