Model Based Enterprise

In the past few decades the manufacturing industry has seen many dramatic changes, from Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) to computer controlled machines and Lean processes for assembly. Each of these changes revolutionized the industry in its own way by either decreasing cost, shortening time to market or increasing the quality of the product. Now as we move forward into the next century, a new process is poised to revolutionize the entire lifecycle of a product. This process is called the Model Based Enterprise (MBE).

What is the Model Based Enterprise? Here is a technical definition: A fully integrated and collaborative environment founded on 3D product definition detailed and shared across the enterprise; to enable rapid, seamless, and affordable deployment of products from concept to disposal.

Put another way, MBE is a process of reusing the 3D CAD model by all of the downstream customers verses recreating or reentering the data it contains. This model contains all of the information needed to define the product in an annotated and organized manner in order to be read and the information automatically extracted by non-CAD users, thus replacing a traditional drawing.

MBE has been proven to dramatically cut both the nonrecurring costs needed to produce a product, as well as the time needed to bring it to market. For these reasons, the Department of Defense (DoD) has begun to adopt it for many of its new contracts. How dramatic are these reductions? If properly implemented, nonrecurring costs can be cut between 50% and 70% and the time to market reduced by as much as 50%.

These benefits are accomplished by creating an Annotated Master Model and then using it to communicate to the rest of the enterprise digitally. Product Lifecycle Management tools are used not only for this digital distribution but for the accompanying change management as well. This is done utilizing various tools commonly available at no cost to the user and in a CAD agnostic format, allowing even the smallest supplier to utilize this delivery method without additional software. In fact, the core of the infrastructure is provided by the OEM with tools they already use but simply do not have connected in away to support the entire product lifecycle, nor have proper processes been implemented to standardize the organization and distribution of this data for use by the entire supply chain.

In summary:

• MBE is a technology that can be implemented utilizing existing tools
• It can potentially generate large returns on investment
• It can help meet aggressive schedules and provide an investment in future customer satisfaction

For more information about Model Based Enterprise visit our MBE resource section or click here to contact us.