Pictures of the Future Fall 2007
Factories of the Future – UGS and Siemens
Journey to a Unified World
Siemens’ recent acquisition of UGS has given its Automation and Drives Group—the leader in the 121-billion-€ world automation market—the tools to merge the real and virtual worlds of production.
With simulation technology, even the most complex production processes can be visualized in detail, resulting in optimized configurations and the ability to rapidly adjust to customer demands
The real and virtual worlds of production are morphing into one. Long before they see the light of day, many of the parts, products, production facilities and entire supply chains that are the progenitors of everything from PDAs and airplanes to power plants and bottling processes are conceptualized, visualized, tested, operated and maintained in the virtual world.
Driven by advances in computing and simulation, virtual representations are drawing ever closer to accurately duplicating their real world counterparts. Meanwhile, in the real world, the machine tools, robots, programmable controllers and communication systems used by production facilities are becoming increasingly digital, intelligent, and software-driven, making them easier to be accurately represented in the virtual world.
On May 4, 2007, these two worlds moved significantly closer to forming a single, seamless information and communications environment. That was the day that UGS of Plano, Texas—a leader in product lifecycle management (PLM) software—became A&D PL (Siemens PLM Software), a division of Siemens Automation and Drives (A&D), "the world market leader in the 121-billion-€ automation market," according to Group President Helmut Gierse. Including the new Siemens PLM Software division, A&D now employs over 80,000 people, and has annual sales of well over 14 billion €.
The new Siemens PLM Software division, with 7,750 people in 62 countries, 3,000 of whom are in R&D, has 47,000 customers and 4.3 million licensed users—more than its top ten competitors combined. Siemens PLM Software is a leader in technologies such as UGS NX—its digital product development solution—and UGS Tecnomatix—its digital manufacturing solution—products that allow users to design and dynamically simulate the functions of everything from a sunroof on a new car to the design and operation of an entire factory, complete with vibration, stress, heat and flow dynamics, to name a few parameters. And they can do so collaboratively, securely, in 3D and in real time from any PC using the unique UGS Teamcenter digital lifecycle management software, the de facto standard in collaborative product data management (cPDM)—the enterprise backbone for all other products.
By plugging UGS into A&D, Siemens has set its sites on closing the loop between the virtual world of product and production design and the nuts and bolts world of factory floor machines and their associated control systems. "The combination of the PLM Software portfolio and A&D’s hardware and software will provide our customers with the decisive benefit of making the design and production of their products more efficient," says Gierse. "In technological terms, this combination requires seamless integration between data from product design, plant design and physical production. This was exactly what we had in mind when we acquired this leading software company: To make our Totally Integrated Automation portfolio more powerful by reducing the number of system interfaces."
Developed from the ground up in the virtual world, Eclipse Aviation’s very light jets are flying high thanks to product and production optimizations that allow them to be produced at half the cost of others
To this end Siemens A&D has launched Project Archimedes, an initiative designed to develop new software solutions that unify the product and production lifecycles and thus enable Siemens to realize its software vision. Says Siemens PLM Software Chairman and CEO Tony Affuso, "Our customers are really excited about having brought Siemens and UGS together because they know we have the horsepower to close the loop between what the engineering and marketing people want to design and what the production team is actually capable of manufacturing." Adds Siemens PLM Software President Dr. Helmuth Ludwig, "The good thing about all this is that although we were not the ones to invent the idea of how to close the loop, we are—given A&D’s leading position in automation technologies and our leading position in PLM—the only company that’s actually able to do so."
Rapid Growth. According to a consensus of research organizations, including Frost and Sullivan and AMR research, the world market for PLM products such as those produced by Siemens PLM Software and its competitors is expected to increase to $24 billion by 2012 from its current level of around $13.4 billion. That market, according to Siemens PLM Software Executive Vice President of Global Marketing David Shirk, is divided into three segments. The first segment, computer-aided design, manufacturing and engineering (CAx), where Siemens PLM Software is number two and holds 18 % of the market with NX software and other products, is expected to grow from $8 billion to about $12 billion between 2005 and 2012. The second product category is cPDM. This market, which includes Teamcenter portfolio and where Siemens is the market leader, is set to move from $5 billion per year in 2005 to approximately $11 billion by 2012. Here, Siemens holds 14 % of the market. The third segment, "which is particularly attractive because of our Tecnomatix line," according to Shirk, is the digital manufacturing market. This market, which is growing at about 20 % per year and where Siemens, with a 31 % share of the market, currently holds the number one position, is expected to move from its current level of around $400 million per year to over $1.3 billion in 2012.
Demand in these three markets is strong across the board. For instance, between 2006 and 2012, says Shirk, European demand for PLM products is expected to average about 7 to 8 % per year, moving from $5.6 billion to about $8.7 billion. Growing at about the same rate, the Americas are expected to head from $6.3 billion to $9.7 billion during the same period. And Asia, which is growing at 13 to 14 %, is expected to move from $3 billion to about $5.6 billion per year.
In addition, Siemens PLM Software offers the UGS Velocity Series, a portfolio of software products that specifically addresses the requirements of mid-size companies. The Series is the first software solution to provide enterprise-level PLM to mid-size manufacturers in an easy-to-use, preconfigured portfolio with a low total cost of ownership.
Considering the size and scope of the PLM market, there’s plenty of competition. But what’s different about Siemens PLM Software’s portfolio is that the company has taken its experience in 3D computer-aided product and factory design (NX and Tecnomatix software) and tied it to its Teamcenter collaboration data management system, thus plugging information from a multifaceted virtual world into a collaborative development environment. "Thanks to Teamcenter technology we tie these elements together better than any of our competitors can," says Ludwig. "Its multi-site capability is something no one else offers, and it’s the core of our tremendous advantage."
For major companies such as GM—a Siemens PLM Software customer—multi-site collaboration capability means that they can work with 3D dynamic data in real time at their own sites while accessing supplier sites to get updates on evolving products. As a result, they can see what’s going on at all of their sites every single day. "When changes are made to a design, they can see them in real time thanks to Teamcenter," says Affuso.
For instance, if a problem is discovered in a product, the original data—say from a supplier in Japan—can be called up immediately and revised collaboratively by designers, production people and the supplier. "This can cut downtime compared to conventionally-run operations from weeks and months to days and in some cases hours," says Ludwig.
But the real beauty of collaborative simulation technology is that it helps to keep costly errors from ever seeing the light of day. At Caterpillar, for instance, Siemens PLM software produces functional virtual prototypes. "They try everything out on a virtual level before going to production," says Affuso. What’s more, thanks to Tecnomatix production simulation software, the development and testing of a virtual production line in Teamcenter to produce a new or upgraded product reduces errors and saves time and money. "This knocks 30 to 50 % off the time-to-market part of a product’s lifecycle costs," says Affuso, who points out that this has helped Nissan significantly slash average vehicle development time.
Flying High. Eclipse Aviation is another great example of why Siemens PLM Software is flying high. The Albuquerque, New Mexico-based company has introduced a revolutionary new category of products called "very light jets." In an industry in which selling 100 planes per year is considered successful, Eclipse is aiming for 1,000 planes per year—a goal that is clearly within reach given the fact that it has more than 2,600 orders. To accomplish this while selling its six-place, twin-turbofan aircraft for one-half the cost of similar small jets, Eclipse designers modeled the entire aircraft, down to the last rivet, in NX software, managed all product information, from digital models to the last scrap of paper documentation, on Teamcenter, and designed and optimized their factory in Tecnomatix. Says Dr. Oliver Masefield, senior vice president of engineering at Eclipse, "Our ability to meet our targets depends on digital mock-up and validation."
To this end Siemens A&D has launched Project Archimedes, an initiative designed to develop new software solutions that unify the product and production lifecycles and thus enable Siemens to realize its software vision. Says Siemens PLM Software Chairman and CEO Tony Affuso, "Our customers are really excited about having brought Siemens and UGS together because they know we have the horsepower to close the loop between what the engineering and marketing people want to design and what the production team is actually capable of manufacturing." Adds Siemens PLM Software President Dr. Helmuth Ludwig, "The good thing about all this is that although we were not the ones to invent the idea of how to close the loop, we are—given A&D’s leading position in automation technologies and our leading position in PLM—the only company that’s actually able to do so."
Rapid Growth. According to a consensus of research organizations, including Frost and Sullivan and AMR research, the world market for PLM products such as those produced by Siemens PLM Software and its competitors is expected to increase to $24 billion by 2012 from its current level of around $13.4 billion. That market, according to Siemens PLM Software Executive Vice President of Global Marketing David Shirk, is divided into three segments. The first segment, computer-aided design, manufacturing and engineering (CAx), where Siemens PLM Software is number two and holds 18 % of the market with NX software and other products, is expected to grow from $8 billion to about $12 billion between 2005 and 2012. The second product category is cPDM. This market, which includes Teamcenter portfolio and where Siemens is the market leader, is set to move from $5 billion per year in 2005 to approximately $11 billion by 2012. Here, Siemens holds 14 % of the market. The third segment, "which is particularly attractive because of our Tecnomatix line," according to Shirk, is the digital manufacturing market. This market, which is growing at about 20 % per year and where Siemens, with a 31 % share of the market, currently holds the number one position, is expected to move from its current level of around $400 million per year to over $1.3 billion in 2012.
Demand in these three markets is strong across the board. For instance, between 2006 and 2012, says Shirk, European demand for PLM products is expected to average about 7 to 8 % per year, moving from $5.6 billion to about $8.7 billion. Growing at about the same rate, the Americas are expected to head from $6.3 billion to $9.7 billion during the same period. And Asia, which is growing at 13 to 14 %, is expected to move from $3 billion to about $5.6 billion per year.
In addition, Siemens PLM Software offers the UGS Velocity Series, a portfolio of software products that specifically addresses the requirements of mid-size companies. The Series is the first software solution to provide enterprise-level PLM to mid-size manufacturers in an easy-to-use, preconfigured portfolio with a low total cost of ownership.
Considering the size and scope of the PLM market, there’s plenty of competition. But what’s different about Siemens PLM Software’s portfolio is that the company has taken its experience in 3D computer-aided product and factory design (NX and Tecnomatix software) and tied it to its Teamcenter collaboration data management system, thus plugging information from a multifaceted virtual world into a collaborative development environment. "Thanks to Teamcenter technology we tie these elements together better than any of our competitors can," says Ludwig. "Its multi-site capability is something no one else offers, and it’s the core of our tremendous advantage."
For major companies such as GM—a Siemens PLM Software customer—multi-site collaboration capability means that they can work with 3D dynamic data in real time at their own sites while accessing supplier sites to get updates on evolving products. As a result, they can see what’s going on at all of their sites every single day. "When changes are made to a design, they can see them in real time thanks to Teamcenter," says Affuso.
For instance, if a problem is discovered in a product, the original data—say from a supplier in Japan—can be called up immediately and revised collaboratively by designers, production people and the supplier. "This can cut downtime compared to conventionally-run operations from weeks and months to days and in some cases hours," says Ludwig.
But the real beauty of collaborative simulation technology is that it helps to keep costly errors from ever seeing the light of day. At Caterpillar, for instance, Siemens PLM software produces functional virtual prototypes. "They try everything out on a virtual level before going to production," says Affuso. What’s more, thanks to Tecnomatix production simulation software, the development and testing of a virtual production line in Teamcenter to produce a new or upgraded product reduces errors and saves time and money. "This knocks 30 to 50 % off the time-to-market part of a product’s lifecycle costs," says Affuso, who points out that this has helped Nissan significantly slash average vehicle development time.
Flying High. Eclipse Aviation is another great example of why Siemens PLM Software is flying high. The Albuquerque, New Mexico-based company has introduced a revolutionary new category of products called "very light jets." In an industry in which selling 100 planes per year is considered successful, Eclipse is aiming for 1,000 planes per year—a goal that is clearly within reach given the fact that it has more than 2,600 orders. To accomplish this while selling its six-place, twin-turbofan aircraft for one-half the cost of similar small jets, Eclipse designers modeled the entire aircraft, down to the last rivet, in NX software, managed all product information, from digital models to the last scrap of paper documentation, on Teamcenter, and designed and optimized their factory in Tecnomatix. Says Dr. Oliver Masefield, senior vice president of engineering at Eclipse, "Our ability to meet our targets depends on digital mock-up and validation."
Engineering the Future in China
UGS entered the China market in 1987, established its first representative office in Beijing in 1990, and set up an R&D center in Shanghai in 2004. Today, Siemens PLM Software employs about 250 people in China, about 100 of whom are based at the company’s Shanghai R&D center. The center focuses on user interface design for the Chinese market; product lifecycle management (PLM) for Asian customers, computer aided design for customers in the automotive, aviation, and shipbuilding industries; research in computer aided engineering, and collaborative research projects with Chinese universities. On June 4, 2007 the company opened a number of PLM training centers at leading Chinese universities through its in-kind software grants. The centers will certify thousands of students annually, thus enabling universities to support local manufacturers with engineers trained in the latest industrial software. Siemens PLM Software’s Global Opportunities in Product Lifecycle Management initiative provides PLM technology to more than 915,000 students annually at nearly 9,000 educational institutions.
What’s the technology secret to Eclipse’s success? "Using NX, Teamcenter and Tecnomatix, the user can bring in data from multiple suppliers, roll it up into an integrated system, create 3D visualizations, and ask questions in the virtual world about how a new product will perform and how it can be manufactured," explains Chuck Grindstaff, executive vice president of products, who heads research and development at Siemens PLM Software. "With Teamcenter, users can take 3D models, cross-section them, analyze distances between parts, and perform interference detection to see if all the parts fit together properly."
Siemens PLM Software simulation tools not only allow users to visualize the components that go into an assembly, but to dynamically interact with them. "For instance," says Grindstaff, "we can run a vibration analysis on components, assemblies, entire power trains, the body of a car or the structure of an aircraft. So this technology is ideal for comparing models, analyzing them in terms of stress, vibration, heat and fluid dynamics, and integrating the results to make informed engineering decisions."
Capturing Knowledge. What all such simulations have in common is that they represent virtually unfathomable quantities of information. But to make that information useful it has to be distilled into knowledge. With this in mind, Siemens PLM Software researchers in the U.S., England, Israel, and China are expanding Teamcenter’s capabilities in the area of knowledge-based engineering. "By this we mean that Teamcenter will increasingly be focused on learning about and adapting to each customer’s requirements," says Grindstaff. "Teamcenter will also improve in terms of capturing knowledge, searching databases, and reapplying knowledge to new designs. Over the next two decades, we will capture each industry’s best practices and inject the resulting knowledge into the design process."
For the resulting designs to be meaningful, however, they will have to exactly duplicate their real world counterparts—a challenge that will demand the seamless integration of data from hardware, software and electronics between the virtual and real worlds—a challenge, in short, that Siemens’ combined offer in automation and PLM is uniquely suited to fulfill.
Arthur F. Pease
Real Presence in the Virtual World
Siemens PLM Software (A&D PL) recently announced the launch of its "Innovation Connection" within Second Life, a 3D virtual world entirely built by its residents. Second Life is inhabited by more than four million representations of real people. The launch makes Siemens the first pure PLM company to establish a presence in the mainstream online virtual world. Siemens will use its Second Life presence to collaborate with customers and partners, host virtual conferences and provide a more immersive way to experience its solutions as they are used by customers. Siemens PLM Software customers and partners showcased in Second Life include Hendrick Motorsports (HMS)—the only NASCAR racing organization to win a Cup Series championship for four straight years, and the JCB DIESELMAX—a car that, in 2006, achieved a stunning average speed of 350 mph (563 km/h) to break the land speed record for diesel-powered cars. Siemens PLM Software recently launched updates for its NX, Tecnomatix and Teamcenter product portfolios in Second Life. To join the action, visit www.ugs.com/secondLife.