White Paper
Sensible Coexistence
by Ulrich Feldhaus
For many companies, introducing a 3D CAD system signifies a new beginning. What tends to fall by the wayside, however, are considerations to do with the continued use of existing 2D data, and the fact that there are certain tasks which are simply easier and quicker to do in 2D. Enter the 2D/3D experts CAD Schroer Group (CSG), developers of STHENO/PRO™, the 2D solution targeted specifically at Pro/ENGINEER® users, which offers professional grade drafting functionality seamlessly integrated with the 3D system, and ensures continued access to existing drawings within the new environment.
Firms that have made the decision to deploy a new CAD system naturally focus on all the additional benefits available with a 3D modelling solution. Less attention tends to be paid to the necessity of ensuring continued access to existing 2D data, and the fact that there are certain tasks which may be more difficult, or plain impossible, to achieve with a 3D system. Consequently, companies continue to use their existing 2D system, which, in addition to the risk of increased error rates, also means an additional burden for users and administrators, and a loss of efficiency.
STHENO/PRO, the drafting solution developed by the global engineering systems provider CAD Schroer, headquartered near Duesseldorf, Germany, offers Pro/ENGINEER users a way out of this dilemma. The company provides functionality often sorely missed by 3D users – not in competition with, but to complement, the 3D modelling process. Fully integrated with and deployed as a Pro/ENGINEER plug-in, it meets the requirements of a unified user interface, as well as ensuring a homogenous data structure, essential for today’s computerised design and manufacturing processes.
STHENO/PRO takes much of its sophisticated - yet user friendly and extremely powerful -drafting functionality from the renowned MEDUSA® 2D/3D PLM solution, also a CSG product, now in its Fourth Generation. Both products were acquired by CSG from PTC®; as part of a longstanding development partnership, the two companies have been working closely on tight product integration. Completely bi-directional and auto-updateable, this means that PRO/Detail™ drawings can be opened and augmented in STHENO/PRO, then saved and managed as Pro/ENGINEER files. In concurrent engineering environments, the 2D and 3D departments can work separately, then easily merge their drawings into a single file, stored in Pro/INTRALINK® or Windchill PDMLink™, and delivered to customers in any CAD format required.
Design Details and Supplementary Information – Essential even in a 3D World
There is no denying it: 3D modelling technologies have meant a huge leap forward in engineering innovation in the past couple of decades. It’s almost impossible to imagine any number of product development and production processes – from component optimisation to manufacturing simulations - without the use of a 3D model. The digital product data model provides enormous potential for effectively optimising such processes. The conscious use of the word “digital”, rather than “3D”, signifies what many consider to be counter-intuitive: 3D systems (at least currently) do not provide the best or most efficient solution for all design and development tasks. This is a statement that sits at odds with many systems vendors, who, for obvious reasons, propound a 3D-centric process model, which demands that all design tasks can be achieved with 3D, and that all other necessary data can be derived from it.
On paper, this is a very convincing argument, but in real life, things look a bit different. A majority of companies deploying CAD has yet to realise the full spectrum of theoretical benefits, whether this is due to a lack in planning and analysis prior to the 3D implementation, or because there are certain deficits in 3D systems, which frustrate their universal use.
It is the processes that take place before and after 3D modelling, which only become apparent when daily routine is restored, that can seriously hamper potential efficiency gains. Among them are:
| |
| Conceptual Designs. 3D modelling is too complex for quickly creating concept drawings to investigate possible solutions, unnecessarily restricting design flexibility.
|
|
| Conceptual Layouts. In this area, a third dimension offers no additional value, but makes handling of sizeable geometries difficult, due to large data volumes.
|
|
| Manufacturing Documentation. Technical drawings remain the recognised standard for communicating technical content. Although 2D geometries can be deduced from 3D models, providing additional information, such as detailed views or maintenance information, requires a lot of effort, or simply can’t be done.
|
3D suppliers, naturally, say, “Of course we can do all of that!” But whether their solutions are realistic, or meet user expectations, is another story. CSG’s STHENO/PRO developers can rely on over 20 years of experience in the area of 2D-centric CAD, as well as on their firm roots in the engineering discipline, which give the company its competitive edge. Users quickly realize the benefits in their daily work: extensive, powerful tools provide the framework for efficient design, augmented by a compact database structure, which easily handles huge amounts of data.
Existing – not legacy – data
When it’s time for a new systems implementation, each company faces the question of how to deal with existing data. To let it gather dust in archives is equivalent to throwing longstanding know-how into the bin. Being unable to use this data for product modifications or continued development means – sometimes literally! - re-inventing the wheel. Just converting the data to neutral formats, such as IGES or DXF, isn’t particularly helpful either, because generating a 3D model from existing 2D data is factually the same as a brand new design effort, and therefore of little value.
As a result, companies often continue to use their legacy CAD system. A makeshift solution, we feel, because additional costs in terms of license and maintenance fees can be significant. In addition, users are forced to use two, sometimes three, separate systems, and of course the solution flies in the face of the single data model ideal.
CSG’s 2D tool allows organisations to take a pragmatic approach, which fully exploits the value of existing data, which engineers can continue to use, as well as add to new product data sets. Its open systems architecture allows designers to deal with data formats other than Pro/ENGINEER, including DWG/DXF and IGES. The STHENO/IMAGE Raster module further extends this concept by providing editing and management tools for the active re-use of archive raster data (such as scanned drawings in TIFF format), which can be supplemented by vector data. Tightly integrated with PRO/ENGINEER, this information can form part of new product data models, with all the usual document management options via existing PDM systems.
Today’s design tools have to integrate well with modern IT infrastructures, and STHENO/PRO is a leader in multi-platform ready 2D. And in this case, a separate 2D system does not mean twice the hassle and administration. Through its bi-directional integration with Pro/DETAIL, and its Pro/INTRALINK® and Windchill PDMLink™ interfaces, there are no worries about inconsistent data formats. STHENO/PRO (or modified Pro/DETAIL) drawings, are stored and maintained in Pro/ENGINEER format in a company’s existing PDM system.
Even though this article has been focusing on Pro/ENGINEER integration, STHENO/PRO can be deployed in much wider arena. To avoid blocking valuable 3D seats, the system can also be used in standalone mode. Changes made in STHENO/PRO can be exported and merged with PRO/DETAIL drawings at any time.
Conclusion
A continuous and integrated product development process, from the first conceptual design to final manufacture, is every company’s ultimate goal. Achieving this objective through the exclusive use of 3D models tends to be the exception, rather than the rule – and looking at current trends, this is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future.
For many complex product development tasks, deploying a 3D system is nevertheless the correct forward-looking decision, as long as the right framework is in place. Augmenting the benefits of a 3D system with a leading edge drafting system not only serves the purposes of continued use of existing 2D data, but can also close gaps in the product development process and optimise a company’s entire CAD strategy.
Customer data firmly backs the benefits of an integrated 2D/3D combination: STHENO/PRO can reduce component and assembly detailing costs by over 50 percent.
