Innovative Manufacturing Centre and EDS Unigraphics join forces

Citation

(1998), "Innovative Manufacturing Centre and EDS Unigraphics join forces", Assembly Automation, Vol. 18 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/aa.1998.03318aab.002

Innovative Manufacturing Centre and EDS Unigraphics join forces

Innovative Manufacturing Centre and EDS Unigraphics join forces

New technology designed to speed products to the marketplace is at the heart of the £4 million Innovative Manufacturing Centre located in Nottingham, UK. Funding from the European Commission and industrial partners has made possible the new centre, which opened for business in June 1997. The major sponsor of the centre is EDS Unigraphics, who share stand R4620 with the Innovative Manufacturing Centre at Manufacturing Week.

The aim of the new centre is to open up the new technology to small and medium-sized companies in the UK, with a particular emphasis on companies in the East Midlands. The intention is to focus on the business benefits of the new technology. The staff at the centre will work closely with companies to identify which technologies or methods can have the greatest impact on improving their product development costs and lead-times.

"Traditional methods of developing new products are time-consuming and costly", explains Dr Phillip Dickens, the director of the new centre. "The new product development methods being pioneered by the Nottingham centre can help to reduce development times significantly and to save companies substantial sums of money. Using traditional methods it can take three or four months to develop a prototype for a car engine component, for example. With the technology at the centre a prototype can often be built overnight".

The areas of expertise of the new centre include conceptual design, computer aided design (CAD), rapid prototyping, rapid tooling and the management of new product development. The centre has state-of-the-art CAD workstations, and CAD training can be provided in-house using the EDS Unigraphics 3D solid and surface modelling software.

EDS is showing its latest version of this software at Manufacturing Week. Unigraphics is the world's most comprehensive CAD/CAM/CAE/PDM software solutions system. It consists of over 80 modules covering all aspects of the design through manufacture process. Recent new orders for Unigraphics include Stewart Grand Prix, Dyson, Marine Projects and Prior Tool & Die. General Motors has also purchased many thousands of seats of Unigraphics, making the largest sale in the industry's history ­ living proof that EDS Unigraphics solutions really do work.

The Innovative Manufacturing Centre can loan CAD workstations loaded with EDS Unigraphics software to companies, allowing them to try out an advanced product development system on their own products, in their own working environment and under their own business pressures.

Four different rapid prototyping technologies are also available at the Innovative Manufacturing Centre for customers to build their own products: stereolithography, fused deposition modelling, laminated object manufacturing and multi-jet modelling. The staff at the centre can provide impartial advice on the best use of each technology. They can also advise companies on the best ways to gain access to prototype or production tooling.

The centre has a programme of seminars designed to introduce companies both to the new technology and to its management. Through the seminars the centre will provide a forum for networking, sharing best practices and broadening knowledge of new approaches to product development and company organization.

For further information contact Phil Dickens, at Innovative Manufacturing Centre, 5 William Lee Buildings, Highfields Science Park, University Boulevard, Nottingham NG7 2RQ. Tel: 0115 925 6142; Fax: 0115 925 6147.