Geometric Limited offers version 2.3 of DFMPro for Pro/Engineer. The update includes a DFM review tool that facilitates upstream manufacturability validation and identification of areas in design that are difficult, expensive or impossible to manufacture. It is said to enable quick and in-depth examination of product manufacturability through advanced design rules for manufacturing processes such as milling, drilling, turning, sheet metal fabrication and injection molding.
The software update focuses on improving ease of DFM analysis and reporting with new functionalities, including support for formed features such as extruded holes, embosses and dimples. Fourteen new rules involving these and other sheet metal features have been added. New APIs for these features also provide rule customization.
Another addition is Microsoft Excel-based DFM analysis report, which enables users to track DFM review comments to closure. Excel reports can be generated for both standard and as custom rules, and templates can also be customized.
New grouping functionality for rules related to wall thicknesses in injection molding enables users to segregate results into thickness-range groups. Visualization and reporting options enable users to control visibility of components during result analysis and sequencing of reported instances.
The sheet metal rules broaden the scope of out-of-the-box manufacturing checks. Also, 3D reports provide a simple way for organizations to easily communicate, collaborate and track manufacturability issues not only within the organization, but also with vendors and customers, the company says.
The software is designed to help organizations leverage standard and organization-specific manufacturing knowledge to reduce time to market. It does this by reducing design to manufacturing iterations; improving quality by detecting defects; reducing production costs by promoting usage of design and manufacturing standards; and improving innovation by capturing manufacturing knowledge for continuous improvement.
