TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Originally Printed in the January 2001 Issue of
Circuits Assembly
Magazine
UNTANGLING THE WEB OF COLLABORATION
TransCollaborative manufacturing software provides Web-based data creation,
management and manufacturing execution capabilities.
As
electronics assembly equipment and process technology mature,
manufacturers must find new ways to gain an advantage over the
competition and improve profitability. Companies are often discovering
that the answer lies in the efficient management of process and product
information, with Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) software.
Today, CIM technology has expanded from programming of assembly and test
machines via electronic computer assisted design (CAD) and Bill of
Materials (BOM) data into automation of assembly and inspection
documentation, paperless viewing and repair, quality data collection,
and various forms of assembly planning and optimization. Yet, as an
enterprise system, linking all aspects of manufacturing, from design and
engineering and purchasing of materials, through delivery of the final
product, including interaction with customers, traditional CIM software
falls short of its potential.
Recently, a revolution in manufacturing software has dramatically
extended traditional capabilities, incorporating them into an n-tier,
browser-based system employing Microsoft’s Component Object Model (COM).
The result is a software system that not only “integrates” the design
and manufacturing of electronics, but also, through the Internet,
encompasses such enterprise functions as purchasing, configuration
management, quality assurance and control, training, facilities
management, and even marketing.* Combining the traditional CIM functions
of CAD/BOM conversion to machine outputs and plant floor control, with
traditional collaborative software functions of web-based data sharing
and exchange, this new form of software spans the entire scope of data
creation, management, and manufacturing execution tasks within an
enterprise. Such a system digitally leverages the total capacity of the
manufacturing organization and engages each critical function in
real-time collaboration. This technology is called TransCollaborative
Manufacturing (TCM) software.
ELEMENTS OF TCM
While traditional CIM can be characterized as a set of software
applications creating and exchanging data in files, browser-based TCM
software consists of numerous “portals” to a central data management
core. The objective of the system is to move raw design and BOM data
through various phases and activities, as they eventually translate into
finished, quality products. These phases and activities can be process
design, BOM data error cleaning, electronic sign-off cycles, actual
work-in-process control, repair cycles, inspections, assembly
documentation control points, and ultimately data collection and
archival.
TCM software capabilities can be generally divided into a) manufacturing
data preparation, b) management automation, and c) factory execution.
Manufacturing Data Preparation. The front-end portion of TCM software
consists of data preparation software portals, which generate and manage
the information required by the overall system. Data preparation
functions include documentation development, routing and process design,
machine program generation, bill of materials handling, and revision
management.
These components are designed to operate synergistically within the
enterprise, enabling individual personnel and departments to
collaboratively supply information to the TCM server for subsequent
dissemination to production.
1. The BOM management portal* prepares the BOM and establishes revision
control. To initiate the process, product configuration data are
required in the form of a complete and clean BOM with associated
revision control information. To achieve this, the BOM portal imports
bills of materials from a wide variety of data sources in virtually any
format. It imports customer numbers, AVL, and AML data fields. Following
import, the BOM information is parsed and checked for common errors,
which are then presented to the user for resolution and cleaning. When
the BOM is considered “clean,” the operator commits it to the revision
control system for review by personnel with approval authority. Placing
the BOM into the revision control system organizes the product data in
the TCM server. At this time, the system can post the cleaned BOM
information to the Internet for automatic quotation and/or procurement
from thousands of suppliers, completely automatically.
2. The process development portal** prepares for manufacturing. In
addition to BOM data, the TCM system applies the process data required
to produce the assembly to the design and layout information from CAD.
To provide this information, the process development portal is employed
by manufacturing or process engineering personnel to import the CAD data
provided by design engineers for the assembly. The process flow
(referred to as the “routing”), assembly documentation and
sequence-of-events information, machine programs, linked quality
documents, and multimedia information are prepared for the assembly. The
operator then approves the project for dissemination in the TCM server.
The TCM server is the heart of the entire manufacturing software system,
in that it contains the central database, web-serving components, and
all server-side logic components, which drive the various functions.
Even though the server controls almost all functions, it operates
transparently, even across many factories.
Management Automation. When the raw design and BOM data have been merged
into the TCM system via the data preparation portals, a user-defined,
fully automated set of steps is initiated in the effort to prepare the
assembly project for production release. This bridge between data
preparation and factory execution is unique to TCM. A sequence of
web-based electronic sign-offs and checklists comprises management
automation.
Notifications are e-mailed to personnel with authority to approve BOMs
for production, requesting their review and response. The recipient of
the request then enters their browser and reviews the BOM information.
The BOM is either approved electronically or is returned to its prior
state of readiness, with the originator being required to make changes,
after which, the process is repeated. When all sign-off approvals have
occurred, the BOM enters a “ready” state for production.
Simultaneously, and perhaps even in another facility, more approvals are
obtained for the process engineering information developed for the
assembly via the process development portal. When this approval cycle is
complete, the assembly project is then released by the TCM system for
production management approval. When production planning or the factory
foreman has electronically approved the entire project for a particular
assembly, a work order may be generated, and the system can then
disseminate information and control the project via web browsers on the
factory floor.
TCM software also addresses an overlooked, but critical, aspect of
manufacturing, occurring when a new job order is set up for execution on
the factory floor. Most factories use paper-based check-off lists for
operators to confirm such activities as the selection of the proper
stencil or solder paste, the proper loading of feeders, etc. The TCM
system automates and tracks the completion of these setup tasks, and
stores the activities. When a new job order is issued to the floor,
operators must execute a pre-production checklist established by
engineering, and must electronically confirm the checks before the
project can be initiated.
Factory Execution. The TCM system takes the prepared data released
through the multi-level approvals and checklists and disseminates it to
the factory floor, or even to customers via their normal browsers. The
multi-function browser portals to the TCM server provide factory
personnel with paperless documentation, centralized quality document
control and access, sequence of events instructions, work-in-process
tracking, quality collection, paperless and assisted repair,
preventative maintenance scheduling, and training certification
management.
TCM MANUFACTURING THEORY
Fundamental to the design of a manufacturing system is how the software
considers the manufacturing process itself. TCM design theory mandates
that a discrete product can be manufactured once the contents (the BOM)
are linked to the process required to create a finished product. Both
sets of data must also be placed under proper electronic revision
control to be useful.
Critical to the manufacturing software design is the handling and
revision control of these BOMs. Unlike traditional CIM, TCM software
enables the system to control and handle manufacturing beyond board
assembly. The TCM system organizes BOMs into a tree-structure, both
digitally and graphically, in which BOMs cascade into finished,
upper-level assemblies. Each upper-level BOM contains lower-level BOMs
as line items, allowing the system to define and control process flow
for extremely complex products.
Each BOM defines an “assembly” and is under revision control. The TCM
system also controls an important level overlooked in traditional CIM --
process revision. This level of revision control tracks changes to
process information independently of the BOM and CAD revision data. In
contract assembly, root CAD and BOM data cannot be changed by production
personnel or management. This structure allows the manufacturing
personnel to track and control changes independently of the supplied
information.
Traditional CIM considers the collection and analysis of data as
adequate to improve the manufacturing process. The data, when organized
and analyzed are certainly useful to gauge the performance of the
process, and perhaps to identify problem areas. However, the opportunity
exists with TCM software to monitor the cause/effect relationship of
process changes and the resultant impact to quality. The TCM system, in
essence, acts as a process engineering assistant, in that it “remembers”
the affect process changes had on quality from thousands of different
events, and organizes this information, when needed, to help engineers
make better decisions in the future.
DESIGN COMPARISIONS BETWEEN CIM AND TCM SOFTWARE
The following are key system design differences between traditional CIM
and TCM software:
Process Flow and Routing Intelligence. Traditional CIM treats the
routing as an afterthought, usually handled through a peripheral module.
With TCM software, it is central and required for all operations. As
indicated, the theory behind TCM software dictates that discrete
manufacturing can be considered as an “assembly” defined by design and
BOM data and merged with process information that specifies how to build
the assembly into a product. Critical to the process side are the flow
and routing. With such an approach, TCM software is inherently flexible
and effective within any process.
Revision Management. Traditional CIM considers revision management to be
adequately addressed by maintaining revision information fields as
records in a particular job or project. Real-world revision management,
though, is a far greater and complex issue. TCM software provides for
unlimited, multi-level BOM and revision management from upper-level
assemblies, down to individual line-item revisions on a single BOM. The
software organizes not just a single project, but all projects under
relational revision control. Since the system is not file-based, access
to all information is achieved through an intuitive, graphical revision
management system, eliminating the need for line operators to understand
anything about PC file management.
Multiple Assembly Project Management. With traditional CIM,
manufacturers work on one assembly project at a time. Assemblies are
always discrete, and the relation between assemblies is unknown. A TCM
system is fully aware of the relationships within the entire product
history, product versions, and customer product sets. Such capability
presents new opportunities in management and analysis of data, and
enables significantly improved organization of information in large,
multi-factory installations.
Management and Administrative Functions. Traditional CIM suffers gaps
between functions, which rely on procedural, human interaction to assure
proper operation. For example, consider a data preparation portal that
processes CAD and BOM data and requires a file to be imported into the
execution portal for processing elsewhere and out to the floor. This
type of system relies on many personnel work together without flaw, in
order for essential information to reach the floor in a controlled
manner. TCM software automates notifications, closes the loop on
approvals via web browsers, and manages the entire process required to
move a project from raw data through approval and to the floor.
Furthermore, the management assistance inherent with TCM software frees
managers and engineers from the tedium and error-prone process of sign
offs, revision management, and file management. The browser interaction
can even allow ISO auditors to evaluate a company’s procedures, sign-off
records, manufacturing information, and configuration management without
ever entering the factory.
Final Assembly Support. Traditional CIM systems are designed to support
primarily electronic assemblies. Additional “modules” are required for
final or “box” assembly, revealing their fundamental design limitations.
In comparison, a TCM system is structured to handle any level assembly,
from component to assembly to final product and packaging.
Operator Set-Up Assistance. Traditional CIM overlooks the paper and
management-intensive process of operator setup checklists and approvals.
TCM software provides web-based sign off checklists prior to work order
initiation to assist operators in their pre-production checklists.
Preventative Maintenance and Training. TCM software addresses common
factory management issues, such as the scheduling and confirmation of
preventative maintenance activities. Having this information permits
more advanced quality analysis, since system maintenance impacts process
capability. It also addresses training certification management,
ensuring the proper personnel are assigned to the proper processes.
Implementation Simplicity. The advanced architecture of TCM software
makes deployment and implementation simpler, faster, and more cost
effective than with traditional CIM. The auto-installing and upgrading
nature of a web-based system virtually eliminates MIS issues, and the
browser environment is simple for line operators to understand. The
complete lack of file management makes administrative and engineering
modules more easily managed as well.
SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGIES OF TCM
N-Tier Architecture. N-Tier systems are favored in enterprise-level
systems due to their ability to scale seamlessly and because of their
robust and reliable operation, even under extremely heavy multi-user
activities. Software tiers consist of a presentation layer, through
which operators interact with the system, a middle or logic layer where
the decisions and software control of the system is conducted without
need for user interaction, and the back-end tier which comprises the
core database. This architecture makes TCM software browser-capable and
interactive. The software, for example, does not merely generate web
reports and outputs. The browser portions of the system interact with
the middle-tier objects and dynamically present data to the operator.
Unified Data Structure. TCM information is deposited in a single
database. Unlike traditional CIM, there are no external libraries, data
files, or outboard information of any kind. Third-party developer access
to the information can be achieved either through normal ODBC
connections, or most effectively, via the COM interfaces. These
interfaces allow not only data access, but also intelligent and compiled
data access. Data redundancy, maintenance of separated libraries, and
deployment difficulties are all eliminated. System setup is also
simplified through the use of unified data storage, especially when
deployed across a number of factories.
Flexible Database Options. TCM data manager objects are capable of
interfacing with a wide variety of databases such as SQL Server®,
Oracle®, and Access® (in smaller deployments), permitting the user to
remain with the data storage methods chosen for the enterprise. The COM
nature of the system makes translation between databases automatic and
TCM software will easily migrate to new database systems as technologies
emerge in the future.
CONCLUSION
TransCollaborative manufacturing software is fundamentally changing the
way companies manage the manufacture of electronics assemblies. The
convergence of the CAD/CAM functionality of traditional CIM systems with
web-based, n-tier collaborative software design has created a new class
of manufacturing software. Acting as the digital engine leveraging the
abilities and resources of personnel, departments, suppliers, customers,
and factories, TransCollaborative Manufacturing software brings
unprecedented speed of response to market demand, in an environment of
lower cost and higher quality.
Author Information:
Jason Spera, Chief Executive Officer
Aegis Industrial Software Corporation
220 Gibraltar Road, Suite 100
Horsham, PA 19044