Continental relies on drawing-free processes

Nowadays, everyone is talking about model-based definition (MBD) and model-based enterprise (MBE). The technology company Continental is getting down to brass tacks and replacing conventional 2D drawings with native CAD models and 3D PDF documents with embedded PMI (product manufacturing information).

It has been more than ten years since the technology company Continental made the move to 3D master models with fewer drawings. Nevertheless, 2D drawings remained indispensable for many processes, both internally and in the context of its communications with suppliers. But now the company is going a step further and replacing these drawings with native CAD models and 3D PDF documents with embedded PMI (product manufacturing information).

Solution for external communication

To allow the MBD data to be communicated to external partners, Continental needed a solution that did not require suppliers to install any special software and which at the same time kept the internal effort involved in conditioning the viewing data to a minimum. And the company found this solution in the shape of PROSTEP's 3D PDF technology. Unlike other neutral formats that were considered, 3D PDF has the advantage that any 2D documents can be embedded in the containers alongside the 3D models and the views with the PMI. And, if needed, STEP or native CAD data can also be embedded.

Continental also evaluated STEP, albeit still with purely graphical PMI that cannot be further processed. The suppliers did not find this particularly useful, as von Bernuth explains: "But I'm expecting that STEP AP 242 and JT, together with the possibility of transferring semantic PMI, will in future allow some of the information to flow into neutral models, where it could, for example, be used directly for CAM programming." This means that at the moment, the 3D PDF documents only replace the drawing itself. In other words, the suppliers have to incorporate the dimensioning and tolerance data into their CAM programs manually.

With the help of PROSTEP's PDF Generator 3D and suitable templates, the annotated Creo and Catia models are automatically converted into 3D PDF documents, which means that there is no extra work for the designer. In addition to the 3D models, the 3D PDFs also contain drawings or 2D views, comments, specifications and references to the relevant standards: "3D PDF is capable of far more than just using 3D content to improve comprehensibility," explains von Bernuth. "For example, it's possible to protect individual attachments and the know-how they contain using digital signatures. This was an important selection criterion for us."

Creation of change reports

The 3D PDFs have a uniform structure and contain "comfort buttons", which take the user directly to those views that contain specific PMI. With a simple click, it is possible to set hidden-line mode, define the center of rotation or change the background color of the model to make it easier to read the PMI. "Users also have the option of aligning the model, toggling specific PMI on or off and printing the view they want," says von Bernuth. In principle, Continental permits printing but has hidden certain functions in order to keep the files as easy as possible to use. In the future, it is intended that the 3D PDFs will be generated automatically in the SAP release process.

The 3D PDFs are extremely easy to use and enjoy a high level of acceptance among the suppliers. For the design engineers and draftspeople who have to create the PMI in Creo or Catia, on the other hand, implementation of the MBD brought significant changes. The IT team at Continental provided them with support by defining uniform working methods and providing appropriate training. Creation of the PMI is also made easier by the use of tools such as the GD&T Advisor, which guides users through the model and only offers them the geometrical tolerances that make sense within the given context. These tools also perform plausibility checks, which help to improve the data quality.

The drawing-free process is still being piloted at Continental, so von Bernuth cannot yet say how it will affect lead times. But one thing that is already apparent is that it helps improve process reliability. Currently, the most important benefit is the option of comparing the CAD models converted using the PDF Generator 3D with the respective previous version and to display any changes to the PMI highlighted in color in a table. "The possibility of exporting change reports is a huge benefit that PROSTEP effectively gave us out-of-the-box, and it is something we had not been expecting," says von Bernuth in conclusion.