Have you heard about industrial simulation software and are wondering if it's right for you? Between the optimization of production lines, pre-sales assistance for machines or even training, such software can provide value for very diverse issues. Find out how 3D simulation, and more specifically Visual Components , can help you.
Industrial simulation software: to optimize your production lines
The first user will be the manufacturer with one or more production lines and wishing to optimize his or her production lines.
Creation of different scenarios: several advantages
Whether you have an automated production line or not, you will be able to optimize it by creating several scenarios and comparing them to each other using different statistics that can be easily exported .
These statistics can include operator movement, robot usage time, production rate and many others!
Industrial simulation software can also be useful in justifying an investment . When integrating a new machine onto a production line following the arrival of a new product. Simulating different scenarios and showing the impacts on the production line with and without this investment is much more meaningful and convincing for management.
Offline robot programming: save time and don’t stop production
But that's not all ! You can also perform Offline Programming (OLP) of robots using native programs or starting from scratch. Check that the cycle times are respected and that there are no collisions of the robots with external elements before exporting the program in the robot's native language to the physical robot .
All these simulations allow you to correct several errors upstream of the project but above all to avoid multiple line stoppages, delaying production .
Industrial simulation software: to facilitate your equipment pre-sales work
The second user will be the integrator or manufacturer of special machines, robots or industrial equipment wishing to integrate a robotic cell or an automated line at their client's site.
An international language for salespeople
The use of 3D simulation allows the salesperson to project his client into his future environment. It saves a lot of time spent communicating between salespeople and their customers.
With the help of clear and visual renderings that can be obtained quickly following a simulation (animated PDFs, marketing videos, Virtual Reality – without post-processing necessary), customers can quickly respond to the solutions proposed.
Salespeople therefore no longer find themselves faced with problems understanding the customer linked to technical shortcomings such as reading 2D plans .
Reduce errors upstream of the project
Once the project has been validated, you can use 3D simulation to get more technical and finalize robot programs, for example.
This technical simulation may seem like a waste of time at first. However, what are the impacts on the project if you make an error that you could have avoided using simulation?
How much time will you waste? What will the cost of this delay be?
Simulating the operation of an entire cell with all the hardware and resources associated with that cell can only be beneficial. You discover and correct errors before commissioning with the customer .
Industrial simulation software : to train the manufacturers of tomorrow
The third user will be the operator, the technician, or even the engineer of tomorrow.
Use software open to several different brands
The benefits of using Visual Components have been well integrated by several schools which want to train on a wide variety of materials that students will then find in companies.
Unfortunately, few can invest in several different proprietary software programs. Using 3D simulation is good, but being able to simulate several different brands at the same time is even better!
Thanks to Visual Components, it is possible to simulate an installation, program robots, optimize an existing line at a school partner, etc. All without having access to any hardware.
You no longer need to invest in a workshop to project your students into the industry of the future!
Use software open to several different brands
The solution has already been integrated into various training centers, allowing students who do not have access to machines, robots or production lines to project themselves into a manufacturing environment but virtually.
Below you will find a project carried out with ESME consisting of controlling the physical robot printed in 3D from Visual Components software through an electronic card designed by the students and a Python program developed by them (instead of using the OPC UA connection which was too complex for their use).
