SOLIDWORKS Shorts: Model Based Definition (MBD) and Engineering 4.0

Great to see you are interested in MBD too.

Yes, 2D drawing and 3D model have been a mix together in the
industry for a long time. It's fair to say that SOLIDWORKS contributes greatly to the migration towards 3D. We are good at it and proud of it.

Here are some market data:

1. In reality, 2D drawing is still a dominant communication tool. According to an independent research The 2014 State Of Model Based Enterprise Report by Lifecycle Insights, 98% of manufacturers release 2D drawings to certain extend (42% exclusively release 2D drawings and 56% release a mix). In other words, only 2% release purely 3D annotated model (Sample size: 575)." 

Who is Geometric? Oh, yes another company that benefits if we all move to MBD.

"2. In the mixed usage of 2D drawing and 3D model, the key question is: when there is a conflict between 2D and 3D, which one is taken as the authority? In a SOLIDWORKS base survey in 2014, 1/3 still respects 2D as the master over 3D. The good news is 2/3 take 3D as the authority (Sample size: 486), which is actually already level 1 or 2 per the NIST MBE Capabilities Assessment and lays a very solid foundation for Model-Based Enterprise (MBE)."

Why doesn't Mr. Wu go out and visit Solidworks users! Survey's? Really?

But they are wasting their time. Engineering today is not managed by the knowledgeable engineering of the past. It is managed by PLM and InfoTech experts that have never sized a hole for a screw. Much less read or understand a drawing or a PMI for that matter.

Engineering Documentation - A Primer for the PLM Guru!

Has anyone ever noticed that these academic types trust surveys instead of direct observation. Never thinking that the survey may be manipulated to show the results they wanted. But then, Mr. Wu works for the Solidworks that was part of the report.

3. Now regarding recreating 3D models per 2D drawings, in the same 2014 State Of Model Based Enterprise Report by Lifecycle Insights, it found out that 40% downstream procedures and suppliers have to recreate 3D models (Sample size: 575).

Again he references a report written by a group that has a vested interest in promoting MBE. Lifecycle insights are run by a bunch of PLM gurus with no applicable engineering experience and cater to the major CAD vendors.

This is 2014? I just cannot believe that 40% of the industry can be this ignorant. Again, if he went out and visited the Solidworks users he would have found this out. But remember only machined parts and sheet metal use the 3D model. Most fabrication, that use other purchased compoments rarely even need a 3D model. The model is used to create the documentation to define the cuts on tubing, wood and other standard shapes. 3D printing does not use the 3D model as a pattern it is the 3D model.

I have been hired to create the 3D parts of a propeller for a torpedo, because they couldn’t find a machine shop that would not do it from the drawing and demanded a 3D model.

"4. Onto your last point “drawing is an easily generated reference document that requires no special software to view.” Drawing may be easy to generate on an individual basis, but when it comes to massive amount of documents to create, update, and manage, drawing is not so easy. In an MBE conference 2 years ago, a representative of U.S. Department of Defense estimated 1/3 of their engineering dollars were spent in creating and maintaining 2D drawings, yet 60% of them didn’t match 3D design. These numbers are confirmed by several other enterprises. As to “no special software to view” drawings, if you referred to paper copies, that’s true, but that adds to the manufacturing overhead. Sometimes the paperwork to define a ground combat vehicle is even heavier than the tank itself; If you referred to 2D drawings PDF, then the same holds true to MBD deliverable. SOLIDWORKS MBD can generate PDF with dynamic 3D content such as models, dimensions, tolerances, bill of materials, customer properties… All needed is a free Adobe Reader to view the 3D content, which is already installed on 93% of internet-connected computers."

Why MBE/MBD/PMI Will FAIL PART I

Why MBE/MBD/PMI Will FAIL Part II

Just because the AIDs (drawings) require synchronization, you don't throw out the baby with the bath water? How do they know whether the model or the documentation is correct? Initial release is a review of the document only, how do you do it with the model even if you have the obscure PMI. It is the proof of the part. When making changes you need the document to record the changes. It is a step in engineering to assure a defined path for any future problems. I am sure in the future Boeing will have huge problems working with the PMIs. Also how do you mark up a PMI?

But this shows his complete lack of understanding about engineering documentation. With the elimination of the draftsman, engineers are moving into the position of delivering the engineering documentation. An AID (Associated Information Document) is very easy to generate. They are not aware the delivering concise, complete and unambiguous documentation to manufacturing is its only purpose. 

Engineering’s only purpose is to make available concise,  complete
and unambiguous documentation to manufacturing.

The Death of the Draftsman or “Where has all the talent gone?”

Educating the New 3D CAD Engineer

A single drawing like document delivered as a PDF and the model delivered in a usable format is the ultimate engineering deliverable. I takes no special software to read and it is easy to store and be available to the other departments in the company.

What do they mean by paper?

The documentation is stored as a PDF. Yes, manufacturing, purchasing, engineering and legal may print them, but only to work with them not to store them. It is surely better than looking at a computer screen for your specs. Also if you follow through the way Solidworks is presenting the PMI it is supported with a set of different confusing forms instead of an easy to view "drawing" like standard PDF document. That is where this all falls apart each CAD system has its own unique engineering documentation solution. It is a bit strange that Dassault keeps Catia and Solidworks completely separate. You would have thought they would have tried to merge the two products years ago. NX has the same problem with Solid Edge.

Update 8/7/2019

SOLIDWORKS World is changing. In 2020, the event will be known as 3DEXPERIENCE World.

We really need to get the engineering documentation deliverable out of the native CAD system.

Standard Cloud Based
Engineering Document Control Part II

Creating a completely defined document from the 3D model is very simple. It gives the designer a second look at the design for errors or even a better design. It is in a user-friendly format for design review and checking. It provides a document that can be viewed and understood by anyone with an engineering back ground. I even believe we could make these documents more informative. They are delivered in the convenient flexible PDF.

Mr. Wu has never done a drawing or even a 3D model. Yes, he has incredible academic credentials. But mostly in software assurance. Why would they put a fellow with virtually no hands on experience in engineering documentation in such a position. He has no clue what is important and what is not important except for reading some obscure studies.

All engineering documentation was
 the responsibility of the Drafting group!

I have spent many years in drafting rooms and I never saw one MSME or PHD. This guy is from Harvard. Harvard? I never met anyone from Harvard. We did have a few P.E.s, they walked on water, they were there to bless our project.

As for delivering a special PDF as your engineering documentation, that is very time consuming. You would have to create a special pdf for every part. Every time you send something out for quote you have to generate a PDF. That is why NIST, in the following article, is trying to figure a way to read each of the major 3D CAD programs native files with PMI.

Here is a NIST study trying to find a way for each of these different systems native files to be compatible. Instead of creating a standard that all CAD systems have to conform. Done by who? Nope, not one of these fellows works in design engineering doing design or documentation. It truly is quite bizarre, it is like they go out of their way to avoid engineering professionals. But the future of the BSME is nothing but glorified a "draftsman"

MBE PMI Validation and Conformance Testing Project

This article shows the complete lack of understanding of the simplicity of the "drawing", much less than the concept of the model and PDF associated information document. If you can just get through the acronyms you may be able to understand what they are trying to do.

So, there you go. Is Solidwork really delivering a viable solution or just going along with the flow to promote a virtually unworkable solution locking its users into their product.

Now this is not to pick on Mr. Wu. I doubt the he even wrote his replies. It is to show those of us that are engineering professionals working daily with 3D models creating our AIDs (Associated Information Documents assuring that they are correct, concise, complete and unambiguous) are not the people that these companies are putting in charge of the processes what they are trying shove down our throats.

Here is a comment by one of my Linkedin contacts that is forced to work with MBD.

"The big problem is, any failure will be blamed on the responsible engineers and not an unworkable system. MBE is already being backstopped by drawings in many organizations that are forced to use MBE, but the drawings are frequently not in the release control process because they are not the "primary" data driving fabrication. A fine mess.." 

It is time to put engineering back in charge of engineering!

Now this leads me to these articles.

Engineering Ignorance Defined

Engineering Ignorance Defined II
Top 5 Reasons to Use MBD
DEBUNKED!