How to compete with China

May 5, 2005
American manufacturers aren't alone in having to contend with low-cost operations in China.

CAD Wire President Wence Daks says the M3 strategy lets him take a digitized product and create a prototype in a fraction of the time it would have taken to redesign it. "It makes us more efficient and capable of creating higher quality of work," he says.


The turbine blade and steeple were laser scanned at CAD Wire, a Kubotek Service Center and engineering consulting firm in Markham, Ontario. The center uses the M3 strategy in KeyCreator design and NC software from Kubotek USA.


Japanese manufacturers face the same competitive forces that are pulling work out of U.S. shops. "The Japanese have responded with what might be called Super Shops, those that can quickly design and manufacture highly stylized, organically shaped products," says Kubotek USA Chief Operating Officer Robert Bean. "One way they counter low-cost operations is by quickly and cost effectively customizing products. In some cases, designs are completely reshaped for an individual."

The tactic can be used in this country as well, says Bean. A first step for smalltomedium-sized manufacturers is to improve efficiency and get more creative. One way is with a strategy he proposes called M3, for measure, model, and machine. "Measure" refers to scanning either physical models that might have been hand shaped or parts which have no drawings. "Model" suggests shaping and refining scanned figures with 3D CAD software. And "machine" refers to generating NC toolpaths for turning the new digital shape into a physical part. A single software system should be able to perform all three, he says.

The strategy takes into account how design and manufacturing engineers really think, design, and work. However, says Bean, today's CAD/CAM tools impose constraints on designers that impedes this strategy.

"The problem with conventional, parametric-based CAD is that it focuses on repetitive design systems and mass production, making it too confining for today's manufacturing requirements," says Dr. Tetsuo Kubo, Kubotek Corp. founder and CEO. "Designers should be able to take a part model and change or customize it. To do so, they need to mix real-world data with their designs."

Kubo says a more useful CAD system should be based on premises that CAD is immature. The marketplace may be mature, but the software is not, he claims. And despite more than 20 years of development, CAD programs generally are hard to use, based on proprietary architectures, and poorly integrated with complementary solutions.

Kubo says the M 3 strategy also calls for lowering barriers between functions so teams can iterate and refine in hours instead of days or weeks. "The latest CAD tools will let designers attack problems from any angle, input realworld data, mix it with their original designs, and modify results quickly and easily. We will soon provide just such an integrated design and manufacturing solution," he says.

MAKE CONTACT:

CAD Wire
(905) 305-0561
cadwire.com
Kubotek USA
(508) 229-2020
kubotekusa.com

Sponsored Recommendations

Altech's Liquid Tight Strain Relifs Catalog

March 13, 2024
With experienced Product Engineers and Customer Service personnel, Altech provides solutions to your most pressing application challenges. All with one thought in mind - to ensure...

Industrial Straight-Through Cable Gland

March 13, 2024
Learn more about Altech's cable glands and all they have to offer for your needs!

Smooth Sorting with SEW-EURODRIVE!

Feb. 22, 2024
Sorting systems are essential when it comes to warehouse automation, material handling, and distribution. SEW-EURODRIVE’s automated sorting solutions increase capacity, reliability...

Setting the Agricultural Industry in Motion

Feb. 22, 2024
Agricultural products go through specialized processes of harvesting, storing, conveying, cleaning, drying, sorting, and handling to ensure that seasonal products reach the processing...

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of Machine Design, create an account today!