- Reuse and instrument released designs
- Embed sensors into new designs
- Connect CAD models via digital twins to real-world data
- Use real-world sensor data in CAD design
- Integration with ThingWorx, the world’s leading industrial IoT platform
- Prepare for Product as a Service
Data Visualization and system integration tools are shaping the future of business and I am going to explain exactly why.
First, it is essential that you understand the impacts of technology and data today.
The impacts of big data
Humans collectively produce approximately 2.5 quintillion bytes of data each day and this number is only increasing with the acceleration of the Internet of Things (IoT). These already astonishing statistics are growing at an ever-increasing rate as our world becomes even more digitized and data-centric.
Due to this overwhelming growth, businesses have begun facing challenges with data capture, analysis, distribution, storage, and visualization. In fact, big data has started to become so large and so complex that businesses are even finding traditional data processing techniques to be inadequate. This is exactly why system integration and business intelligence software have become essential components for successful business data management strategies.
System integration and system integration tools
Enterprise application integration software combine components of sub-systems together into one centralized system. Essentially, system integration applications ensure all business systems function together as one.
For instance, integration applications (such as EAC Productivity Apps) connect existing systems and enable seamless data to flow from various systems into role-based dashboards or “mashups.”
By using applications that integrate all of your business systems, your organization opens up a clear, efficient path, for information to travel from one application or system to another. The process of linking together different computing systems and software applications opens up an organization’s ability to easily collect, aggregate, and share data.
Business intelligence
The trend towards business intelligence (BI) has driven many companies to evaluate technology-driven processes for analyzing data and presenting actionable information.
Common functions of business intelligence technologies include reporting, analytics, data mining, process mining, business performance management, benchmarking, predictive analytics and prescriptive analytics.
BI technologies can handle large amounts of structured and sometimes unstructured data to help
System integration, Bi, and data visualization
Tools and applications that integrate business systems incorporate oftentimes incorporate data visualizations, also known as data dashboards.
Data visualizations deliver graphical representations of data or information, often in the form of a chart, diagram, picture, or any other visual illustration. Visual representations of data and information help humans understand the significance of data by transforming it into information placing it in a visual context.
Human visual processing is efficient in detecting changes and making comparisons between quantities, sizes, shapes, and variations in lightness. When properties of symbolic data are mapped to visual properties, humans can browse through large amounts of data efficiently.
If considering the way the human brain processes information, using charts or graphs to visualize large amounts of complex data is much easier than attempting to analyze multiple different spreadsheets or reports. By using visual elements like charts, graphs, and maps, data visualization tools provide an accessible way to see and understand trends, outliers, and patterns in data.
The impacts of data visualization
Data visualization enables executives, managers, and other corporate end users, to easily digest huge amounts of data by displaying visuals.
These data visuals encourage decision makers to compare sizeable amounts of information while data is being revealed beneath several levels of detail. This encourages the natural eye to compare and contrast different pieces of data, that may have otherwise been lost within reports.
System integration tools that collect data from internal and external systems and aggregate it into data dashboards, enable organizations to reason quantitative information. This helps executives, managers, and other corporate end users to better understand trends, patterns, and possible correlations. Data visualizations can also allow decision makers to make better business decisions.
Visual data representations of information assist decision makers in the absorption of information in new and more constructive ways. They encourage a user to think about the substance of the data rather than the methodology.
With the ability to manipulate and interact directly with data, organizations visualize relationships and pattern between operational and business activities. This allows them to identify and act on emerging trends faster, as well as, identify areas that need attention or improvement.
By using system integration business intelligence tools and applications, organizations can collect data from internal and external systems, prepare it for analysis, develop and run queries against that data, and create reports, dashboards and data visualizations to make the analytical results available to corporate decision-makers, as well as operational workers.
Think data visualization and system integration could be what your organization needs?
We offer EAC Productivity Apps as
Modernized service strategies combine enterprise IT, ‘smart’ technology, and information.
Manufactures are expected to be more demand oriented, data driven, and technologically focused. This means focusing on the customer, using the data collected from many different areas, and digitally executing strategies using platform technologies.
Many companies today are focusing on the current stage of achieving field service excellence. This tends to be an easier, stand-alone area to focus on as it incorporates vast amounts of technology available to help and support them.
The next stage deals with moving towards connected service platforms which oftentimes involve an integration of smart, connected products. This is when companies will start to deal with how to capture data, leverage the insights, and turn it into actionable results for various stakeholders throughout the organization.
The last stage deals with achieving servitization optimization. Servitization is an important concept because it holds the potential to transform how products are delivered and monetized. This is really the movement towards product service systems and products-in-use value.
Ultimately, providing access to product and parts information is a crucial step in on the path to successful profitable growth.
Technology is fueling service transformation for many organizations.
For instance, here’s how ‘service’ has begun to transform with the help of new technologies:
- Cloud technologies have enabled greater access to service parts visibility and information.
- Mobile technology has put information in the hands of service technicians, at the right time.
- Big data analytics now capture asset and product information, enabling enhanced service quality with better first-time fix rates.
- And social technology has allowed engineers, service, and customer support to collaborate.
These cloud, mobile, social, and big data analytics technologies have enabled manufacturers to transition from systems to service, from information to innovation.
Our team is prepared to help you achieve field service excellence. Our Product Development Information Services team is experienced in the architecture, implementation and support of a technology portfolio making service excellence a reality for many of our customers.
By now, I’m sure you’ve heard the buzz about IoT (the Internet of Things).
‘Start improving the way you do business’, ‘connect with technology’, ‘responsive solutions’, ‘amazing results’.
It’s safe to say that the internet of things along with smart connected enterprises have easily become technology’s theme of the year.
Businesses everywhere have started to look at how they can make more money by inserting this “IoT” thing into their business processes.
The truth behind your success and IoT:
No matter where your journey begins with IoT, it’s essential to recognize good business models rely on technological processes, but technology on its own is not enough.
When it comes to IoT and connected business model innovations, if you don’t have a solid business case, you’re not going to have success.
A connected strategy is about business and business transformation. It’s not just about the technology, it’s about using technology as an enabler.
It’s important to realize there is no value in your IoT platform alone. The real value for you, the success of your business case, lies within your application.
The future is smart and connected.
Whether you choose to build connected solutions into existing products, enter new markets, change your business model, or connect your manufacturing floor; you need to be ready.
Transforming the way you connect with your products, organization, and customers all starts with smart connected design and the right Internet of Things (IoT) platform. The right platform allows you to connect and scale your business.
This is exactly what our company specializes in, in fact we have even created a dedicated connect services team to design and implement custom connected strategies for any organization.
Being able to monitor a product from design into manufacturing, throughout its complete lifecycle makes it possible to improve product quality, increase production, reduce costs, and even predict failures.
Building a smart connected strategy that works for you:
Integrating company initiatives with the Internet of Things needs a strategy, this is what we are here for.
Our connect services team works with your organization to deliver workshops, prescribe technology solutions, and create an IoT strategy that coincides with your company initiatives.
We want to help you define a strategy that makes a connection between your products and operations that already exist within your company and the smart, connected world that we live in today.
Remember in 1977 when Ken Olson, the founder of Digital Equipment Corporation said, “there is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home”? Boy was he wrong. Not even a leader in the technology industry could predict how quickly our usage of technology would change.
If you don’t make an effort to keep up with the fast pace of technology; you will fall behind. It’s critical that you proactively embrace and move towards digital processes to ensure that future products better meet the needs of customers.
What better way to keep up with the future than making highly accurate product performance and behavior predictions with the right design tools?
PTC developed a Creo extension called Creo Product Insight. It lets designers and engineers incorporate the latest sensor technology into their designs.
What is Creo Product Insight?
Creo Product Insight captures and analyzes product data from live sensors on prototypes and products directly within your CAD model. This tool produces a digital twin, an exact replica of a physical prototype in a virtual CAD model, to mirror the performance of a product under real-world conditions.
How does it work? You add digital sensors from a library directly into your CAD models in Creo. Then you connect them to the data streams from physical products. Whether you’re looking to get more value out of your prototypes, design smart connected products, or use data to improve the quality of existing products, the Creo Product Insight Extension allows you to design smarter.
So how are organizations keeping up with the digital transformation with the Creo Product Insight Extension?
Improving New Product Design
When you’re improving new product design you’re most likely basing your design decision on assumptions and historical data. This puts you in a difficult spot because you may not have up-to-date-information which may cause inaccurate solutions and error-prone results.
Creo Product Insight allows you to validate design assumptions using real-world data from the field directly in Creo’s simulation and analysis tools. Using this extension also decreases your reliance on building prototypes because it gives you live product performance and behavior.
Improving Existing and Next-Generation Product Designs
The absence of real-world product data stunts the optimization of current and future products. If you had access to real-world data, you would be able to validate design criteria against customer usage data and mitigate risk of product failure, warranty, repair, and liability.
With Creo Product Insight and ThingWorx you can analyze field data and provide meaningful information back to engineering. Using real-world data allows you to identify opportunities for new products in the market and understand over and under engineered designs to reduce product life cycle costs.
Improving Smart Connected Product Design
The lack of specialized tools that support smart connected products puts you at risk of falling behind the digital transformation process. When sensors and a strategy to capture real-live data are disconnected from your design process there is no way to deliver the value that your customers deserve out of their products.
Creo Product Insight gives you the ability to optimize sensor replacements, choose a sensor type, and validate data capture requirement during the design process. The extension creates an integrated design process that delivers optimal value from smart connected products.
Creo Product Insight Capabilities and Benefits
Capabilities:
Benefits
- Eliminate manual workflows to use real-world sensor data in design
- Optimize products to real-world conditions
- Ensure that future products better meet the needs of customers
- Creo analyses outside of the design office
- Decrease reliance on physical prototyping
Creo Product Insight Licensing and Creo Version Capabilities
The Creo Product Insight is an add-on extension that is available for subscription licensing only. You do not need ThingWorx to use this extension – although using ThingWorx with it will fully optimize your results.
“Physical” Sensors – Creo 4 (M020):
- Easily define and place ‘measure’ sensors by adding physical sensors to Creo Assemblies
- New Instrumented sub-type to protect reused/released design data
- Associated parameter and input definitions and associated calculations
- Define (physical) calculating sensors (M020) to report analysis results (center of gravity, mass, area, etc.)
UX Sensors – Creo 4 (M030 & M040):
- Connection to ThingWorx to support reporting analyses results (M040)
- Run Creo analysis using Behavioral Modeling, Simulation, and Mechanism Dynamics (M040)
- Read real-world data from ThingWorx (or CSV data file) and use input variables to run analyses and report results back to data tables
“Virtual” Sensors – Creo 4 (M050):
- Specialized Virtual sensor handling – (excluded from BOM, meshing, and graphics)
- Directly connect and read sensor data from file or ThingWorx
- Use real-world sensor data to drive simulations
- Creo as a Service from ThingWorx (M050)
- Save/Export analysis results together with input values back to data file
Get live data from CAD models
Download the Creo Product Insight datasheet or watch this webinar replay to learn more and see if your organization could benefit from collecting live data directly within your CAD models. I’m willing to bet it can.
It’s finally here, the next big thing-Augmented Reality (AR) AR is finally moving from ‘a neat idea’ to ‘a necessary tool.’
Like any new technology, AR has gone through its awkward teenage years; clumsy, hasn’t grown into its ears, and doesn’t quite know what it wants to do with its life. It’s no different than the likes of portable computing, the smart phone, or any other modern technological marvel. (here’s a hilarious slide show of the early life of portable computing from itworld.com)
AR is finally coming into focus for many companies. People in various roles are starting to see how AR can reduce human errors, simplify the transfer of information, and provide insight to end users and managers alike. And I’m not even going to get into the endless possibilities involving customer engagement and experience. When a technology moves from video games and parlor tricks into serious applications like technical publications, assembly instructions, maintenance and support, and plant operations…it’s arrived.
Computing power and hardware has all but caught up to the demands of AR applications. Your company should either have, or be working on a strategy to take advantage of AR. If you don’t believe me, then maybe you’ll believe the Harvard Business Review. EAC Product Development Solutions is here to support your adoption of Augmented Reality and other Internet of Things (IoT) smart connected operations and product applications. Whether you’re getting a plan together, trying to obtain buy-in from the rest of your organization, selecting the right software platform, implementing a solution, or developing ‘experiences’ (that’s what AR and IoT applications are typically called); we’re here. We have teams of experts to make sure you successfully transform the way you design, manufacture, connect to, and service your products and organization.
As the leading PTC North American partner we offer our customers all of PTC’s technology solutions: ThingWorx, Windchill, Creo, Arbortext, Vuforia, Mathcad, etc. We also have a deep knowledge of the tools, applications, and configurations. This allows us to provide first-class consulting, implementation, and support services to ensure people like you are successful. Give us a call.
Augmented Reality (AR) is a powerful tool used for design reviews, collaboration, and communicating design intent. The AR functionality built into every seat of Creo makes it easier for CAD users to share design info with colleagues, suppliers, customers, and manufacturing partners in a rich, immersive way.
First of all, why use Creo?
PTC Creo, formerly Pro/ENGINEER, is a product design software used by manufacturers for mechanical engineering, design and manufacturing. Creo supports designers from initial concept to design, simulation, and analysis. This CAD tool offers industry-leading capabilities, augmented reality (AR), and the ability to capitalize on the potential of the Internet of Things (IoT) – which enables users to produce better products, more efficiently, and at a lower cost.
Here’s a few examples of how you can benefit from the ability to rapidly create, publish, and share AR experiences directly from Creo.
Creo AR is fundamentally changing the way product stakeholders outside of engineering consume and leverage product data.
Common industry challenges and how to fix them
Share augmented reality experiences
Challenge: You need to quickly, efficiently, and safely get feedback for a design review from a supplier or vendor.
Preparing and packaging models so that people can see them for distribution and review can be a challenge. Engineers typically go through a process of saving a copy the files and keeping track of drawings, assembly, and parts with a risk of compromising intellectual property in the process.
Solution: Creo AR allows you to rapidly define and publish AR experiences that can be distributed instantly only to those who have permission to view it.
Visualize augmented reality experiences
Challenge: You’re unable to convey the size and scale of your design.
It’s difficult to visualize a design if it’s behind a computer screen or you don’t have the means to meet up and physically see the prototype. Engineers can spend a lot of time and money on creating multiple design drafts and prototyping for a short review feedback that could end up relaying to them that more changes need to be made.
Solution: Creo AR allows for immersive design data with full context and scale so that you can interact, explore, and engage with design data.
Creo AR Design Share Extension
The Creo AR Design Share extension allows you to create and manage more augmented reality experiences. The extension allows you to fully control the authoring and accessibility of your company’s AR experiences which protects your intellectual property by preventing access to critical CAD data.
The first 5 AR experiences you create within Creo are free. After that you can purchase the ‘Enterprise package’ which allows you to create 50 models, or the ‘Individual package’ which allows you to create 10 models. Purchasing one of the packages for the Creo AR Design Share extension will also give you permanent shelf life (versus 6 months free) and the administrative control to add and remove authors and viewers as well as add and delete AR experiences.
The value of augmented reality across the Enterprise
Augmented reality goes beyond the ‘cool’ factor. Organizations can make money with the value that AR brings to design, manufacture, selling, service, training, and operations. Talk to our Smart Connected Enterprise experts to learn more about augmented reality.
