Assembly Design and Documentation (AD&D) – Phase I

DoD Participants:  U.S. Air Force – Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center; U.S. Marine Corps – Albany

The United States (U.S.) manufacturing firms and Department of Defense (DoD) Depots are under increasing pressure to reduce operating and maintenance costs while also significantly reducing lead times for new and repaired/refurbished parts. Key transformation drivers are Lean (eliminate non-value added effort) and Six Sigma (reduce process variation and strive toward zero defects). Computer aids and simulations are important to both. This project piloted computer aids and simulation environments that greatly reduce human effort and process cycle time in planning for and documenting assembly/disassembly processes. The results also improve maintainability.

Since the early 80’s aircraft engine providers have used complex assemblies of 3D computer-aided design (CAD) data to assist in the engineering design of components. This process eliminated the need to create expensive physical mockups used for interference and clearance checking. But even with complete 3D definitions, the downstream assembly/disassembly planning process, and associative documentation, is still developed using an Engineering Bill of Material (BOM), 2D drawings, and specifications. Assembly/disassembly planning and documentation remains a manual process that is often dependent on the skill and experience of the individual defining the process.

The Assembly Design & Documentation (AD&D) project funded through the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) Commercial Technologies for Maintenance Activities (CTMA) program utilizes commercial software solutions from Siemens PLM Software integrated with technology developed by General Electric (GE) Global Research (referred to as Maintainability Planning, Analysis and Documentation or MPAD). The Siemens solution provides the needed infrastructure (multi-tiered environment which includes data architecture, graphics engine, and simulation environment) and the GE technology provides the necessary algorithms to automatically create and edit an intelligent assembly and disassembly sequence based on complex geometric shapes. The resulting technology solution is unique in industry. GE licensed the MPAD technology to Siemens at no charge as part of this project, asking only in return a moratorium on sales to direct engine competitors for three years after the technology is incorporated into the Siemens products.

This Interim Project Report covers the first phase of a planned two-phase project. This first phase effort incorporated the GE technology (MPAD algorithms) into the Siemens software architecture. The second phase effort, proposed for 2007 CTMA funds, would have included increasing the level of automation during planning/part sequencing plus demonstrations determined by depot partners but, a major reduction in federal funding for CTMA precluded funding Phase II. The depot partners/programs were Albany MC³ Depot and the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center (OC-ALC). Direct service funding is needed to continue this effort.

Benefits

GE’s initial trial of the MPAD system indicated that original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) can achieve reductions in assembly process planning cycle times from about 30 days without the automation developed in this project to 15 days with it – a 50% reduction. Assuming a fully loaded labor cost of $50/hour, that is a savings of $6,400 per assembly. Benefits will accrue to downstream functions, depots and to operations support in terms of reduced errors, reduced maintenance cycle times, and reduction in training requirements. Direct cost avoidance savings will be realized in Engineering Change cycles for assemblies. Achieving benefits will be dependent on the availability of electronic delivery of 3D animated work instructions. New platforms such as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) may see immediate maintenance benefits. Since depots use work instructions developed by OEMs, depot benefits will be achieved through change management efficiencies and through the use of templates for work control planning.

CTMA projects Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) for Six-Sigma Quality and AD&D conducted at GE resulted in very significant cost savings from prevention of quality “escapes” and from productivity gains throughout the design-to-manufacturing value stream. In total, the annual savings to GE from deployment of PLM for Six-Sigma and AD&D tools is estimated to be approximately $13 to $15M with a resulting payback period on investment of approximately six months. This savings is based on an activity level associated with executing approximately 800 new part launches and 1,200 design changes per year.