In a data driven world, information can be the currency that can make or break your project. Misinformation, or the lack of, can cause delays and costly errors in a project’s life cycle.
AutoCAD Plant 3D is a powerful process-piping design tool. Each piping component placed in Plant 3D has useful data embedded in it. This data is crucial for the plant’s overall design. However, this data can only be viewed within the Plant 3D application.
In plant design, data will pass through many hands and in various stages of the project. How do we then share this information to external parties like clients, fabricators or constructors who don’t have the Plant 3D application?
This is where the dependable sidekick comes to the rescue. Navisworks!
Navisworks has the ability to open various file types. It can also read embedded data if the proper object enabler is installed. Fortunately, Autodesk has one specifically for Plant 3D. You can download the 2021 version here.
Here’s an example of a Plant 3D model in Navisworks without an object enabler. You can see that some shapes aren’t displayed properly, and it is not reading the embedded data.
Here is the same Plant 3D model with the object enabler installed. All the components are displayed correctly, and the embedded data is being displayed in the properties section.
With the Plant 3D model in Navisworks, the file can now be saved as an NWD file and delivered to external parties. All they need is Navisworks Freedom to view the file, which can be downloaded for free from Autodesk.
This is one of many features available in Navisworks. Apart from a robust 3D viewer it can perform tasks such as clash detection and animation.
If you would like to learn more, Navisworks training is available as a supplementary course to SolidCAD’s Plant 3D course curriculum. Please contact training@solidcad.ca
In the next blog, we will look at how to utilize the Navisworks plug in within Plant 3D. Stay tuned!
Machinage Piché specializes in the design and manufacturing of automated equipment for the wood processing industry. Over the past 40 years, their company has carved out a place for itself with an international clientele thanks to its cutting-edge expertise. They provide tailor-made solutions to optimize each stage of secondary wood processing. Each of their solutions stands out for its ingenuity, efficiency, and unparalleled performance.
Machinage Piché has a long history with SolidCAD, dating back to the early 90s, and continued before SolidCAD, when they worked with Cansel and continued this relationship through the recent merge back in 2017.
Improving design-to-manufacturing processes with AutoCAD, Inventor Professional & Vault!
The Challenge
Machinage Piché was facing difficulties with slow and inefficient design-to-manufacturing processes which delayed their production deadlines. The software they were previously using also made it impossible to create detailed views for production at the speed they were expecting especially for their clients. In addition, they also had only one contact person with their previous provider which made it difficult for them to receive quick responses and support to their urgent queries.
With Machinage Piché’s rapid growing success, and swift expansion across the United States in the past 5 years, they found themselves in need of a reliable partner with adequate resources to support their ever-growing projects.
The Solution
Machinage Piché knew they needed to upgrade their systems processes and therefore reached out to our team an assessment of their current workflow and identify potential areas of improvement. SolidCAD’s software experts helped them explore various Autodesk products, and specifically the features of Inventor that Machinage Piché’s team were not previously aware of. With Inventor’s professional-grade 3D mechanical design, documentation and product simulation tools, Machinage Piché immediately found the software to be faster and far superior in addressing their needs.
With the help of our highly skilled team and extensive resources, Machinage Piché underwent a reevaluation of their needs, and workflow assessment resulting in the implementation and standardization of AutoCAD LT, AutoCAD Mechanical, Inventor Professional and Vault Office for 3D users as well as personalized training for their team.
The Results
Since implementing these solutions, Machinage Piché has noticed an increase in collaboration between teams and in productivity due to the faster and more flexible
Using Inventor, along with the training they received from our team, has helped them decrease drawing time by 50%
The Design Centre with AutoCAD and Inventor has been more successful in optimizing their production, allowing the company to reach their deadlines 25% faster
Machinage Piché has access to more resources now with SolidCAD and can get timely responses to all questions and requests.
Testimonial
We are very satisfied in our long-standing partnership with SolidCAD. They are quick to respond to our requests, the staff are very knowledgeable, and the prices are competitive. We feel that the people at SolidCAD are motivated, take pride in their work, and stay up to date on the latest technological trends. We would recommend anyone else facing the same challenges we were to reach out and request a demo to explore vast potential of SolidCAD’s resources and skills.
-Guy Ayotte, Project Manager / IT Manager/ 3D Integration Manager at Machinage Piché
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Digital transformation is essential for any business looking to navigate the post-COVID world that exists today. Before the pandemic, the focus on digital transformation was high but has increased due to a large portion of the labor force relying on easily accessible data at home.
At the heart of any successful digital transformation project is accurate data structure.
What Is Digital Transformation?
Digital transformation refers to the process of shifting operations, data, and tools commonly available in offline or non-interactive environments to a completely digital solution. Digital transformation can yield the following benefits:
Increased visibility to data trends will lead to an improved understanding of the customer experience and an uplift in sales
Provide reports that highlight improvement opportunities within common workflows that reduce costs and increase efficiency
While the benefits of digital transformation have been on display for many years, some businesses view this practice as a lower priority. Specifically, asset-heavy organizations are reluctant to change and move their information online or revamp their technical infrastructure. Instead, these businesses prefer to continue maintaining older and outdated systems to minimize the impact on existing day-to-day operations.
How COVID-19 has Pushed Digital Transformation to the Forefront
With the onset of the pandemic, organizations have needed to scramble to enable remote operations, social distancing, and continue to maintain assets across multiple sites and locations. Suddenly digital transformation is now a requirement for many businesses.
This has been a difficult transition period for organizations that didn’t have an existing plan in place. Effective data structure has emerged as an essential piece of this transformation.
Digital Transformation is Built on Strong Data Structure
Well governed and structured data is the basis of a well-executed digital transformation. The amount of data can be overwhelming for asset-heavy organizations and found in different sources such as:
Work orders
Asset data and maintenance records
Data coming in from various other mission-critical tools – i.e., EDMS or CMMS solutions
MRO inventory data
Pen and paper documentation
Unstructured Data Can Lead to Long Drawn-out Digital Transformation
Most organizations have their data spread over different locations and tools. This data can also be inaccessible by various teams and generally unstructured. Here are a few reasons why:
Knowledge is often spread by word-of-mouth with no documentation available
Data consists of a combination of paper, on-premise, and cloud-based tools. This inconsistency leads to incomplete information, poor document version control, and more
Existing digital solutions work independently of each other with little integration
Day-to-day digital workflows are not standardized or governed for good data structure
Incomplete Data Leads To Poor Asset Structure
If your asset-intensive organization has poor data quality, this will affect your asset structure. All the information surrounding an asset (i.e., documentation, compliance, maintenance plans, etc.) will be affected by default, which can lead to:
Incomplete data sets
Out-of-date information
Trouble maintaining industry compliance
Higher costs to maintain data infrastructure
Data security issues
Increased risk of a digital transformation project failing
Once a weak data structure exists, the related issues will carry over into other complementary solutions. The lack of robust and available data will affect other data-driven automation and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) projects. These solutions require a complete and comprehensive data structure to build and implement successfully.
How to Ensure your Data and Asset Structure is Correct
To set up your business for a successful Digital Transformation, you can improve your data structure by focusing on accurate data, robust data structure, and data governance.
1. Review Your Current Data
Reviewing your current data should be the first step for improving the existing data structure. This requires that you answer vital questions about your data itself, including:
What data do you have?
What information are you collecting regularly?
How and where is the data used?
What does that data tell you about your customers, about your KPIs, about your business?
Identify missing data opportunities. Where are there currently gaps in your data needs?
Leading off with a review of current data will help your team understand your data and what you do with it.
2. Organize your Data with the Appropriate Tools
The next step is to use a well-structured tool to import your data. Using a tool that can assist with proper data structure, governance, and analytical insights will ease your path to digital transformation by:
Providing automation of workflows to increase data entry efficiency and ensure data accuracy by avoiding human error
Confirming your data initiatives are standardized and repeatable
Guarantee that your organization can easily manage your information’s flow, quality, and governance, which is key to any compelling insights or transformation efforts
Selecting the right solution will vary by your organization’s industry, data sources, and required integrations. The right tool will provide a broader view and understanding of your data as a whole to your entire team.
What Types of Tools fit best For Asset-Intensive Organizations?
Most successfulasset-heavy organizations already use a CMMS or EAM solution for their maintenance tracking needs. It allows you to digitize and automate maintenance operations to deploy preventive maintenance strategies better, develop better maintenance practices, stay organized, and ultimately save time and money. While this is a significant first step into modernizing your digital data footprint, a CMMS system alone is missing essential functionality for maintaining your data structure in other areas (i.e., technical drawings and documentation). This functionality is where an EDMS solution excels.
Pairing an EDMS with a CMMS solution is the winning combination that empowers your team with the following benefits:
A fully connected digital single source of truth with high availability
Automation across multiple tools to improve efficiency and data accuracy
Easy to manage data governance over the entire technological stack
In a post-COVID world, organizations that complete digital transformations and modernize their operations will pull past competitors relying on legacy systems. But making the transition begins with reliable data and solid asset structure as a first step.
To learn more about Meridian solutions (EDMS and CMMS) and how they can help your team, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the SolidCAD Meridian team.
In my opinion, the most painful product lifecycle management (PLM) failures happen when companies struggle to understand the concept and implement it in their organization. This technology is made to help them. When I speak to companies, I hear things like – “We tried to organize ourselves, but PLM was such a complex idea. We decided to stay unorganized.” It hurts me to think about the failures of technology despite the powerful idea of PLM.
I want to focus on explaining why you need PLM and how to identify if it can help support your product development and manufacturing operations. Understanding this will help you get prepared and organized for the digital future.
CIMdata defined digitalization as “The business strategy best geared to extract real-world value from digital data”, whereas their definition of PLM refers to a “strategic business approach, NOT just technologies, a consistent set of business solutions”.
I’ve noticed a growing interest in product lifecycle management and its benefits in the last year. As companies look to improve their product offerings, refine supply chains, and organize their business, PLM is one of the best tools to achieve these goals.
When implementing PLM, your organization should be setting goals and KPIs regularily along the way. Our software will allow you to collaborate with SolidCAD and suppliers to integrate important data from their end as you assess each step in your process.
As your organization goes through each of these stages, you should be collecting and entering data into your PLM software. We will help you streamline the process and allow you to eliminate tedious data re-entry. This means that your PLM software should smoothly integrate with your enterprise resource planning (ERP) system.
You may be wondering why PLM is important for our digital future. Expected results for companies using PLM software include:
Lower product costs:
PLM is an iterative process that your organization will refine with each cycle, one of the most common goals is to lower production costs. This may seem intuitive for any company that engages in product development, but it’s important to point out that PLM achieves this by creating a more refined supply chain along with a streamlined production process.
Greater product quality:
In a similar artery to lowering product costs, product quality should increase as you foster the PLM process. Whether it’s finding more diverse materials or better parts at the right price, each cycle should push you to assess your sourcing, development, and production methods to improve your offerings.
Faster time to market:
This is a direct result of improving your supply chain along with manufacturing and logistics. PLM is not only a about single product throughout its lifecycle; it is a tool to have comparable data that allows you to streamline and improve the steps in your process.
So, what does PLM currently offer? PLM provides a central repository of accurate information that geographically dispersed personnel can access. In a post-2020 world where more and more teams are working remotely, there’s undeniable value in this system that facilitates accurate data sharing and collaboration don’t you think?
To summarize, here are the 5 main reasons that you will need PLM based on my knowledge and conversations with customers:
Increased productivity: PLM facilitates the process of lifecycle management and drives improvements across the series of cycles for the given product. Implementing a scalable PLM platform increases employee productivity by consolidating designs, communications, workflows, and product data in a single place.
Accelerated time to market: The smoother the workflow and the higher the productivity, the faster your organization will be able to bring products to market.
Increased revenue: As you accelerate your time to market with PLM, you’ll also be reducing production costs. The intersection between those two actions will improve your margin and help you scale up your business. You can’t just think of PLM as a way of improving workflows; one of the most critical KPIs after a few cycles is how it is impacting your revenue.
Accurate data sharing: PLM organizes your data, helps you keep track of it, and allows for sharing with the right stakeholders at the right time (both internal and external).
Improved product quality: More accurate data and improved workflows are always going to lead to improved product quality. I believe, that is another contributing factor to increased revenue. Regardless of an organization’s position in the supply chain. That stands for both business and commercial transactions. As you refine your PLM steps and drive even minor improvements, you’ll see the difference in the product for sure!
From a business development representatives’ point of view to you, I can assure you that lifecycle management issues can be found across small, medium, and large business. When it comes to growing and improving your company, PLM solutions are the digital future.
Every year Autodesk releases a new version of the software which often contains new features, bug fixes and overall improved stability, so a common question that we get from our customer is: how do I move all my custom settings, symbols, databases, etc. to the new version of AutoCAD Electrical. Included with AutoCAD Electrical is the “Migration Utility” which allows the user to move all your customized settings, custom libraries (symbols + icon menus), databases, etc. This utility can be found inside the “Project” tab as displayed on Figure 1.
Figure 1
In this blog article we will cover the steps requires for us to upgrade and migrate from one version to another. Once we have downloaded and installed the new version of AutoCAD Electrical, we close all other Autodesk software that so we can start the “Migration Utility”.
Figure 2
In this configuration window we are required to select the previous version that we want to migrate from. Clicking on the dropdown arrow will display all the previous versions installed on the local machine. If you have more than one version installed, you need to select the software version that has all the latest customization/libraries of the software as seen on Figure 2.
After we select the version that we want to migrate from, the next step is to select the items we want to migrate. Those items can be found under “Migration items” and, by default, all of them are going to be selected as seen on Figure 3. If we click on any of the individual items, we will find the option to copy or merge the pre-existing information. Keep in mind that each migration item might have a different preset value here so make sure you review all the items that need to be migrated.
Figure 3
Once we have reviewed all the migration items we need to click “OK” so the migration process can start.
Figure 4
Before the migration gets started, a “Migration Review” window is going to popup with a summary of all the files that are about to be migrated as seen on Figure 4.
After a final review we are ready to click “OK” so the migration process can start.
While the migration is in progress, a window is going to popup showing the file currently being migrated and the current progress status as seen on Figure 5. Keep in mind that depending on the size of your customized files (databases, etc.), this process could take from minutes to several hours.
Figure 5
When the Migration is complete a summary window similar to the migration review will popup specifying, once again, all the files that were migrated.
The last step is to restart the software so you will be ready to use your new version of AutoCAD Electrical without losing any preexisting customized files/settings.
A very common question that we get asked is how we can add a custom table inside the catalog browser. As you already know, the catalog browser consists of several different “families” or categories that divide all the components by type, which store all the relevant catalog information as you can see from the image on Figure 1.
In many cases there might be a specific type of component that might be missing, or you want to create a new table for anything that might be build/available in-house such as parts that you build on your own floor shop.
Figure 1
In this blog article, we will cover how to add/create a new table/family inside the catalog browser.
For us to achieve this, we need to make sure that we are working on an active project that has the main catalog database which we want to edit.
Next we need to go to the “Project” tab and select go to the “Other Tools” panel. There you will notice that on that panel there is an arrow with a drop-down menu.
In that menu we can find the command “Add Table to Catalog Database,” we need to click on that command as seen on Figure 2 or type AEADDCATALOGTABLE from the command line
Figure 2
Once we activate this command, a pop-up window is going to appear asking us to select the catalog database which we want to edit. If we want to modify the main default catalog database, we select the file “default_cat.mdb” as seen on Figure 3 (left). We select the database we wish to modify and we click on OK. A new window is going to come up displaying all the available tables found inside the catalog browser. If we want to add a new family, we need to enter a Table Name in the available field and if we desire we can add a Table Description, which is optional as you can see on Figure 3 (right) and click OK.
Figure 3
Those are all the steps needed to create a new table inside the catalog database. Now for us to see the changes reflected on the catalog browser, we need to switch the active project or re-start the software as this will force the software to reload all the files. Then will be able to see your custom created tables inside your database ready to be populated as seen on Figure 4
Increasing operational efficiency is a crucial metric for any modern organization. Teams are struggling during the Covid-19 Pandemic due to the reality of having a smaller remote workforce. Having reliable access to critical technical documents is an essential piece of this puzzle and is more challenging when a business has many locations.
For some, finding these technical documents can be a manual process bogged down by email requests and phone calls. The chance of delays is high in this workflow, as it may take some time to locate the correct document or correct revision.
1. Increase efficiency by centralizing your technical documents
Accruent Meridian Cloud is a world-class technical document management solution that hosts all your organization’s mission-critical data in a centralized, secure cloud site. It features the following capabilities:
Change management via automated workflows and notifications
Secure collaboration to contractors on projects via Meridian Portal
Increased efficiency by providing users a single source of truth
2. Meridian Cloud excels at hosting facility-based documents
Meridian Cloud fully supports the three most essential Facility document types:
Facility documents
These technical documents house operational information on the project and as-built items. Full revision history is available for any updates made. (i.e., Flow Diagrams, equipment specs, procedures, etc.)
Project documents
This document type focuses on technical documents that are under modification and are not as-built. They can contain various information about the project. (i.e., project schedules, emails, etc.)
Generic documents
Generic documents contain miscellaneous information linked to a project (i.e., images, code, and more).
3. Full asset management support
You can link all your technical documents directly to locations, equipment, work orders, and assets directly for quick reference. This integration improves the value of both Meridian and your current computerized maintenance management solution (CMMS). Users can access Assets from Meridian or reference the relevant technical documents quickly from your preferred CMMS platform.
4. Project controls and automation to improve efficiency
Meridian Cloud’s project-centric design enforces change control through familiar workflows with full notification support. Ensuring any concurrent engineering endeavors are smooth and efficient.
5. Powered by the best industry standards
Adhering to the Process Industry Practices (PIP) standard, documents are organized by robust metadata for information, description, and classification. Custom Properties that are common to your data and can also be created.
6. A solution that molds to your business’s needs
Meridian Cloud is fully configurable and allows your organization to shape the tool to your data requirements. Document types, collections, custom properties, numbering, and naming conventions ensure your information is complete, accurate, and easy to find.
7. Fully secure on a world class enterprise platform.
Housed on industry-standard secure Microsoft Azure servers, Meridian Cloud relies on ISO 27001 certified Microsoft physical and network security. Meridian Cloud extends the Azure platform with operation controls based on industry best practices for public cloud services including, but not limited to:
Role-based access controls
Data security
Purpose-built clients
Staff security training
Regular audits
8. Meridian Cloud offers users specific web clients based on their roles
Meridian Explorer
The perfect web-based client for searching, commenting and sharing technical documents with other departments such as operations, maintenance, work schedules, and purchasing.
Meridian Power
Built for engineering teams, Meridian Power provides the ability to modify and create engineering information in a controlled project environment. Manage your Technical documents with the aid of automated naming, numbering, and tracking of CAD references.
Meridian Portal
Meridian Portal provides a secure cloud-based location where internal teams can collaborate with external contractors and vendors. Data packages are controlled and validated throughout the hand over process.
To learn more about Meridian solutions and how they can help your team, please contact the SolidCAD Meridian team.
TORONTO, ON, May 19, 2020 – Today, SolidCAD, a leading technology and professional services company in Canada announces its newest partnership with Magestic Technologies, an Autodesk Authorized Reseller and Developer. As a leader in the competitive manufacturing landscape, Magestic Technologies focuses on providing the most advanced digital manufacturing solutions leveraging technologies in Genetics, Machine Learning, and AI to improve manufacturing processes and efficiency.
With over 30 years experience, Magestic Technologies has been working closely with one of the world’s largest technology innovators, Autodesk, to develop digital manufacturing solutions that improve and automate the aerospace, energy, transportation and automotive fabrication processes. Through their various solutions, including TruNest, TruComposites and SE Nesting, manufacturing firms can better collaborate, optimize and integrate real-time production data to streamline design and manufacturing workflows.
“Our partnership with SolidCAD provides a great opportunity to bring to the Canadian market innovative and cost saving solutions leveraging the technologies and expertise of both companies. Our mutual commitment to customer success, along with our vast experience in seamless design to manufacturing workflows, ensures solutions required to be successful in today’s competitive manufacturing environment,” states Greg Mac Lean, President, Magestic Technologies.
“At SolidCAD, we pride ourselves in helping customers increase their profitability and gain a competitive edge through the streamlining of their engineering, manufacturing and data management processes,” states Mark Gartner, Director of Manufacturing at SolidCAD. “We are very excited to have this partnership with a best-in-class manufacturing solutions provider. At SolidCAD were always looking at additional ways to help our customers get to the next level of productivity improvement. This is precisely why we have partnered with the experts at Magestic Technologies.”
SolidCAD and Magestic Technologies will be working together to provide consulting, implementation and support services to Canadian manufacturing firms. To learn more about Magestic Technologies’ best-in-class solutions, join SolidCAD for a webinar and demo to view their products firsthand on Tuesday, June 2, 2020 at 1:00 PM ET. To register, click here.
About Magestic Technologies
Magestic Technologies was founded on the same principles as its founder’s former company, Magestic Systems, and that is to provide the most advanced manufacturing solutions for process and efficiency improvements. Our solutions are built on over 30 years of experience implementing sophisticated solutions leveraging some of the most innovative technologies in Genetics, Machine Learning, and AI.
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