Episode 4: Variation Analysis (VSA)

ELIMINATE BUILD PROBLEMS & LATE-STAGE ENGINEERING CHANGES

Simulation Nation 2015: Digital Manufacturing Competitive Advantages

Ensure product quality by understanding the impact of dimensional variation before design release – that’s the value of Variation Analysis software to your manufacturing processes. Explore the software and examine the solutions it offers by attending the next episode in our “Simulation Nation 2015” series, “Variation Analysis (VSA).

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Millions of dollars are wasted every year by manufacturers’ chasing and fixing product quality issues. A large percentage of these issues result from dimensional variation, which leads to build problems, late-stage engineering changes, scrap and rework or worse: product failure in the field.

As a result, some manufacturers have turned to tolerance analysis or some form of tolerance stack-up. The problem is that analyzing the part tolerance stack-up in the assembly does not allow for tooling and manufacturing process variation, which are significant contributors to dimensional variation.

Tecnomatix® Variation Analysis software (formerly Variation Simulation Analysis) is a powerful tool for dimensional analysis. By simulating manufacturing and assembly processes, it predicts the amount and causes of variation. It helps reduce the negative impacts of variation on cost, the quality of product dimensions, and time-to-market. It also provides users the capabilities to leverage their digital prototyping and visualization capabilities in both mockup and professional purposes.

Variation Analysis creates a 3D prototype that simulates the production build process. It can create a model to predict any assembly build problems before making any physical parts or cutting any tooling.

The software has an automated Design of Experiments (D.O.E.) tool that helps users to pinpoint the root causes of any build problems and to optimize design, tolerances, and the assembly process early in the product development process.

Ultimately, Variation Analysis catches flaws before they’ve made their way into the tooling and production processes. Users identify dimensional problems early in the design cycle, thus avoiding assembly build and quality issues resulting from excessive variation. The software helps improve design quality and eliminate costly prototypes while reducing labor, tooling and metrology costs on the shop floor.

Benefits of Variation Analysis

  • Identifies dimensional problems from excessive variation early in the design cycle, reduces the need for engineering changes
  • Produces a 3D model that clearly Identifies and quantifies variation causes and contributors
  • Offers the ability to create feature-based models before geometry is available, thus helping to drive the design before parts are made or tooling is cut
  • Optimizes production monitoring
  • Reduces manufacturing costs by maximizing allowable tolerances
  • Cuts engineering changes by nearly 30 percent
  • Reduces time to create simulations

You’ll explore all of these benefits and more in Episode 4.

Your moderators and speakers for this episode are Tom Gaunt and Curtis DeSaele – Technology. They will lead the discussion and demonstration of Variation Analysis as you experience its power and explore its potential. Following the theme of “Let’s solve the problem …” they will lead you through a complete introduction to Variation Analysis and examples of how you can put it to work for yourself.

Topics covered in Episode 4:

    • Who is Geometric Solutions?
    • What is Dimensional Quality?
    • What is the Cost of Quality?
    • Poor Dimensional Quality
    • Producing quality information
    • Communicating and collaborating quality information
    • Not capitalizing on your Quality Knowledge base
    • Engineering changes after production release
    • What is Dimensional Engineering?
    • 10 Step process
    • Dimensional Analysis using Siemens VSA
    • How to build VSA models
    • How the Monte Carlo Simulation process works
    • Demonstration

  • Business value
  • Case Study #1 – Product assembly
  • Case Study #2 – Kinematic Assembly
  • Case Study #3 – multi-step machining process of a single casting

To Watch Episode 4 – Variation Analysis (VSA) please complete the form below.

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