In our last blog post in a series on a few of the most common challenges for manufacturing cycle times, we’ll turn to another challenge related to managing your documentation.

Challenge 3: There is no automatic correlation between your documentation.

We talk to many manufacturers who recognize the countless hours they are spending re-typing information from original source documents into reports and new, specialized drawings. This is traditionally how the manufacturers have handled this task – using simple office tools, or even pen and paper!

Manufacturers should be taking advantage of technology that allows them to digitally extract data from drawings and documents and instantly import those specs into other necessary types of documentation that programmers and engineers need to complete the production process. Is it time for your company to update your workflow?

If you want to globally exclude the images from the BoC export, you can easily do so. Under BoC click to Exclude Images from Export. None of the images captured on DISCUS will be transferred to the export. However, if you want to include some images, in the Characteristic Properties box, de-select the exclude images check box and that image will be imported into the AS9102 Form 3.

Here’s another great tip from a DISCUS user!

1. For Revision A, save the balloon PDF.
2. Create a New Revision via the Replace Drawing function.
3. Save the TDP as a new file.
4. Replace the drawing with the new drawing in the left panel.
5.  Save the TDP as a new file and be sure to update via the TDP Properties.
6. Now via the Add Spec function, upload the previous ballooned drawing PDF you created in Step 1. The old revision drawing is in the left panel and the new one is in the right panel.
7. Zoom into the sections of the older revision to check values for the new Revision. Update the new BoC as needed.
8. When done, delete the old revision from the spec panel via Bill of Documents under File.

A DISCUS Customer has this great tip!!

Did you know you can filter your FAI data just on non-conformances? On result comments? Click the Filter icon on the BoC panel and create a filter.  Select the critieria from the attribute list, such as Non Conformance and the Condition such as is not empty. Click Add and then OK. The Boc will have just those items that have a Non Conformance value.

Check out the member of the 3D PDF Consortium of which DISCUS is a member:

http://www.3dpdfconsortium.org/members/members.html

 DISCUS helps users create and organize technical data packages (TDP) for first article of inspection reports, inspection planning, process planning, and producibility analysis in a fraction of the time required to create them manually.

Today we’re continuing our post series on common challenges that often cause delays in manufacturing cycle times. In our last post, we talked about inspection reports and the time associated with creating this documentation. Today will discuss another challenge to manufacturing cycle times …

Challenge 2: Errors in redundant documentation cause delays.
This is a common problem that pops up when businesses don’t reuse engineering documentation. Many businesses still rely on generalized office software to create the necessary drawings and documentation needed for production. Engineers, CMM programmers, and inspection teams often create their own redundant versions of part documentation – even though much of the necessary documentation already exists. Unfortunately, even the slightest discrepancies between drawings can cause major production problems – resulting in significant dollar and time costs.

The solution: One of the best actions a manufacturer can take to avoid the pitfalls of documentation errors is to implement characteristic identification software that creates the needed documentation for every different department within your team. Stop inefficient processes and redundant work. New software tools can dramatically reduce the time your business expends creating manufacturing documentation. Software tools that are specialized for the business process, like DISCUS, can quickly help recognize possible errors and reduce the time.