The fundamentals of Integrated Factory Modeling

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Production lines are constantly changing.

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You might be confronted with frequent introduction of new products,

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which means changes within the factory layout.

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On top of that demand changes and can change somewhat unpredictably as well.

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Cost reductions to stay competitive drive design delays.

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Quality assurance is pushing at the same time and finally there might be additional pressure

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due to supply chain changes or disruptions like we saw just in the recent crisis.

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These are merely some of the reasons that push for a more integrated approach

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that solves the challenges of planning new and changing existing factory layouts.

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Communicating with all stakeholders effectively, having access to the right and up to date data

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when needed and being able to work seamlessly across a number of teams.

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Talking about stakeholders and teams.

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This visualization is an example of involved parties throughout the factory planning project.

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Production facilities are not static and every party involved contributes to the success of its creation

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or change as well as consumes data along the way.

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Usually each attendee finds themselves somewhere within this chart,

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whether you're managing the layout

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planning, or involved in installing ventilation equipment within the factory

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or supply pieces of equipment to the larger team that consumes it within their factory.

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The aspect of the factory model you're working with is constantly changing

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and you need to be aware of it as errors that might cause rework become costly very quickly.

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This unique setup and complexity calls for one source of information which everyone can rely on at all times,

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ideally capturing exactly the level of detail everyone needs in their context of the project.

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With so many moving gears,

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it is also needless to say wherever you stand within the previous chart,

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you need to be able to integrate changes you make seamlessly and aggregated back into the main data model.

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And lastly these changes need to be able to be tracked and predicted effectively,

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allowing for a thorough and complete project lifecycle.

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There are a number of research articles and industry analysis

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from recent years that confirmed the common pain points of factory planning projects.

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To address this,

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the core of the workflow we look at today leveraging the FDU factory design utilities

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aims to help you make informed decisions throughout the factory lifecycle with a digital factory model.

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It is an interoperable 2D and 3D layout and optimization solution that is used to design and communicate efficient layout.

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Factory design enhances AutoCAD and inventor with direct access to layout workflows and factory specific content,

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supporting bi-directional associativity between AutoCAD and inventor,

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in order to make design workflows accurate and efficient.

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Deliver project on time and within budget through automated workflows and the factory centric work environment.

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Move 2D layouts to a 3D Factory model using a library of parametric factory assets.

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Such as conveyors,

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material handlings, equipment and facility equipment that can be resized and reused,

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include models from suppliers in the layout,

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reduce installation risks by analyzing the digital factory model for potential clashes

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and space constraints before they become a problem on site.

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To summarize the workflow enables you to conceptualize, plan, design

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and validate manufacturing facilities for optimized workflows and accurate equipment placement.

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Let's brief touch what we still often see and hear

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from customers in regards to data exchange and factory planning projects.

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oftentimes whether due to legacy data or because of existing workflows.

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The layout in process is done heavily based on 2D

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which with all necessary information for mitigating installation risks and errors.

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In parallel,

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lots of related data and information is shared detached from the geometric representation,

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in form of office documents, PDF documentation, etc.

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What we would like to move towards though is a full digital representation of the factory layout

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that incorporates the various discipline models involved illustrates the mechanical engineering aspects in 3D space,

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allows for placing or modeling geometry in reference to the actual building.

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You get the idea.

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Now how do we get from A to B,

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to achieve such a transformation seems to require lots of time and expertise, does it not?

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As with most things,

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you can break down the big rock into considerably smaller steps,

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each already providing new value along the way.

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Let's look at the core concept for kicking it off.

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Knowing that historically,

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a lot of these projects and tasks have been done in 2D. One pillar of the workflow within

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factory design utilities is AutoCAD.

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Here, it's important to note that the utilities only install or can leverage using either

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AutoCAD architecture or AutoCAD mechanical or AutoCAD MEP.

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AutoCAD within the workflow is intended to provide capabilities for drafting or changing a layout from the birds eye view.

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Quickly being able to make adjustments by using the drag and drop functionalities.

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We will see a little bit later on.

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This is especially helpful for users who are already familiarized with AutoCAD.

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The learning curve is kept to a minimum.

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The second core tool used is inventor.

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Within the workflow, it is used for creating and maintaining your so called assets.

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The 3D building blocks of equipment you're working with,

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using its standard functionalities inventor allows you to quickly clean up and simplify the 3D models you would use downstream,

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which is a crucial aspect we will see in a little bit as well.

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Apart from asset creation to build up a library of 3D models you commonly use in your factory project.

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Inventors also used to bring the factory layout into 3D.

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This helps of course to quickly identify any special constraints right away as you build up your layout.

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And lastly, if you or other colleagues feel more comfortable working in 3D natively,

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it can also be used similarly to AutoCAD for placing equipment directly within the 3D context.

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The first optional tool in this workflow we talk about is Vault.

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For the purpose of efficiently managing the data you create

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and to be able to collaborate effectively across offices and geos.

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As you get started or merely try out asset layout creation,

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it will not be necessary to use Vault,

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but especially as your repository of data grows larger or you extend these workflows to different teams,

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a mature data management solution will make your life a lot easier.

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Vault also allows to create further automation for generating supporting documentation,

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securely exchanging data, revisioning your designs and generally and more,

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for who is already familiar with it.

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In the context of factory design,

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your assets will be stored similar to how it works with the content center within Inventor.

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Another benefit are is out of the box functions to quickly find exactly the data you need

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and identifying where it is used for example.