Innovating Defense with Strategic Solutions
About the Customer
Our customer is an engineering and defense technologies leader. Recognized as one of the largest shipbuilders in the world, they have a history of trusted partnerships for the advancement of U.S. national security spanning over 130 years. The company also delivers critical capabilities, including building the most powerful and survivable naval ships ever built, unmanned systems, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) systems and AI applications.
Project Summary
To continue building the world’s most advanced ships, our customer had to acknowledge the increasing complexity of their design, manufacturing and construction processes. They partnered with Engineering Industries eXcellence to address these looming challenges. Through the implementation of Product Design Automation, Model-Based Definition (MBD), Computer-Aided Design (CAD), Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Product Manufacturing Information (PMI) and Visual Work Instructions (VWI) by our Digital Engineering experts, the customer was able to significantly enhance their ability to manage the complexity of shipbuilding projects, ensuring high quality and efficiency.
Project Activities
- Implemented Siemens NX for Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and configured tool to automate the ship design and analysis process.
- Integrated the automated Siemens NX application to interface with Siemens Teamcenter foundational PLM database.
- Automated the addition of model-based Product Manufacturing Information to product design geometry set.
- Enabled dynamic associations from PMI to product design model.
- Enabled the automated creation of up-to-date visual work instructions in PLM leveraging model-based definition data.
- Migrated design and engineering data from customer’s old Product Definition Management (PDM) platform and CAD into Teamcenter.
Business Drivers
- Ensure Design Consistency and Reduce Manufacturing Errors: Establish a single source of truth for all product data to streamline operations, minimize errors and improve overall product quality.
- Enhance Business Competitiveness with Advanced Technology: Implement the latest technology to develop highly complex manufactured parts, positioning the company at the forefront of industry innovation.
- Maximize Software Return on Investment (ROI): Generate code to support multiple functions and disciplines across the organization, increasing software efficiency and return on investment.
- Reduce Costs and Time-to-Market: Achieve new efficiencies in product design and manufacturing planning processes to significantly lower costs and accelerate time-to-market.
- Facilitate Collaboration and Communication: Enable easier collaboration and communication across the organization to improve coordination and project outcomes.
More About the Project
As one of the world’s largest shipbuilders looking to enhance their operational efficiency, the customer realized the potential for improved design processes, reduced errors, higher return on investment (ROI) and seamless collaboration through an investment in digital design technologies. They identified their main pain point as the labor-intensive process of creating VWIs, which significantly affected their production schedule for carriers. As a leading expert in digital transformation for Industry 4.0, Engineering Industries eXcellence partnered with the customer to deliver innovative solutions that drove significant strategies leading to design process cost-savings and reduced lead times.
The project aimed to automate Model-Based Definition creation for Visual Work Instructions. The customer determined that VWIs would provide significant benefits in the shipyard but greatly underestimated the effort to manually create them. Their production schedule for carriers was impacted by the lack of VWIs. Knowing our Industries eXcellence team had automated VWIs for a wide range of companies within the same industry, they requested our expert support.
Key project activities included implementing Siemens NX CAD and configuring the tool to automate the ship design and analysis process. Our specialists integrated the application with the Siemens Teamcenter foundational PLM database and automated the addition of model-based PMI to the product design geometry set. Our experts also enabled dynamic associations from PMI to the product design model and facilitated the automated creation of up-to-date visual work instructions in PLM leveraging model-based definition data. Additionally, our team migrated the design and engineering data from the customer’s old PDM platform and CAD into Teamcenter, ensuring a smooth transition and enhanced operational efficiency. Overall, the project was accomplished ahead of schedule and resulted in a huge success, ultimately saving the day for carrier production.
Engineering’s Advantage
Many Aerospace, Space & Defense manufacturers lack the internal expertise and resources to navigate the complexities of digital transformation independently. With over 10 years of experience in implementing Industry 4.0 solutions, Engineering Industries eXcellence offers unparalleled expertise and understanding of industry-specific challenges, standards and solutions. Our team of Digital Engineering specialists has a proven track record of delivering innovative solutions that reduce lead times and drive significant cost savings by leveraging the latest Model-Based Design strategies. Partnering with us ensures a comprehensive assessment of current systems, identification of gaps and seamless implementation of the right solutions, supporting your journey from start to finish.
