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Crisis, what crisis?
Where do you go when your business needs an injection of funds?
Annie Gregory investigates the options in today’s turbulent economic climate |
15/04/2008
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Planning makes perfect
How can a project of grand designs be achieved without disrupting production or service levels? Chris Rowlands finds out |
27/03/2008
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Personal choice
Consultants can be invaluable to manufacturers, helping them to drive through significant business change, or perhaps encouraging new thinking and new approaches. But how do you choose them – and then manage them? Is it common sense, or do you need a crib sheet? |
17/12/2007
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Collaborate to accumulate
Supply chain collaboration is essential for fast, responsive customer service. But, asks Annie Gregory, how do you make it
dovetail with your push to go global? |
15/10/2007
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Controlling change
The motor sport industry, among others, is increasingly turning to PLM software tools to make that winning difference. Dr Tom Shelley looks at what’s happening |
03/10/2007
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No pain, no gain
Product management is about much more than PLM software. It’s about making sure you’re up for some tough decisions about your product portfolio. Harsh pruning can lead to new season growth, as John Dwyer discovers |
16/07/2007
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Social workers
Corporate social responsibility is starting to have a big impact across the UK. Not only does it have a ‘feelgood’ edge to it – benefiting customers, local communities and the environment – but it can also help to boost the bottom line. Brian Wall reports |
17/04/2007
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Managing your change much better
Managing engineering change has always required serious attention to detail, but Dr Tom Shelley says that relatively simple integrated systems and switched on people who are serious about what they’re doing have become today’s prerequisites |
04/04/2007
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Buried Treasure
The DTI treasure chest is reportedly full of money for innovation, new technology and R&D. So why is it so hard to get at? Annie Gregory asks who can best help you to find where it’s buried and to prise open the lid |
14/03/2007
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Count the cost of changing direction
Outsourcing production can bring you big cost advantages, but it can also buy you a lot of problems that you don't bargain for. Once it's gone, it's gone. So, as Annie Gregory discovers, it's wise to do the sums first and makesure it all adds up. |
21/02/2007
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What can go wrong when you give IT the large
The news that the Airbus A380 is two years behind schedule because its German and Spanish offices were using Catia V4 CAD/CAM software, while its French and UK offices used V5, and the German engineers in Hamburg could not add their electrical wiring design changes to the common 3D digital mock-up in France, should serve as a warning to us all. |
18/12/2006
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Visualisation speeds paths to production
In the words of Phil Sholl, managing director of AMTRI, formerly the Advanced Machine Tool Research Institute: “You cannot design a component without thinking about how you are going to make it.” At least you can, and engineers all too often do, but it’s extremely foolish. In short, it is not enough to design it, nor even to design it and then think about how it is going to be made. Engineers need to model the making of the part to see that it is feasible. Nothing new, and CAM (computer aided manufacturing) packages have had this facility for years, while wire frame simulation of machining has gradually given way to rendered solid models. However, such simulations all assume that everything is going to run perfectly, and there are many manufacturing processes that until now could not be modelled at all. |
07/11/2006
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The dragons' welcome
So you need a cash injection. Where's the best place to find it? And, asks Annie Gregory, what makes you look good in the dragons' den? |
01/11/2006
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Magellan speeds up on collaborative IT
Aircraft equipment builder Magellan Aerospace (UK) has developed a collaborative system that enables its designers to work with production and suppliers all through new product development. The result is not only faster, better, more joined-up processes and faster time to market, but risk mitigation all round. |
04/10/2006
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25 times faster with smart models
Engineering productivity up 25-fold and costs down accordingly, with BoMs (bills of materials) listed accurately and automatically, and engineering drawings created instantly: the judges felt Mech-Tool Engineering’s initial achievements were mouth-wateringly good, and hence this commendation. Mech-Tool is an £8m engineer-to-order company, designing and manufacturing one-offs for the oil and gas, general process and energy sectors – blast walls and, more recently, explosion-proof control rooms and fire-proof noise-control enclosures for industrial pumps, engines and turbines. It’s all costly bespoke stuff. |
04/10/2006
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CAD and PDM transform Mitsubishi MotorSports
Mitsubishi MotorSports (MMSP) has cut development times for its Lancer Evolution World Rally Championship (WRC) cars by a full 30% while also improving design accuracy, product quality and manufacturing consistency – it was a clear front runner, said the judges. It’s achievements have come since standardising on PTC’s Pro/Engineer 3D solid modelling, Wildfire collaboration tools and Pro/Intralink CAD data management system. Chief designer Paul Doe says the MMSP development team now works entirely collaboratively. It uses PTC tools for everything from development and modification of complete surface design and car components, to CAE tasks including structural and thermal simulation and FEA (finite element analysis) of highly stressed and safety-critical parts. |
04/10/2006
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3D and CAM transform fortunes at Deltron Emcon
A full 40% reduction in lead times, a 15% increase in new business in the last 12 months, 25% productivity gains and a 12% reduction in cycle times. Those are the headline improvements at electromechanical devices manufacturer Deltron Emcon – all from an investment of just £20,500 in modern CAD software. They couldn’t fail to impress the panel of judges. Says Deltron Emcon R&D manager John Hutchinson: “That investment has enabled us to improve our overall capability; it’s increased opportunities to improve margin; and it’s greatly improved our customer service, which has led to new business and substantially increased profits. It’s also enabled us to speed up new product introductions and we’ve attained higher product quality as well.” |
03/10/2006
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3D CAD ripples out over risk-takers' operations
The IT for streamlined business operations way beyond collaborative engineering is transforming its adopters. Brian Tinham talks to CAD luminary David Prawel about what’s stopping the rest from progressing to 3D modelling and all the advantages and efficiencies it and associated technologies can bring |
14/09/2006
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Management and 3D provide a lean model
Cutting time to market and getting projects right first time are nothing new. But, says Dr Tom Shelley, advances in lean thinking provide useful direction for engineering design - like not just using the right CAD/CAM software but using it intelligently. As well as designing in 3D there is a need, for example, to ensure re-use wherever possible, but also to minimise re-creation of data for manufacturing and for preparing documents, whether paper-based or electronic. |
07/09/2006
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Special report: Lean and agile thinking - appropriate IT for successful manufacturing businesses
The application of lean concepts, methodologies and supporting tools, techniques and systems to whole businesses, not just to the factory – continues to grow in popularity. As manufacturers experience worsening competitive pressures from rivals in the UK as well as those around the world, management teams seem to be realising that, while ‘going lean’ is neither trivial nor short and sharp, it’s the only way they’re going to survive and hopefully revive their fortunes.
This report examines what’s working, how well, where and under what circumstances. It looks at current preferred lean initiatives across manufacturing industry and across different departments – the choices, uptake, barriers and outcomes – with statistics derived from a comprehensive online survey conducted for Manufacturing Computer Solutions. Importantly, it provides detailed analysis of relevant IT uptake, appropriate application and potential benefits. |
16/08/2006
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Make this your online home page
www.mcsolutions.co.uk has been massively upgraded. Brian Tinham test drives the amazing new free online resource for news, reference and supplier information covering all of IT for all of manufacturing and engineering industry |
14/07/2006
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The ideas factory
What is innovation? Some believe it is high-tech product development, others that it's merely doing things differently. Can a manufacturing business 'systemise' innovation? |
01/07/2006
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Looking out for the art of the possible
ICT (information and communication technology) is too diverse and fast-changing to take for granted. Brian Tinham romps through the state of the art for manufacturing and engineering companies – and some of the implications for IT strategy |
04/06/2006
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Get motoring on 3D CAD systems
3D CAD is now the universal development tool for motor sport. And for good reasons, says Dr Tom Shelley, that apply to any fast-moving engineering business |
24/05/2006
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