Features Software
Siemens PLM updates Tecnomatix, Teamcenter with focus on manufacturing

Siemens PLM Software today said its laser-focus on industry automation and desire to improve productivity “from the shop floor to the executive suite” had guided the latest versions of both its Tecnomatix digital manufacturing suite and Teamcenter PLM software, according to a morning teleconference with company executives.

Executive vice-president of marketing Dave Shirk said the enhanced software was aimed at boosting productivity for the global manufacturing industry “by bringing engineering and manufacturing together.” The theme of the day was the state of the economy and the importance of continuing to invest in innovation.

“It is more important than ever for product-producing companies to elevate and optimize their overall productivity,” said Chuck Grindstaff, CTO and executive vice-president of products.

“Our customers are evaluating every aspect of their business to look for new ways to improve productivity, from the shop floor to the executive suite. To respond to their needs, we have put an even sharper focus on developing creative tools and features in the new versions of Teamcenter and Tecnomatix that will help them unleash new levels of efficiency in product development and production.”

Tecnomatix 9
Today’s launch of Tecnomatix 9 further extends the philosophy of “doing more with less” through a tighter integration with Teamcenter (see features below) and new functionality aimed at driving higher levels of planning and manufacturing productivity.

The software suite drives manufacturing productivity in a variety of areas, including the optimization and commissioning of robots and automation equipment, manual workplace configuration to achieve output and safety objectives, efficient placement of factory equipment and material flow optimization.

In the area of robotics simulation, Tecnomatix 9– started in 1983 for robotics automation–offers a number of new capabilities, including a new automatic path planning function that reduces the effort for the offline programming of robots. In addition, its virtual commissioning capability allows for testing real PLC controller programs against virtual manufacturing lines. Furthermore, the company says, standard libraries of intelligent components reduce the time and effort spent on virtual commissioning projects.

“”Virtual commissioning provides real and tangible benefits and addresses one of manufacturing’s fundamental issues: getting product to market in a timely and competitive manner,” said Dick Slansky, senior analyst for PLM with the ARC Advisory Group. “With today’s release of Tecnomatix 9, Siemens PLM Software continues to approach PLM and digital manufacturing in an integrated and holistic manner that is consistent with the needs of its customers. Virtual commissioning represents one of the immediate paybacks of the Tecnomatix digital manufacturing technology and offers a concrete value proposition.”

Tecnomatix 9 updated several other areas of the manufacturing environment such as factory layout and space consumption, manual workflow processes and material flow.

• More realistic digital human models enhance ergonomic studies and aid with the early detection and correction of potential issues.

• An enhanced time analysis and management capability includes the ability to analyze value added tasks versus non value added tasks.

• Multiple improvements to the Tecnomatix Plant Simulation application enhance the users’ ability to reduce inventory, detect potential bottlenecks, optimize material flow and quickly model complex environments.

It also helps improve planning productivity with integrated planning solutions that supply instant access to the latest product data while supporting capture, standardization and re-use of qualified manufacturing best practices.

Teamcenter 8
With today’s launch of Teamcenter 8, Siemens is delivering a variety of new features and modules aimed at driving productivity throughout the product lifecycle. Teamcenter serves as the single source of product and process knowledge for companies all over the world and in virtually every manufacturing industry. The new functionality in Teamcenter 8 focuses on boosting productivity for these organizations in three specific areas.

It delivers individual productivity with an extensive Microsoft Outlook user interface and integration with Microsoft Office 2007. They’ve added a “ribbon” to the Microsoft Office toolbar, making it easier to interact with product information directly from within Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint. The new Content and Document Management solution with its Office 2007 integration offers enhanced document management support for templates, embedded PLM menus and automatic rendering to standardize document processes, improve user productivity and reduce training costs.

Teamcenter also now supports extended enterprise collaboration by sending compact packages of information via email. Teamcenter emails the desired files – including lightweight 3D JT data – that can be read by the recipients using either Teamcenter or the free JT2Go application.

Teamcenter also includes new industry solutions for Aerospace & Defense, CPG, and Medical Devices along with hundreds of updates across other solution areas.
www.siemens.com/plm
www.siemens.com/plm/tecnomatix9
www.siemens.com/plm/teamcenter8