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Stabilus uses OpenDXM GlobalX for TISAX-compliant Data ExchangeBy Kai Junghans Carmakers place particular demands on data exchange in terms of data security and the exchange protocols to be used. Which is why the Stabilus Group, a global provider of motion control solutions, has replaced its existing data exchange solution with OpenDXM GlobalX. The new solution is not only easier to operate but also cheaper to maintain. The Stabilus Group develops and manufactures components and systems that enable the opening, closing, lifting, lowering and damping of moving parts. These include gas springs, hydraulic dampers and electromechanical drives, as well as system solutions in the field of automation and clamping technology. They are used, for example, to control trunk lids and doors in vehicles but also in other industries such as energy and construction, mechanical and plant engineering and aviation. 
With 8,000 employees worldwide, the Koblenz-based company generated revenues of 1.3 billion euros in the 2024 financial year. Stabilus maintains 45 locations in 19 countries and operates production facilities in China, the USA, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, Japan and Korea. Development is also carried out at some of these locations, as Thomas Klar, the manager responsible for CAD administration, FEM simulation and data exchange, explains: "Our maxim is to develop and manufacture for the local market." The company's products are not standard products. They are normally configured or developed for customer-specific applications. That is why there is an extensive exchange of data with customers in the automotive industry in particular. "The classic use case involves the OEM sending us the CAD data for the installation space. Our CAD users receive the data via OpenDXM GlobalX, adapt the products, position them in the packaging space and return them in the packaging space position and in the customer's CAD format," says Klar. TISAX-compliant data exchange solution Stabilus has been using PROSTEP's OpenDXM data exchange solution to exchange data with automotive OEMs for decades, with the option of sending data via the OFTP protocol or OFTP2. Although the solution ran very smoothly, the company decided to switch to OpenDXM GlobalX at the end of last year. 
The main reasons for switching to a new system were the fact that OpenDXM is no longer being developed further and that an ever-increasing number of customers in the automotive industry require Stabilus to use a data exchange solution that has been developed in line with the TISAX standard, says Klar. In addition to the longstanding partnership with PROSTEP and the TISAX-compliant new software, the software's openness and the option of integrating it in different CAD and PLM systems were crucial factors influencing the choice of system. Stabilus currently uses SAP ECTR to manage its CAD data. Even if there are no current plans to integrate OpenDXM Global directly in ECTR, the company wanted to keep this option open. Apart from a few minor details, the migration went smoothly and was completed on schedule. As part of the migration, the project team removed functions such as automatic STEP conversion, which users now prefer to do in their CAD environment, simplifying the migration. It also cleaned up the group of exchange partners and the recipients at these partners by removing those with whom data had not been exchanged for some time in order to comply with the requirements of the GDPR. This reduced the number of exchange partners to 25 and the number of people involved to 300. Easier to operate and manage OpenDXM GlobalX is currently only used by internal employees. Stabilus has not activated the option that allows external partners to log onto the GlobalX server in order to upload data, as there is not currently any need for this option. This saves on unnecessary license fees, which has helped significantly reduce the costs involved in running the solution. 
"The biggest benefit that OpenDXM GlobalX offers is the fact that the web interface makes the new solution much easier for our users to use, not only when setting up an exchange of data but also when receiving data via OpenDXM GlobalX," says Klar in conclusion. "And for me as administrator, it has become much easier to create the master data for new exchange partners." |
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