Intelligent Manufacturing € August € 1996 € Vol. 2 € No. 8
Intelligent Manufacturing € August € 1996 € Vol. 2
€ No. 8
Thiokol Corp. (Ogden, Utah), a manufacturer of solid rocket motor
propulsion systems, has begun implementation of the MPSwin finite
capacity planning system from Bridgeware Inc. (Hayward, Calif.).
MPSwin-P Planning is the cornerstone of Bridgeware's suite of supply
chain management solutions, with system configurations for discrete,
repetitive, process and combination manufacturers.
A computer-aided scheduling (CAS) engine is the heart of MPSwin's
finite planning process. CAS analyzes customer order due dates and
other demands, such as sales forecasts, spare parts and safety stock
targets, against the production schedule that is loading key material
component, machine, labor or other resources. Using a rules-based
approach, the system can actually auto-schedule to suggest a new
production plan. The user also has full interactive control to
develop a schedule against bottleneck resources.
CASE Corp. (Racine, Wis.), a manufacturer of agricultural and
construction equipment, has signed an agreement with Workgroup
Technology Corp. (Lexington, Mass.), a producer of product data
management (PDM) and workflow systems for manufacturing environments.
CASE will license $1.5 million worth of Workgroup Technology's CMS
software.
CASE plans to use CMS to manage all the information related to the
product lifecycle of its tractors, implements, harvesting equipment,
skid steers loader/backhoes, and excavators. CMS will manage CASE's
computer-aided designs, including Pro/Engineer, technical
specifications, scanned images, product structures, regulatory
procedures, and all other product data.
CASE will use CMS to manage agricultural and construction equipment
product data. Currently, CASE has many repositories where product
information is kept, making it time-consuming and difficult to gather
and identify product configurations. CMS will provide CASE with a
single repository for all design information and product definition
configurations, enabling users worldwide to obtain up-to-date and
accurate information when they need it.
In addition, many product groups within CASE share information and
incorporate parts of one product into another. With CMS, the goal is
to provide users controlled, immediate access to design information,
in addition to the ability to share ideas and information with
increased levels of quality and consistency among shared
resources.
DataWorks Corp. (San Diego, Calif.), a supplier of enterprise
resource planning (ERP) software solutions for discrete and
repetitive mid-range manufacturers in the $20 million to $500 million
range, has acquired DCD Corp. (Minneapolis, Minn.), a provider of
business management software for the make-to-order manufacturing
segment - primarily job shops and custom manufacturers with revenues
in the $3 million to $20 million range. The acquisition will provide
DataWorks with access to the low-end of the mid-range manufacturing
market.
DataWorks will issue up to 1.8 million shares of its common stock as
part of the agreement. No management changes are planned at DCD, and
company president Robert Brandel will continue to run DCD as a
DataWorks business unit.
Mitron Corp. (Portland, Ore.), a developer of software
applications for electronics manufacturing, has signed an agreement
with semiconductor manufacturer Texas Instruments (Dallas, Tex.). TI
has chosen Mitron's CIMBridge manufacturing data management software
system as part of its focus to improve quality, reduce cycle time and
accelerate product realization.
Mitron will provide TI with a broad suite of software solutions and
the ability to integrate these tools into TI's manufacturing data
management environment.
Cincinnati Milacron (Cincinnati, Ohio), a manufacturer of machine
tools, composites processing systems, cutting tools and other
industrial machinery, has begun a reengineering effort of the
company's U.S. Machine Tool Group manufacturing operations using
Control: Manufacturing software from Cincom Systems Inc. (Cincinnati,
Ohio), a vendor of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software.
Milacron expects the software to strengthen its Wolfpack design
program, now in its 11th year. Wolfpack focuses on delivering more
machine capability and value by engineering out cost and
complexity.
International TechneGroup Inc. (ITI) (Milford, Ohio), a provider
of product data integration technologies and services, has formed a
partnership with Sherpa Corp. (San Jose, Calif.), a supplier of
product data management (PDM) systems. ITI will provide manufacturing
companies using Sherpa's PDM system with high-performance interfaces
based on open system standards to a wide range of mechanical CAD
design tools.
Sherpa software integrations developed by ITI will enable users to
interface Sherpa facilities and stored data with mechanical CAD
packages. Tight integrations between Sherpa and CAD tools will enable
manufacturers to manage engineering processes, drawings and other
product information through the design and engineering stages of a
product cycle.
The Sherpa/ITI integration strategy will link Sherpa/Works with an
engineering set of workgroup data managers such as Autodesk's
WorkCenter. As a result, manufacturers will be able to leverage their
PDM investment by integrating their workgroup systems with, or
continuing to use them as they migrate to, enterprise PDM
facilities.
The Manufacturing Execution Systems Association (MESA
International) (Pittsburgh, Pa.) has formed a partnership with its
counterpart MESA of Europe (Cheshire, U.K.) to expand the awareness
and implementation of MES's and related products and services. Both
organizations function as not-for-profit, tax-exempt entities in
their respective countries of origin.
MESA International is an association of 31 member companies who
supply MES's, point solutions, hardware platforms, databases, systems
integration services, data collection technology, controls, and
consulting services (see last month's cover story).
Ormet Corp. (Wheeling, W.V.), a primary aluminum producer, has
selected JBA International (Mt. Laurel, N.J.) to provide an
integrated software solution for managing its operations. The
contract, valued in excess of $2.5 million, calls for the
installation of JBA's System 21 worldwide manufacturing, customer
service and logistics, and financial modules, working as an
integrated solution. Ormet is seeking a state-of-the-art replacement
for its existing fragmented, home-grown, legacy information
systems.
JBA's System 21 solution will first be installed at Ormet's two
Hannibal, Ohio, plants - a reduction plant and a rolling mill - and
later at other Ormet locations. JBA is currently working on other
implementations involving attributes, instead of part numbers, to
drive integrated manufacturing solutions.
Intercim Corp. (Minneapolis, Minn.), a supplier of factory
information management systems, has signed an agreement with Sirius
Systems Corp. (Norcross, Ga.), a vendor of virtual manufacturing
software. Intercim will integrate Sirius' solid-based verification
technology, NC Verify, into its computer-aided manufacturing
products, AutoPro and CIMPro. Intercim customers will be able to
compare an "as manufactured" part to the "as designed" part model as
well as identify program errors.
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