Configurator: Authoring the Engineering Deliverable

In any enterprise, engineering deliverables are created by teams from different functions working within the framework of defined constraints and rules. A configurator can automate the creation of these engineering deliverables.

To achieve this, rules and constraints have to be configured into the configurator. This intelligence is stored in the forms of rules and interpreted by a Rules Engine. The Rules Engine software helps in quicker configuration and faster execution of complex business rules.  Rules driven Configurator can generate

• Bill of material
• Production Routing Sheet
• Drawings
• Costing and Pricing

BOM:
A correct BOM is required for manufacturing the product to customer specification. BOM is created for each order received. A configurable BOM is stored in the configurator to maintain the product’s component hierarchy. The different types of Business rules for creating BOM can be set in the configurator. The in-compatibility between different BOM components, number of component required and different levels of BOM can all be incorporated into the configurator rules.  As the BOM generated is always valid and accurate it can be immediately used for manufacturing the product.

Production Routing:
Different product variant may be manufactured at different locations using unique processes. Depending on the attribute values selected for a product in the order, the manufacturing location can be decided by the Configurator. This automated routing process helps in cutting down manual workflow and decision making which may have lead to errors. Arriving at the correct routing also entails interaction with the scheduling application of the enterprise (like the ERP). Once routing is established, the promised dates for product delivery can also be calculated.

Costing and Pricing:
A product’s costing and pricing depends on the product specification. The configurator can determine the correct price of a product variant from the pricing rules. The pricing rules can be BOM based, Attribute based or Hybrid of the two. The configurator can also show the effect of selecting different product attribute values on its base price. This delta calculation is important when determining the best product configuration at the correct and cheapest price for a customer. Along with pricing, configurator can also incorporate discounting rules for customers.

Drawings:
Sales personnel and customers often require to view drawings of ordered products. Also the manufacturing function requires detailed engineering drawing to manufacture the product. The Configurator can work in tandem with a CAD application to provide detailed product drawings, or work with product images to show static drawings. The types of drawings that can be made available are
Spatial drawings: Customers require attributes of the product like dimensions, inclination, etc, to check if product fits into their layout design. These drawings can be created from images or simple CAD drawings. Minimum or no programming is required in the CAD application for implementing these.
Sales Approval Drawings: 2D and 3D sales drawings for customers can be created by the configurator. The sales configurator passes the product specification to a programmed CAD application for drawing generation. A fair amount of programming is required in the CAD application.
Detailed Engineering drawings:  To-Scale design drawings for production can be created using advanced CAD softwares likes AutoCAD and SolidWorks. A high level of programming and parameterization is required in the CAD application to achieve creation of these drawings.

Thus we see that deliverables generated using a configurator conform to rules and constraints. The automated handoffs between functions, reduces the errors and cost associated with it. An Aberdeen survey in the United States reported a reduced yearly write-off of US $31,400 by companies using a configurator, compared to an Industry Average of US $823,900. This goes to prove that ‘To gain a competitive advantage, companies with high product variants should do authoring of engineering deliverables through highly effective solutions for Customizing Configurations.

Comments

[TorendormaKar]

Beautiful place
Cool domain www.patniblogs.com
O-la-la-la website
To thanks you