Firms to produce integrated design environment

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Apr 26, 2006

Integration facilitates product lifecycle collaboration and knowledge sharing to make it easier for design and manufacturing engineers to share information while working on development and production.

UGS and Siemens Automation and Drives plan to deliver software that will enable companies to design and program production environments for products that are still in development.

The software framework will make it possible for companies simultaneously to develop a product, define its digital manufacturing environment and design the logic of the shop floor automation equipment.

As a result, companies will be able to perform higher quality production line ramp-ups and accelerate the introduction of products.

"As the world's leading supplier of programmable logic controllers (PLCs), Siemens has maintained a strong business and technology relationship with Tecnomatix - UGS' digital manufacturing line of business", said Thomas Schott, Head of Factory Automation at Siemens.

"It makes perfect business sense to expand that relationship to include UGS' broader suite of PLM offerings so that we can help create even greater value for our mutual manufacturing customers by delivering seamless interoperability from product development through shop floor production".

The package will consist of software that integrates UGS' Teamcenter software with Siemens Simatic software, an automation system for controlling machines and plants.

Through this joint effort, the two companies are expanding a relationship that began in 1999 between Siemens and Tecnomatix (UGS acquired Tecnomatix in April 2005).

The integration of Teamcenter and the Simatic Automation Designer facilitates product lifecycle collaboration and knowledge sharing, which will make it easier for product design engineers and manufacturing engineers to share information while working concurrently on development and production.

Logic design for automating plant equipment, for example, can take place at the same time as product and process design, resulting in faster time to market for new products.

"In the automotive industry, our customers expect us to deliver a highly flexible production environment, while meeting ever increasing functional demands and shrinking delivery schedules", said Wolfgang Schloegl, Digital Factory Team Leader with Siemens Automotive Solutions.

"The ability to develop simultaneously the production system's mechanic and electric together with our customer's product development will enable us to meet these demands".

Ziyon Amram, VP of Digital Manufacturing at UGS, said: "Speed-to-market is one of the main business drivers facing today's manufacturers".

"Disparate and incompatible software no longer make sense in a world where product lifecycles are becoming shorter".

"Today's announcement will create significant value for the global manufacturing industry by providing the tools to meet critical manufacturing business demands".