Survey says … Results of the Automotive Industries' online software survey

Automotive Industries,  Dec, 2003  by Brent Haight

• E-mail
• Print
• Link

Computer models in the Generative Car solution incorporate component and knowledge rules that reflect design practice and past experience. These models automatically adapt to new products or their corresponding manufacturing processes and evolve dynamically as those requirements change.

"This solution could be used by the OEM or by the supplier in order to completely, automatically design jigs and fixtures using a template," says Deshays. "By building all of this into CATIA software, all of the data and great knowledge than an engineer processes will be kept inside the program. That way, a new engineer to a project isn't reinventing the wheel."

CAE Investments in 2004

Forecasters are predicting that new-unit car sales in 2004 will run 2 to 3 percent higher than 2003. Analysts are optimistic that the DOW will again reach 10,000 and U.S. payrolls grew for the third straight month in October, which was also the biggest month for job growth since January. While experts are careful to use the term "turn around," most are optimistic that the economy is beginning to strengthen and that the economic outlook will continue to improve into 2004.

In the realm of CAE, the outlook seems to follow the trend. Our survey showed that more than half of the participants were planning on growing their investment in CAE in 2004.

According to our survey, additional hardware investments had to be made by most of the respondents, some to the tune of more than $250,000, but most within the $0 to $25,000 range.

With positive anticipation of further CAE investment in 2004, additional hardware investments are expected.

IBM's Deshays sees investments in CAE as a wise move for companies looking to improve their bottom line.

"We have been working with many OEMs and suppliers to build software solutions," says Deshays. "Our Generative Car solution is now completely defined and we have a lot of customers we are trying to change from the traditional way of design, often in 2D, to the new way of design in 3D. In most cases, it is less expensive and more productive than 2D.

"It is easy to identify the benefits," adds Deshays. "We have witnessed financial savings between 20 and 40 percent and often far more. This is a huge breakthrough in design. One OEM told us that financial savings could be around several million dollars per car program using Generative Car."

Biggest Challenges in the Use of Technology in Product Development Environment

When it comes to the biggest challenges in the use of technology in product development, survey participants were clear: training, training, training.

Time to market is crucial in product development. Unfortunately, time to market effects development time and the time allowed for employee training and the learning curve for engineers applying software to new product design are often neglected.

"It is easy to see where the frustrations arise when it comes to training engineers," says Gilmour. "Often times, there is one person responsible for training a team of individuals and depending on the size of the company, they often don't budget for training when a new product is rolled out."