What Does Digitization Mean for You?

Digitization is the process of moving your data, workflow and processes into the modern age. You’re doing more with digital simulation, replacing some physical prototypes. Your manufacturing uses CNC machines, with the data coming directly off of your CAD data. Your drawings are digitally stored, accessed, and displayed on terminals instead of being printed out. Even orders can come in through web automation instead of a call center. Other types of information are connected to your CAD data as well through a database.

Of course most of you already know this. If you’re not involved in some sort of digital design by now, you’re seriously behind the times. It goes well beyond PDF drawings, although the claims of the benefits of design process digitization is the new “paperless engineering” battle cry that has been the tired dream of design technology salesmen for the past several decades.

So you’re involved in digital design, but there’s much more to it than that. You’ve heard about digital twin or digital prototyping? These are just terms for analysis or simulation. Software has come a long way since the last time you looked at it. Air flow, thermal, motion, stress, optimization, animation, robotics, electronic layout, and many more types of simulations, tests, and predictive planning are available and extremely capable these days. If you’re not taking advantage of some of these options that relate to your products, you’re leaving money or potential new features on the table. Since you’ve already invested in the 3D model, the bar has been lowered for entry into a lot of these other fields.

Accurate 3D data of your product is important, but if all you’re getting out of it is a shortcut to 2D drawings, or CNC data, you’re not getting as much benefit from that investment as you could.

We’re in the world of big data, if you haven’t noticed. Big data just means that you have a database or several where a lot of factors are interrelated, and you collect and store data related to just about every digital portion of your operation. CAD data is part of that database if you’re using PDM. PDM expands to PLM as you start collecting and making use of data that isn’t directly related to just part numbers and geometry files. Data is a liability until you make some use of it. Maybe you never noticed that your returns for a couple of product lines decrease as your production rate increases, and jumps every time you replace or repair a machine on the line. How does employee training relate to return rates? How about purchasing streamlining when they can see new products coming through the engineering process? Or how many man hours can you save when you can avoid scheduling meetings just by automating reports and flagging certain trigger factors?

Digitization can go as far as your imagination can take you. Not every benefit as a nicely boxed solution. You’re already on the path. Why not explore some of the benefits of digitization beyond just the engineering department.