Professional Planning for 3D Machine Assembly

CAMBRIDGE, U.K. - Dec. 14, 2016 - PRLog -- The responsibilities of a mechanical engineer are very wide-ranging, and are not solely concerned with the design of a machine. In many cases, engineers need to integrate conventional technologies into an existing plant.

Assembly Cannot be Planned in 3D CAD

The design of machines and conveyor systems in 3D has become commonplace, and has now been adopted across the industry using 3D CAD software (e.g. Creo Parametric from PTC). These programs concentrate on the detailed planning of a machine or a certain component, often down to the last screw – which results in the creation of large volumes of data. Consequently, machine assembly and layout is often still done in 2D.

3D Layout System as a Solution

Today, providers of plant planning systems have gone a step further. They offer the option of importing machines from the 3D construction model, with high-performance integration into an overall plan. Engineers can then decide for themselves whether they will use a 2D or 3D layout for planning. The final result is always a 3D plan, with the associated benefits.

Supports Familiar Working Methods

Still, many engineers initially have trouble switching from 2D layout to fully-fledged 3D layout. 2D layout is also considered to be faster. As a result, some 3D layout systems offer 2D-based layout as a support feature. In other words, engineers can still work with a 2D layout. The 3D layout is automatically created simultaneously, ensuring that data is still available for final analysis and visualisation.

More on this topic: Machine assembly in 3D:

http://www.cad-schroer.com/news-events/articles/Professio...

Free trial of the machine assembly software:

http://www.cad-schroer.com/products/mpds4/free-trial.html...

Which System is Best for Machine Assembly in 3D?

One system that combines the modules for layout planning and materials handling is MPDS4. It has the Factory Layout and Mechanical Handling modules which include all the functionality required to build a 3D assembly layout quickly and accurately.