Adept Technology's SILMA division to preview assembly process planning and design software

Citation

(1999), "Adept Technology's SILMA division to preview assembly process planning and design software", Assembly Automation, Vol. 19 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/aa.1999.03319cab.010

Adept Technology's SILMA division to preview assembly process planning and design software

Adept Technology's SILMA division to preview assembly process planning and design software

Keywords: CAD, CAM, Assembly

SILMA's production PILOT creates a virtual factory for automated and manual assembly processes.

A division of Adept Technology, Inc., a manufacturer of computer simulated products, has announced it will preview to Daratech attendees a new 3D CAD-based assembly process planning and design software suite slated for introduction within the next several months.

Production PILOT is the only fully interactive suite of its kind that gives engineers and designers the ability to analyze and verify assembly processes while simultaneously finding and correcting problems long before investing in capital equipment or fabricating any parts.

The need for increased profits and market share in today's global market is driving manufacturers towards ever-shorter product lives. To meet this competitive challenge, manufacturers must ramp up production to full volume as quickly as possible. Production PILOT creates a virtual factory for engineers to begin process planning without the need for physical parts or automation hardware. It also gives the engineer the flexibility to analyze various automated and manual assembly scenarios for feasibility and financial benefits.

"We believe Production PILOT will be the next generation assembly process planning tool that manufacturers will use to efficiently support shorter product lives, lower manufacturing costs and create quality products", said Charlie Duncheon, senior vice-president of sales and marketing for Adept Technology. "With Production PILOT manufacturers can take the risk out of production and at the same time increase corporate profits and market share".

Production PILOT consists of three independent but seamlessly integrated software tools or modules for assembly process planning and design. The modules are PILOT Line for assembly line design, PILOT Cell for detailed assembly workcell design and PILOT Yield for designing products with high initial automated assembly yields. A key feature of the Production PILOT suite is the seamless interaction between these three modules for fast process design iterations between the top-level system design, the low-level detailed process design, and the design of the product itself. This unique interaction increases the efficiency, flexibility and accuracy of the assembly planning process. Production PILOT is the only assembly process planning tool available that includes a built-in comprehensive financial model which gives the manufacturer the ability to quickly and objectively evaluate each proposed assembly scenario in financial terms such as cash flow, profit, return on investment (ROI), simple payback and others.

Adept Technology's SILMA division, headquartered in San Jose, California, designs software products to help manufacturers improve their competitive edge by shortening design to manufacturing cycles, increasing productivity and reducing costs. SILMA product and service information is available at its worldwide Web site http://www.silma.com Adept Technology, Inc., founded in 1983, is America's largest manufacturer of industrial robots. Adept product and service information is available at its worldwide Web site http://www.adept.com