Massive savings at Toyota and Sony via remote CAD/CAM integration

A system that massively compresses 3D CAD/CAM files for sending electronically – and then allows the source files to be accessed, edited and re-purposed, not just viewed – is saving big money for global players. Software developer is Lattice, the transport system is XML/XVL standards-based and neutral format, and early adopters like Toyota and Sony say it has already helped them to substantially reduce manufacturing costs. The reason is not just the compression – which at up to 250:1 and totally loss-less, makes Internet movement of very large files entirely feasible – but Lattice’s 40-plus applications that then automate production of everything from 2D/3D parts lists to technical documentation, assembly instructions and so on. Indeed Lattice CEO Alex Garcia-Tobar, formerly an analyst with Forrester, says companies can provide complete assembly files on the web, or send them via email. Remote parties – using only a browser and free download – then click on any part, blow it apart and execute just about any role-based functions for manufacturing, development, supply chain working and customer support. Procurement, for example, can link the part to data on price, lead times, supplier performance etc. During development or for after-market purposes, engineers can establish correct parts and components. Designers and manufacturing engineers can look for collisions, do redlining and markup, editing and the rest. Suppliers can embed 3D views in documents, spreadsheets, Microsoft Project… The list goes on. “It avoids recreating 3D drawings for every function,” says Garcia-Tobar. “Toyota, for example, has standardised on XVL for sharing data. Using our system they can now see all parts on the web, and it’s all intuitive.” He suggests that, as a result, error rates have fallen “30%” in terms of right parts, right time, right location to Toyota’s factories around the world, while supplier bidding for changed parts and new product introduction has also been enabled. “They achieved ROI in about one month,” he says. Garcia-Tobar reckons there are now 500,000 users of his systems in around 2,000 companies, mostly in aerospace and defence and automotive, and most in the Far East and now also the US. Lattice has now launched in Europe, with four pilot projects running now, and expects to open up in the UK and France “within the next two months”. Cost of the software varies from “a few tens of thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands,” but Garcia-Tobar makes the point that the potential for savings far outweighs that. He also says that with the move to outsource engineering development and other enterprise functions to low cost economies, the Lattice systems provide proven routes to making it practicable. Intel and Texas Instruments, for example, are hiring Indian and Chinese engineers, many with graduate degrees, to design chip circuits. Philips Electronics has shifted R&D on most televisions, cell phones and audio products to Shanghai. GE employs some 6,000 scientists and engineers in 10 foreign countries. This trend – like it or not – will continue.