The narrowest integration of the development produces big profits in Ducati

Case of success

• Industry: automotive sector and transport
• business Challenges: a wide system of partners and providers; increase of the use of the electronics equipment dealers equipment dealers and the software in the motorbikes
• The keys of the success: NX uses for the development of products from the initial concept until his launching. Teamcenter Uses to integrate all the operations of development of products The functionality of NX for the integrated cheese cheese design of the cableado.
• Resulted: the cycle of the development of a new motorbike raisin of 36-40 months to 24. The existent models update annually. Parallel development of the cableado, electronic, software and accessories. They delete the documents in paper in the manufacture and the storage

Of the 1.000 employees that work in Ducati, near of 200 are involucrados in the investigation and development (R&D), an area that the company is supported by big investments every year. The personnel of engineering includes, roughly, to 90 people, 60 of which devote to the design. Likewise, Ducati has global operations and a wide network of partners and providers that manage 92% of the production. Due to the fact that any delay or error when transferring the information can translate in time of cycle longer and an increase of costs, Ducati has been pursuing actively achieve a greater integration between all the members of his equipment of development of products.

Between the technologies that the company has set up to attain it exist two solutions of Siemens Industry Software: the software NX and the software Teamcenter. NX, the program of computer-aided design (CAD) of the company, uses for modelar digitally and manage the complete setting of the vehicle. By his part, the solution Teamcenter for the management of the cycle of life of the product (PLM) allows the safe exchange of the data and his distribution, so much in the company as with the providers.

“NX Is the tool that uses from the moment in that it begins to think in a new project until his ending”, explains Piero Giusti, manager of Technology of the Information of R&D of Ducati Engine Holding. “NX Is used for the design of a lot of components of the motorbike, including the wheels, the chassis and the bodywork, as well as for the pieces of commission —practically all less the engine—”.

At present, exist more than 50 stations of work NX in Ducati. “The main profits of NX are the flexibility and the ease of use”, affirms Giusti. “By flexibility want to say that it allows you generate models in 3D with different methods, without limiting to a fixed approach. NX With Synchronous Technology is a hybrid approximation that avoids to have to parametrizar all, by what the user is free to choose the form to attain the final result”.

The engineers of Ducati use the functionalities of cableado NX 3D of wide form. This allows them verify the enrutamiento of cables inside the virtual assembling, minimising the possible problems. “The next step will be the integration of the diagram of cableado to delete the use of the software separately, what, inevitably, causes problems with the update and the reference”, adds Giusti. “We have schematised the flow in such a way that we can create diagrams of cableado by means of the functionality of diagram NX. After this, the diagram happens to the application of cableado NX to incorporate all the electrical information in the design. And, finally, using the solution NX of enrutamiento electrical, prepare the documentation for the cableado of the installation. NX Allows us cover all the process with an integrated cheese cheese approach”.

NX Bears a narrower collaboration so much in the team of internal development as with the external providers, that include to the companies that manufacture moulds and key components like the less important. Ducati Expects to attain a collaboration still narrower through the use of Teamcenter. “Every time it results us more necessary the exchange of the data of the model with the providers”, aims Giusti. “With some of our more ancient partners are investigating the possibility to provide a direct access to the information in our system so that it can reduce still more the time of development when having to work of parallel form to our designers. Inside few years, will integrate to all our strategic providers that produce the technology to our favour”. Ducati Has initiated this process with miscellaneous of his providers.

Inside Ducati, the use of Teamcenter is very widespread. The company has 250 places of work that use Teamcenter to access to the information generated by the department of engineering. The company also has deployed Teamcenter in his warehouse of Saima, in Módena. All the motorbikes go through this place for some operations of setting, verification of spare pieces or other modifications because of errors of setting.

The personnel has access to the information stored in Teamcenter through a line devoted. Can see drawings, diagrams and tables of setting for all the products finished. The users of this place can execute the operations of setting of lower importance, generally, the installation of the parts of the body and the personalised elements but, from time to time, carry out modifications more significant. The users need to have access to the documentation of the product.

“Is worthwhile to signal that it was easy for the personnel of Saima learn to use Teamcenter”, aims Giusti. “The fact that they did not have any specific learning is witness of the intuition and of the ease of use of Teamcenter”. “We can not us imagine working without Teamcenter. Of our previous process that required tonnes of paper have deleted the paper and the cabinets of presentation. Using Teamcenter have implemented a system of management of the digital information with trazabilidad, an access based in roles and a high degree of intrinsic hygiene”.

The solution PLM of Ducati has accelerated considerably the rhythm of development of the products, allowing to the company develop a new model much faster although the use of the electronics equipment dealers equipment dealers and the software related has grown substantially. In fact, the motorbikes of nowadays can have until six or seven units of electronic control (ECU) for the suspension, transmission, braked and stability. “All these systems are interactuando and have to be handled of an efficient and reliable way”, aims Giusti. “Now we have the requirements of handle of configuration of products very similar to the ones of the companies of automotive sector or the aerospace sector”.

In spite of the greater complexity of the product, Ducati has reduced a year the cycle of development of the new motorbikes. “Our cycle of design and development has reduced of an average of 36 to 40 months to so only 24 months, thanks to the proportionate tools by Siemens Industry Software”, affirms Giusti. “Also we are updating all the existent models at intervals annual. It would be unthinkable to think in attaining such results with the conventional methods of design”.

The suite PLM of Siemens Industry Software has allowed to Ducati integrate all the departments and the operations: prototypes, warehouse, spare pieces and accessories. “By means of the integration of all these processes now can develop accessories at the same time that the motorbike”, signals Giusti. “Before, this was used to to carry us of 6 to 12 months before the accessories went commercialised. Now already they are smart, together with the motorbike, generating sinergias of significant sales”.