4GD, new technology folded in Teamcenter and other Siemens PLM Software offerings, aims to help users quickly find subsets of data related to their specific task without having to load entire complex assemblies or products. (Source: Siemens PLM Software)
Beth, I know what you mean when you say at the top of your article that PLM has been a tough pill to swallow. It seems that engineers and organizations have a hard time seeing the value of what they do now to help organize the information on a project for future use. We tend to think about the next deadline in our design process, not what the needs of the organization down the line. I was in one of those organizations that you mention. On the other hand, having that information available really makes you more effective over time.
I think that with products like this we are getting to a level of automation that takes some of the load off of the individual trying to solve a problem in the here and now. That is the trade-off.
It's a royal pain, but it has to be done. Take firmware for mobile phones. PLM is absolutely necessary to handle firmware releases, do regression testing. Done wrong, and you have very, very angry customers.
What is truly needed is for Siemens to talk to and LISTEN to their customer base. While new buzz words like 4GD, HD-PLM and Active Workspace generate excitement from a sales perspective, alot of the issues with PLM are much more rudimentary and if addressed properly, the user base would be telling everyone they know why they can't live without this technology.
@Kdkimball: What are some of the critical problems you see with PLM ease of implementation? The interesting thing is Siemens says a lot of these new technologies are a result of listening to their customer base and their requirements. I'd be curious to see where you see the disconnects.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
To save this item to your list of favorite Design News content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This
16 
