3 ways structural design is improved by the 3D design approach

When deadlines for producing a new part are tight, it’s incredibly frustrating to be held back by delays in the design process. For one thing, having to deal with multiple 2D drawings to describe a single 3D part can be confusing and very time consuming.

When it comes to structural design, 2D drawings can be tricky to work with and can even lead to the production of poor quality parts and errors

Here are three ways the 3D design approach can help to improve your structural design process.

1) Design accuracy

The 2D design approach requires a string of 2D drawings to be created, including a parts list, a solid model and the 2D drawings themselves. When changes are made to the design, collective changes need to be made across these datasets.

It’s at this point that these datasets may fall out of sync with each other which can quite easily lead to the production of incorrect parts.

The CATIA 3D Master approach avoids errors in design accuracy by creating a single 3D geometrical file collating all the design elements in a single place. By working from a single file, individuals across different departments involved in the design process can get a better understanding of part design and collaborate better on production.

2) Reduced costs

It’s always nice to find cheaper ways to produce designs, and it’s no different when using the 3D design approach.

The CATIA 3D Master approach enables users to re-use product definition information for future versions of the product, saving time and money in design and manufacturing. Users can create templates containing tolerancing and annotation and parts lists, allowing automation of various elements of the product development process. 

For example, one of the world’s leading automobile manufacturers implemented the CATIA 3D Master approach for their body-in-white production. The ability to copy functional tolerancing and annotations from an existing part to a variant meant that 70% of the production effort could be created with very little effort.

Simulation is another way the CATIA 3D Master approach helps to save money. Simulating build variations means parts can be checked to see if they meet product requirements, assessing the impact of tolerances on the assembly variation.  

Simulation also enables users to loosen tolerances, reducing manufacturing costs by up to 90%, by opening up unnecessarily tight tolerances.

3) Tolerancing advisor 

Within the CATIA 3D design approach, a tolerancing advisor assists in the application of tolerances to a part, preventing the creation of an invalid tolerance.

For example, in the case where a flatness tolerance is being applied to the top face of a part, the tolerancing advisor filters out invalid options. This boosts accuracy in the structural design process, reducing the chances of costly delays to part production.  

Essentially, the tolerancing advisor is a helpful tool that enables users to increase design accuracy without increasing costs.

Overall, the CATIA 3D Master approach has significant benefits for the structural design process.

• Design accuracy – a single 3D geometrical file reduces the chances of misunderstandings and avoids the need to update masses of drawings
• Reduced costs – re-use of product definition information and simulation of build variations helps to lower costs
• Tolerancing advisor – using a tolerancing advisor to help prevent the creation of invalid tolerances, delays to part production can be reduced. 

To learn more about the CATIA 3D Master approach, download the whitepaper ‘3D Master: Driving accuracy into your business’ now.