OREANDA-NEWS. March 09, 2011. Fujitsu Limited and Digital Process Ltd. today announced the release of a new virtual product simulator (VPS), a 3D virtual verification simulation tool for customers in the manufacturing industry. The new software is available starting today in Japan.

The new software package, called V15L11, enables manufacturers to verify product reliability and the assembly process during the development of electronic devices, such as copy machines and servers, which contain more than tens of thousands of densely packed components, using 3D model-enabled computer simulations. As this verification is conducted during the design and production preparation stages and does not require prototypes, it reduces the need for revisions during subsequent processes, accelerates product development, and reduces costs. It can also lead to improved product quality.

V15L11 is the first VPS in the industry to be able to include electrical wiring (wire harnesses) when verifying assembly processes, thereby further enhancing the efficiency of assembly work during the manufacturing stage. In addition, the package is equipped with a feature that can verify multiple color and shape variations based on a single 3D model, making it easy for manufacturers to develop product variations that respond to increasingly diverse customer needs and the local preferences of consumers around the world.

The new software was developed through the collaboration of the two companies alongside Fujitsu Laboratories Limited and Fujitsu Advanced Technologies Limited.

Background

The manufacturing industry has made great strides in employing VPS systems to virtually verify a product's reliability and assembly process. Assembly process verification is an important process during manufacturing for ensuring that assembly work is properly allocated to each production line and that manufacturing proceeds according to the production schedule.

Previous VPS systems stored data for electrical wiring—which features a shape that can be flexibly and dynamically manipulated—in a special format, making it impossible to include in the scope of assembly process verification. As a result, it was not possible to perform simulations to determine how wiring should be connected, or at which manufacturing stage.

To address these challenges, Fujitsu and Digital Process are offering V15L11, a new VPS that is the industry's first product to be able to verify assembly processes that include electrical wiring. The new product employs a technology developed by Fujitsu Laboratories that handles the data format of electrical wiring—which features a shape that can be flexibly and dynamically manipulated—in the same way as it does other components with rigid, static shapes.


The 3D model of the new virtual product simulator enabling vertification that includes electric wiring
Product Features
1. Enables the verification of assembly processes that include electrical wiring

Previous simulators employed a special data format for electrical wiring, which bends flexibly, that differed from other components with rigid, linear shapes. As a result, it was impossible to verify the assembly process for electrical wiring. The new product makes it possible to perform verification of the assembly process for the entire product, including electrical wiring, in addition to generating assembly animations that serve as operating instructions. It also incorporates features that make editing models more efficient, such as a function for easily revising the torsion of electrical wires.
2. Verify multiple variations using a single 3D model

In order to accommodate the increasingly diverse needs of customers and the local preferences of consumers around the world, it is often necessary to prepare multiple variations of a single product. At the same time, as the assembly process for and components employed in each variation are different, previous simulators performed verification using different 3D models for each variation. The new product includes a feature that switches between displayed assembly processes based on attribute information affixed to each component. This makes it possible to verify the assembly processes of multiple variations using a single 3D model, thereby significantly enhancing the efficiency of verification work.
3. Color coding based on component attribute information

The new product is equipped with a feature that automatically color codes parts of the 3D model depending on the component's material, processing method, grade, and other attribute information. This makes it very easy for each department, including the design, production preparation, manufacturing, and quality insurance, to distinguish and read what parts pertain to them. For example, by displaying an entire product that has been color coded based on the manufacturing processes employed—such as machining, casting, and forging—each department can easily figure out which components it is responsible for checking.

Sales Target

5,000 licenses over the next three years