Why CAD Data Exchange Is Critical in Product Lifecycle Management

Every engineering and manufacturing project will have extensive products that are an integral part of the respective projects. Such products need extensive management right from inception to disposal for the overall impulsive process. An ideal method to promote this process is Product Lifecycle Management (PLM). 

As the name suggests, Product Lifecycle Management is an effective process to manage the whole life cycle of the product from the initial stage of design inception to manufacturing, service, and even after product disposal. The method aligns all the project teams, processes, and multiple people on the straight line and enhances efficient product collaboration and promotes better information flow throughout every step of the product development. 

One primary factor that determines a better PLM is the exchange of design information on the product. That said, product designs created through diverse CAD applications need to be converted smoothly with all the essential information, including metadata/properties and geometric information. The shared information can be used for PLM, and the teams can collaborate on the designs and have a clear vision of product development. With this, we have come to know that PLM and CAD data exchange are directly related, and, in this blog, we shall deal with the importance of CAD data exchange in PLM. 

CAD Data Exchange – A Brief

CAD applications are the primary factors for the Engineering, manufacturing, and architectural industries as they assist the project teams to develop ideal 2D and 3D designs, expressing the essential design intents. There are various CAD applications and each with its respective eminence, and the teams involved in the project can have access to any CAD software and can create the designs from that software. Eventually, the project teams have to collaborate at times, and the designs should be aggregated for further processing. In this situation, the designs created from various CAD applications have to be exchanged along with the essential information. 

The CAD model or design will have all the essential information that includes the metadata, design intent, geometrical information, component specifications, and more. When the models are exchanged, they include this data as well and therefore let the teams collaborate better with all the essential information and assist in taking better and informed decisions. However, the designs are eventually the products, and therefore, the information exchange will pave the way for better Product lifecycle analysis and therefore, enhanced Product Lifecycle Management (PLM).

Key Reasons CAD Data Exchange Drives Effective PLM

Since PLM encompasses the whole process of product development from the initial phase to disposal, we have to understand how CAD data exchange can be pivotal for the process with extended eminence. Here are certain factors that strengthen CAD’s role in Product Lifecycle Management (PLM). 

1. Extensive Collaboration

A factor that is extremely essential for product development is ideal collaboration. Since a product is developed in an environment with multiple teams, the essential data should be made accessible to all the respective teams. When the product data is based on various CAD applications, that extensive information is what the teams would require. For this, effective CAD data exchange becomes quintessential. With the process, the design data can be exchanged between various CAD applications. The interoperable data exchange gives the teams a chance to collaborate on the designs from any CAD Application and utilize it for further processes. 

2. Managing Changes

When it comes to PLM, it is inevitable that changes are inevitable and are an essential part of development. That said, the changes to the model and designs have to be communicated to the applications and teams. Each time the design undergoes a change or customization, that specific design changes can be transferred through effective CAD data exchange between respective CAD applications. 

3. Software Interoperability

PLM for the CAD-based projects requires the use of various CAD applications for the design and enhancements to the projects. At this point, the factor that determines smooth model translation is interoperability. A project will have multiple teams, and all the teams will use different CAD applications for designing. Here, the designs should be converted without any misconceptions, hindrances, or loss of data, as the applications will have different file formats that often are not compatible. Now, interoperable model conversion can eradicate these limitations and allow the applications to transfer the designs, and therefore allow the users to utilize the designs for further required developments and effective PLM. 

Explore: Benefits and Challenges of CAD Data Exchange

4. Accurate Automated Conversion

Traditional methods of model conversion with manual data entries often delay the whole process and also increase the chances of errors, which often puts the whole process at stake and forces hectic rework. This eventually results in unexpected consequences for the PLM process. A compatible and interoperable CAD data exchange process can streamline the whole process with effective automation with ideal accuracy. Eminent CAD data exchange can transfer the design data with all the essential properties without any manual intervention, and this boosts the whole process. 

5. Version Control and Accessibility

Another important factor, along with the above, that is essential in PLM is walking through diverse model versions or revisions. Since the Product’s lifecycle is about to be tracked and managed, there has to be a record or data about the versions for smooth transitions. Here, effective CAD data exchange can be the one-stop solution as the model revisions can be translated without any hindrances through neutral file formats and also without traditional delays. The user doesn’t need to manually rework the model as CAD data exchange can transfer the changes in the meantime and enhance the whole process. 

Closing Thoughts

Managing the product’s lifecycle either directly or indirectly is crucial and brings more fortune to the whole project. A project with stable information and a track of the essential products can be called ideal, as it can be accessed and utilized at any point of time in its life. In this journey of management, effective and reliable data conversion plays a pivotal role, and that happens with significant CAD data exchange. 

Eminent CAD conversion solutions like BIMDeX can play a clear catalyst role here with significance on the table. This solution offers interoperable model conversion by taking the CAD designs with all their comprehensive information, like metadata, properties, geometric information, and more. The proprietary file format of ‘BXF’ is an advantage with the solution as it takes all the models from one format to another without any misconceptions. Along with the model conversion, BIMDeX solution widely helps in manage the model revisions throughout the process. Automated model conversion with a lot of other intriguing features can make this solution a legit one for the CAD model conversion for effective Product Lifecycle Management.