CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
May 2007
Implementation Investments
Stability and Competitiveness with KOMPAS-3D - the Main Secrets of JSC "Zavod Phiolent"
Phiolent factory is a strategically important object of Ukrainian industrial complex. Factory specializes in manufacture of low-power electric machines, complexes, systems and components of shipboard automatics intended for control of technical devices, NPP control elements, as well as domestic electric tools. Factory's history began as far as 1913 from ordinary workshop for construction of farm implements. Today "Phiolent" is a multi-product, economically stable enterprise that delivers about 50,000 pieces of various products annually. These products are popular not only in Ukraine and CIS but at European and world markets as well. "Phiolent" delivers its products to Russia, Bulgaria, Poland, Germany, China, Vietnam, India, USA and Cuba.
In 1990s with the beginning of market relations in economics factory was to study to work in conditions of severe competition. One of the tools for winning in competitive activity that the factory chose to use was complex automation. Literary during several years the stock of computing machinery increased up to 250 computers upon which today a great number of licenses of various software products are introduced and used. Among them off-the-shelf software of national and foreign manufacturers and self-developed facilities for automation of production scheduling, storage and book-keeping accounting, work with suppliers and consumers, and many other.
But initially namely automatic design systems were considered by factory management as the main component in all software complex. Because namely in decreasing of duration of the new products designing there is a significant reserve for decrease expenditures of labour and time for preproduction and manufacturing of production. Reduction of designers and technologists number nearly by 4 times became a precondition for introduction of CAD at factory "Phiolent". In 2001 specialists of the factory, having tested various CAD-systems, chose KOMPAS system. Reasons that led to such decision were conditioned not least by very strict requirements for preparation of design documentation set by automation bureau.
At the first stage of automation a drawing/design system KOMPAS-Graphic was installed at factory, but in the next, 2002, year the factory already moved to full-scale complex for 3D design KOMPAS-3D. In the result of centralized teaching of factory personnel in 2003 the use of KOMPAS-3D became a standard during execution of any design works.
The result did not keep waiting. Chief engineer of SDB of JSC "Zavod Phiolent" Pavel Ivanchenko says: "From the first days of KOMPAS-3D CAD application our specialists immediately prized the high quality of the system. Convenient, intuitive user interface allowed designers to easily move to automatic designing, and use of 3D-modeling allowed to make a qualitatively new step in products manufacturing. Various CAD/CAM/CAE-systems are used at the factory, but enterprise standard assigns common CAD format - "KOMPAS".
Technical capabilities of graphic editor included in KOMPAS-3D, as well as of specifications editor provide easy execution of drawings and other documentation. Easiness of the system learning, moderate price, as well as relatively small requirements to the existing stock of personal computers - due to all this features KOMPAS quickly gained confidence of "Phiolent" designers, the same way as at thousands of other enterprises in CIS.
In 2003 - 2005 personnel of information technologies department provided more close integration of solutions from ASCON with ERP-system, as well as with CAM/CAE-solutions used at factory. In particular, they succeeded in creation of a row of software products that import data from KOMPAS-3D documents into databases of enterprise management system, and this allowed to use KOMPAS functional more fully for solving of designers and technologists tasks.
At last from description of automation stages let us go to the issue of real economic return from CAD introduction put in the beginning of the paper. Beginning from 2002 a full range of various domestic electric tools and accessories was developed at the factory with the use of only KOMPAS-3D. "During this time a significant reduction of new products assimilation period was achieved: from 2 years for one product (before introduction of KOMPAS) to 4 products annually today, - says Pavel Ivanchenko. - And in 2003 factory specialists started development of complicated complex ship movement control system ORION-KAT 1E, which was made with the use of KOMPAS-3D too. Assimilation period (that is the time from design idea till delivery of a product) are reduced to one year, and design of complex by itself took only 3 months! Today, due to introduction of KOMPAS, not less than 4 new products are prepared annually at the factory, and reduction of expenditures for preproduction is over 30%".
All listed indices, in the end, resulted in increase of earnings, and consequently improvement of economic stability and independence of the factory. Besides of economical effect introduction of KOMPAS has drawn graduates of institutes of higher education, highly influenced the motivations of experienced employees for learning of computer technologies, etc.
"There are a lot of young specialists in design and technological bureaus of the factory, - confirms Pavel Ivanchenko. - With enthusiasm they study and use automatic design, and at all multiplicity of software products they are respectful to KOMPAS, as the basic system of preproduction that solves all problems set before it".
In 2004 model developed at factory "Phiolent" for the first time became the participants of KOMPAS 3D-Modeling Contest held by ASCON Company. From this time factory representatives take active part in this annual Contest. More over, in 2005 the complex movement control system ORION-KAT 1E is declared to be the best project in the field of instrument engineering, and at the contest of the previous year the project of electric fret saw PM4-700E became on of the prize-winners. More than two thirds of components included in the fret saw are unique and are developed exactly in KOMPAS-3D.
One more interesting fact is connected with the fret saw model. The fact is that during its designing a program was used that had been specially developed by JSC "Zavod "Phiolent" specialists with the use of API of KOMPAS system and Windows API. Library realizes rotation of one of fret saw's parts in the result of which, due to revolved conjugation, all mechanism is rebuilt. Rotation is realized with a definite step, for each value of which the program calculates mass centering characteristics of all assembly and delivers coordinates of product's center of gravity into MS Excel. With the help of such application several variants of parts were developed for the model for the purpose of obtaining of minimum changes of center of gravity, and that gave the possibility to determine the minimum vibration velocity features of the fret saw. At the present moment the commercial product shows excellent noise and vibration parameters of the saw swinging mechanism.
Upon this example it is shown that KOMPAS has wide capabilities not only for integration with external CAD/CAM/CAE-systems but for extension of its functionality with consideration of real requirements of specific production. At that, this extension can be achieved by the forces of the users themselves.
Today not all industrial enterprises are able to evaluate direct connection of CAD with general efficiency of production. Example of "Phiolent" shows how with the help of rational selection of design system one can quickly achieve and exactly control return of investments into new information technologies. Use of KOMPAS at the factory excellently demonstrates how complex solutions on the basis of IT can transform your production. Result is obvious - improvement of products competitiveness, both at internal and external markets, and mainly - achievement of long-term economic stability of the factory.
To view pictures & graphics, please access
http://download.novedge.com/Brands/ASCON/Documents/PhiolentPlant.pdf
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