Unifying Virtual & Physical Testing in Manufacturing

Published on : Monday 30-11--0001

It was yet another fascinating session of Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE Forum 2018 in Bangalore in early September. Samson Khaou, Managing Director, India, Dassault Systèmes, who has completed three years in India, kicked off the session. “The 3DEXPERIENCE platform is a key to sustenance for business of tomorrow. It is a business disruptor for tomorrow’s billion dollar enterprises and shall connect today with tomorrow for business transformation, a flagship event that brings together global teams and decision makers to share their experience and knowledge required for the future worker,” he said.

Bernard Charles, Vice Chairman & CEO, Dassault Systèmes recalled what Albert Einstein had said about the impact of the printing press on the Age of Renaissance. “The only source of knowledge is experience and that is similar to the impact the printed book had on Renaissance. This is the time to empower the workforce of the future – the global workshop to reveal the why of the 3DEXPERIENCE which dates back to a paper published in 2012 – perceived as a dream then, but revealed in six years with enough proof pointing it is actually happening,” he said, and related it to the connection between the hand (knowhow) and the brain (knowledge). Describing 3DEXPERIENCE as a catalyst and enabler of the 21st Century Industry Renaissance, he said Dassault Systèmes enables business and people to imagine sustainable innovations capable of harmonising Product, Nature and Life to produce higher value to the planet from the limited resources.

Speaking next, Olivier Ribet, Vice President Industries, Dassault Systèmes, elaborated further upon the 3DEXPERIENCE platform momentum uniting the different segments in big industries. Ribet cited 5 big themes in this respect – Start from the Experience; Break Silos, Connect the Dots; Profitability and Sustainability; from Supply Chain to Value Network; and Open and Protected Innovation. “The experience platform is all about reducing the distance between virtual and real,” he said. The Virtual represented by modelling, simulation and visualisation, to transforming into Real by machining through learning and experiencing, by the people using value networks, knowledge and knowhow, and technologies like model-based system engineering (MBSE), artificial intelligence, AR/VR, 3D printing, and the Internet of Experience.

Deepak Kumar Hota, Chairman & Managing Director, BEML spoke on the theme of ‘Better collaborate with your ecosystem to transform supply chain into value network’. Operating with three major verticals – Mining & Construction, Defence and Rail & Metro, the public sector behemoth that is BEML has already undertaken the journey to Digital Transformation, starting as early as in 1980 with CAD/CAM/CAE, moving to product simulation and validation in 1990, progressively adding ERP-SAP, SCM/SRM and PLM – Design and Process Simulation by 2010. Now having adopted File Management Lifecycle System, Equipment remote monitoring system, Industry 4.0, IoT, Big Data Analytics Artificial Intelligence for product, process and plant, Hota revealed the BEML association with Dassault Systèmes’ CATIA V5 for Metro car design and engineering process where the company has over 45% of the market share in India, competing with the MNCs. “There is a lot to learn from 3DEXPERIENCE,” says Hota as the company is now in the process of setting up a 400-500 strong Centre of Excellence with government backing.

Global Validation, Proven Performance

The important announcement at the Bangalore 3DEXPERIENCE Forum 2018 was that Ashok Leyland, India’s second largest commercial vehicle manufacturer and the 4th largest manufacturer of buses in the world, has expanded its use of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform by adopting the ‘Global Validation, Proven Performance’ industry solution experience, which enables businesses to meet global challenges by unifying virtual and physical testing to optimise vehicle quality and experience. Evolving market and industry demands, such as safety and emission concerns, have pushed vehicle performance and quality expectations ever higher. With such requirements comes the necessity to effectively manage the vast array of tests and simulations, while at the same time, consider the need for optimisation of costs, reduction of cycle time, and successful management of product quality, warranty claims and recall risks.

To address these challenges that come laden with businesses going global, ‘Global Validation, Proven Performance’ provides industry-proven capabilities to accurately define vehicle, system, and subsystem performance targets with analytics and reliable traceability. Companies can manage testing, prototyping, and simulation activities including digitalisation of test data, test planning and scheduling, management of assets and resources, and knowledge capture of simulation workflows. With a data-driven approach, ‘Global Validation, Proven Performance’ ensures a digital continuity across different departments, from concept development and testing, to final validation and production.

Ashok Leyland’s journey with Dassault Systèmes started in the year 2005 with the adoption of CATIA V5/ENOVIA V5/Matrix One design platforms and has progressed through the value curve to embrace the whole platform. Speaking at the 3DEXPERIENCE Forum 2018, Dr N Saravanan, Senior Vice President, Product Development, Ashok Leyland said, “We have a long-standing relationship with Dassault Systèmes and have been working closely to implement the 3DEXPERIENCE platform across the entire product development process. As part of our strategy to reduce the overall time to market with zero defects, we have implemented ‘Global Validation, Proven Performance’ based on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. This not only enables us to manage the complexity involved in the definition and execution of the validation protocols but also helps in the optimisation of the validation protocols and time.”

Dr Saravanan in his presentation also dwelt upon the detailed aspects of how Ashok Leyland is dealing with the challenges with the three pronged approach of Product Development, Ideas, innovation and creativity, and Cost control from Product planning to Modular planning with Platform planning between the two. In the quest to digitalisation of the value chain, the important points are manufacture on time, test for safety, durability and NVH, ensure driver comfort, a seamless collaboration with suppliers, getting it right the first time, transform the sales and marketing function and ensure effective after sales support.

An interesting perspective came across the presentation of Florence Verzelen, Executive Vice President, Industries, Marketing, Communication and Global Affairs, Dassault Systèmes, who dealt with the theme of new challenges in the changing world. “In a world where 65% of the kids are in schools today, the big issue is how to impart the skills,” said Verzelen, and enumerated the action points: Anticipating tomorrow’s jobs; Innovating skill building; Increasing talent diversity; Leveraging online talent platform; Partnering with governments and universities; and Incentivising learning.

Summing up, Samson Khaou said, “By extending its use of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, Ashok Leyland is one of the few players in the automotive industry, and now the first in India, to integrate virtual and physical prototyping at an R&D level and develop next generation trucks and buses for a global customer base.”

Caption

Pix1: Bernard Charlès, Vice Chairman & CEO, Dassault Systèmes.

Pix2: (L-R) Samson Khaou, MD, Dassault Systèmes India; Sylvain Laurent, Executive VP, Dassault Systèmes; Florence Verzelen, Executive VP, Industries, Marketing, Communication and Global Affairs, Dassault Systèmes; Dr N Saravanan, Senior VP, Product Development, Ashok Leyland; Deepak Kumar Hota, Chairman & Managing Director, BEML; and Bernard Charlès, Vice Chairman & CEO, Dassault Systèmes.