Three weeks ago one of our readers named Matthew sent me the link to a really cool product innovation: the folding plug. There were some other bloggers up for bat here at 3D Perspectives, but now it’s my turn again.

Matthew, thanks for tipping me to this; you’re right I love it for 3D Perspectives because it represents several themes we talk about here:

• Innovation: revamping an every-day object for better living, i.e. cleaner personal spaces, better fits into backs and packages, etc.
• Sustainability: the folding plug uses less materials to produce
• 3D: the beauty was designed, experienced, sceneriod and presented in 3D (see video below)

Many thanks to Matthew for the tip-off and Min Kyu Choi the inventor.

Now what I’d like to know is, when can I get rid of all my bulky plugs and sockets?

Best,

Kate

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything on PLM as an Enterprise Backbone. With the global economy the way it is, it is a good time to be alive, economically speaking. This blog post covers the third pillar of the PLM enterprise backbone: sustainable development and regulatory compliance.

The core product and design data managed in PLM is crucial for today’s businesses to manage for their environmental impacts as well as their ability to comply with regulations.

Eco-Design / Sustainability and Regulatory Compliance require integration of the design and development systems with the extended enterprise to manage product impact across engineering, supply chains, manufacturing, distribution, after-market service and maintenance, as well as end-of-life processes (disposal, energy conversion and / or recycling).

Suppliers and engineering can be incorporated into the material compliance evaluation process to ensure the component library contains the most current material compositions and compliance certifications for supplied parts, such as RoHS (Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances) and WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) in electrical and electronic equipment, IMDS (International Material Data Systems) reporting and ELV (End-of-Life Vehicle) in automotive, and REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals), across many discreet and process manufacturing industries.

Working from a PLM basis, companies can explicitly manage their environment posture, from straight compliance-based, to systematic management, all the way to being full pioneers on the leading edge of industry.

PLM enables companies to implement Design for Compliance functions as an integral part of product development. With PLM solutions, product development teams can check material content information from any design early on and throughout the product development cycle. Reports can be generated to compare the compliance of manufacturing equivalents, list recyclable content, or evaluate best and worst manufacturing locations. This information can be cross-referenced against multiple regulations in all geographies, allowing designers to make changes sooner rather than later.

In medical device markets regulatory compliance also needs to be validated to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirements throughout the product introduction process. These regulations cover Corrective and Preventive Actions (CAPAs), Nonconformance Reports (NCRs), Product Complaints, Design Control Deliverables, Design History Files, and Quality Audits. Enterprise-wide change control needs to be in place to manage modifications to all documents, specifications, procedures and product configurations to minimize the risk of FDA audit driven plant shut-downs.

From a regulatory compliance standpoint, PLM needs to be managed as a mission-critical enterprise system.

Product companies can avoid late-stage design changes and explore ways of improving product designs while still meeting compliance requirements. Companies can also reduce or eliminate the use of hazardous materials and substances in their products, thereby avoiding problems such as launch delays, recalls, fines, poor customer satisfaction and a damaged public image.

In addition to regulatory compliance, PLM systems are critical to a company’s overall environmental performance. More than 80% of the ecological impact of a product across manufacturing, usage, maintenance and repair, and end-of-life disposal is determined during initial product design.

Upcoming regulations may even impact the energy efficiency of an entire value-chain, as well as its carbon footprint. This will require companies to manage a portfolio of eco-design initiatives for a product’s material, energy and carbon impacts, necessitating lifecycle analysis and product management through design, sourcing, manufacturing, distribution, and end-of-life processes.

Figures 1 and 2, below, depict a large complex enterprise framework for managing a portfolio of project for sustainable development. Other PLM backbone capabilities come to play including Project and Portfolio Management, Direct Material Sourcing, and Extended Enterprise Collaboration capabilities.

Figure 1: Corporate Level Integrated Environmental Management

Figure 2: Lifecycle Analysis (LCA) across a cradle-to-cradle mapping of the industrial ecosystem

Just a blog article doesn’t really give the space to treat this topic in-depth, but Dassault Systemes is making major investments and initiatives in solutions for Sustainable Development. Those wishing to read further on our company’s approach can review our new corporate report.

The last pillar of PLM as an enterprise backbone will complete the innovation spiral enabled by PLM in a discussion of Integrated New Product Market Launch, as facilitated by PLM.

More later about the fourth pillar of PLM as your enterprise backbone . . .

Best,

Brian

Related posts:

PLM as the Enterprise Backbone: Emerging with Advantage

PLM Enterprise Backbone Pillar 1: Product Portfolio Management

PLM Enterprise Backbone Pillar 2: Working with the Supply Chain

It’s a bird . . . it’s a plant . . . it’s a car . . . no, it’s a plane!

Actually it’s like the Superman of planes, ready to save our daily planet.

Solar Impulse, you know it?

Solar Impulse is a solar airplane, sporting 12,000 photovoltaic cells on its wings, which, like a plant, soaks up energy from the sun for power, but the power juices the four electric motors.

It’s like a giant bird, with a wingspan of an Airbus A340 (63 meters), but weighing only as much as a car, so light enough to surf on wind currents for miles and miles.

What a plane!

Today near Zurich Solar Impulse was unveiled to the public for the first time. Six years of hard work by 70 people, creating a true aerospace innovation, and just in time. We desperately need viable eco transportation solutions given the state of our planet.

According to the official Solar Impulse website, here’s the challenge:

In a world depending on fossil energies, the Solar Impulse project is a paradox, almost a provocation: it aims to have an airplane take off and fly autonomously, day and night, propelled uniquely by solar energy, right round the world without fuel or pollution. An unachievable goal without pushing back the current technological limits in all fields…

I just got off the phone with our PR Manager Virginie who was lucky enough to attend the unveiling. Her impressions:

Today marked a page in history. When everyone saw the aircraft, it was a WOW moment. The plane doesn’t look like any plane you can imagine. It’s very long, and very thin.

Virginie was impressed by the project’s “around the world” ambition, because:

There will only be one pilot in the plane at a time. And each pilot will take a shift of five days, during which he will fly NON-STOP. No sleep, just meditation and micro siestas.

That cockpit better be pretty darn comfortable! Well, not too comfy- don’t want any accidental dozes . . .

Did you know the engineers used Dassault Systèmes’ CATIA and ENOVIA Smarteam to design Solar Impulse? According to the press release:

Because Solar Impulse is a new and complex aerospace invention, it was critical for engineers to be able to test a wide range of design configurations, including various combinations of solar panels and lightweight composites structures. For example, Solar Impulse engineers used CATIA to define the best allocation of solar cells to comply with the energy specifications. The engineers also used CATIA for ergonomics analysis to optimize the aircraft pilot’s comfort in various positions.

Virginie told me that first flight tests will begin this fall, and that a second Solar Impulse will be built.

I should have photos taken at the event to publish in time for Monday, so stay tuned . . .

Meanwhile, enjoy this Solar Impulse Unveiling video:

And if you were there for the unveiling, please share your impressions and any photos you took in the comments section! (I’ll try not to be jealous )

You can also see what people are saying about #solarimpulse on Twitter.

Best,

Kate