CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
October 26, 2004
Implementation Investments
Toyota Manufacturing UK Uses DELMIA to Optimize Design-for-Manufacture Process; Digital Technology Enables Automakers' Strategy for Global Information Sharing across the Extended Enterprise
Dassault Systèmes announced that DELMIA digital manufacturing software is being deployed by Toyota Manufacturing UK as part of a strategy that is altering the way in which its cars are built by enabling the sharing of common real-time information throughout the enterprise. This is a continuation of Toyota's strategy, announced in 2002, to employ Dassault Systèmes' 3D PLM solutions.
"Toyota Motor Corporation has always maintained a centralized manufacturing design function in Japan," explains John Grainger, Project Specialist in the Production Planning and Control Division at Toyota Manufacturing UK. "Teams of engineers and team leaders would travel to Japan and spend several weeks understanding the designs for a new model and how to build it. Now, through development of a tailored manufacturing environment involving software from and DELMIA and other suppliers, design data is stored in a common repository and accessible throughout the enterprise, allowing Toyota Manufacturing in locations outside Japan to share in the design-for-manufacture process."
With access to DELMIA V5 DPM Assembly, Toyota Manufacturing UK engineers were able to optimize an assembly manufacturing process concurrently during the design phase. In addition, by implementing a DELMIA V5 Human add-on to examine reach and motion, the UK group has been able to analyze the manufacturing feasibility of each and every different variant of its models.
Thanks partially to digital technology, the design-for-manufacture of some future models will take place entirely outside Japan. These models will be designed digitally and will also have all their processes, tooling and even employee training completed using advanced simulation, which then can be shared with Japan. Although the management of all the data will be controlled through Japan, each manufacturing department, from welding to plastics, will have access to the engineering data within the same DELMIA V5 environment.
Grainger adds, "In the UK, we have currently only hosted one digital design review, but as they increase in frequency, we expect our total expenditure to have paid for itself within the year. Trips to Japan will become less common thanks to the power of digital technology in shrinking the distance between global teams working towards a common goal."
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