The development and delivery times are under a lot of strain due to shorter product life cycles and smaller batch sizes. The modifications in requirements are demonstrated by one instance from the automotive sector. Permanently linked transfer lines allowed manufacturers to quickly create huge quantities of a single engine type up to the 1990s.
The optimal production idea surrounds this concept. However, a greater degree of flexibility was required due to the increasing number of models and shorter product life cycles. Today, a single line produces a wide variety of engine models. Within a production cell, highly adaptable machining centers collaborate on every given item.
However, this evolutionary rise in machine technology’s and manufacturing organizations’ flexibility has mostly peaked. Now that cutting-edge software ideas have emerged, it is possible to make single things fast and profitably.
Tools for simulation enter the scene from the very beginning of a product’s life cycle. They dramatically reduce development timeframes and enable product attributes to be modified even during the 3D design stage. Since concrete machine tasks and drive operations are converted into calculable mathematical contexts, system simulation can also be used to study a machine’s dynamic behavior in all of its aspects.
Long testing times on test beds are considerably reduced as a result, and potential flaws are found early and may be fixed affordably. If one takes into account that the costs to remove flaws increase by a factor of ten from the initial product idea to market readiness, this magnitude becomes quite crucial.
However, time and money can be saved in other ways besides shortening test phases. Without needing to create time-consuming and expensive prototypes, simulations assist validate the general viability of the idea at the very beginning of development work.
When designing components, using these tools avoids over-dimensioning and leads to the solution most efficient in terms of materials and energy use. The program allows for fine-tuning without disrupting operations during commissioning by simulating the use of the finished machine or component on site.
Because of this, simulation is a useful tool for lowering costs, ensuring quality, and accelerating time to market. Examples have demonstrated that simulation tools can reduce development timelines by 80%, from three years to as little as six months.