Creo LinkedIn Group Weighs in on Paper to Digital

By LINDSEY CHRISTENSEN | Published: FEB 24, 2012

I recently posed a question to the Creo group on LinkedIn and it sparked some interesting feedback (to say the least!).  Feel free to head over and see the full thread (you will have to join the Creo group if not already a member) and hey, why don’t you add to the conversation while you’re there!  For now, here are some of the highlights.

My original post was:

When do YOU move from paper to digital?

Do you create early concepts with pens/pencils or with digital tools? If you start with a physical drawing, when do you recreate your designs in a software application? In a recent study, we found that 34% of users were creating concepts on paper, but we’re curious to know at what stage in the concepting process YOU make the leap to a digital tool.

Some of the responses include:

Paper is easily accessible… ideas go right into paper, napkins, tissues, on a drawing board, then digital pens to the computers.

Most of the time I start on a blackboard or on paper, because it is easier to get a “better picture” faster and share with everyone in the office. After this rough design I go to the digital. I only start with digital design when I am pretty sure what I am going to do from the start. So that means that I already had a similar experience on another project, or it is a concept that I can´t change.

I consider myself a newbie in 3D-CAD modeling and I used to work only with free hand sketches for my simple designs. But today, after I bought a 3D-Printer I am moving to CAD ASAP.  For me – being able to manufacture the design with few mouse clicks is a great motivator for using CAD.

The ideas come first on paper. Adding the right dimensions to the structure comes with CAD, calculating for strength and so on is so much easier with the CAD model.

Our thread also diverges from the main question at times which is fun.  A few people shared thoughts on designing digitally and capturing IP:

I would like to say we do, but that doesn´t happen. I would like to attach reference documents into windchill… but that´s not our standard right now. I hope we can start doing that one day.

The problem is the disconnect between engineering management, and the engineering tools now available. As people are resistant to change, and management has not taken the initiative to educate themselves as to what is now possible, I see that little will change. I have pushed for more digital documentation of designs and earlier involvement of downstream users of the digital data for many years. Unfortunately management has not understood the benefits to do so and rarely use the data for “lessons learned”. Until there is a greater emphasis on saving this data to be used in the future we will suffer from the age old problem of repeating history.

And I couldn’t help but probe for thoughts on Creo as it related to our discussion of paper vs digital concepting.  It resulted in my favorite comment thus far which I will close with here:

My philosophy for now is:
If it is easy to draw by hand, it will also be easy to draw in CREO
If it is complex to draw by hand, it will be easier to draw in CREO
If it is important, it must be drawn in CAD

Safeguarding Design Concepts and IP

By barb schmitz | Published: August 25, 2011

 

Intellectual property is the most important asset of a manufacturer and, if leaked to a competitor, can lead to lost market exclusivity and competitive advantage. Today, IP contained in product concept designs is increasingly at risk, along with the revenue and corporate know-how it represents. The threat to product IP has increased as a result of globally distributed design teams that design products collaboratively, and ironically, by the approaches required to enable truly distributed design and manufacturing networks.

 

A lack of processes and procedures in place to protect IP and safeguard design concepts during development, can lead to lost IP, which in turn results in lost sales, product commoditization, and lower profit margins. Manufacturers must implement organizational structures, business processes, and technologies that support “IP friendly” collaboration, document IP and enable legal protection, and safeguard product data, including enhancing IT security and digital rights management.

Protecting Product Concepts

Concept designs are captured and managed differently at organizations. In a recent study entitled, Trends in Concept Design, conducted by PTC, only 37% of the participants responded that their company utilized some type of centralized management system to capture and manage design concepts. Another 34% indicated that their companies “strictly manage all concept designs, including revisions, in a centralized process.” Another 22% of respondents said that each person on the development team stores concept designs on his or her own computers, indicating that no centralized management system was in place.

Engineering notebooks are commonly used to capture proposed designs during the concept phase of development. In the PTC survey, the largest percentage of respondents (66%) said that some team members use engineering notebooks during the concept stage. Who owns the information contained in those notebooks? Over 59% of respondents believed the company owned the notebooks and the information contained within, however, another 41% of respondents either didn’t know who owned the notebooks (22%) or believed that the individual owned the data captured in the notebook (19%).

Despite advancements in and increased deployment of Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems and knowledge management systems, many manufacturers still use informal tools and processes, such as engineering notebooks, to communicate and manage key product data, which can inhibit collaboration and elevate IP risk.

Without established procedures in place to safeguard the information contained in these notebooks, when employees leave a company, valuable and proprietary data leaves right along with them. Though 67% of respondents indicated that they didn’t think the notebook would be taken upon an employee’s departure, another 33% either “didn’t know” or thought it would be taken.

So how is this information safeguarded? At many companies, there are no established procedures to protect this valuable corporate product data. In the survey, only 16% of respondents indicated that the data captured in these engineering notebooks is captured electronically in the company’s systems. Nearly 70% of respondents said that there was no such procedure in place to capture this data electronically in corporate systems.

A strong strategic approach to IP and concept design management must span from product conception to market release. Companies must implement a systematic approach to safeguarding emerging design concepts and the potential IP they hold in order to reduce the risk of IP theft or loss. Integrating IP management into R&D through product development seamlessly provides opportunities to improve IP protection that can reduce a manufacturer’s risk and lower costs.

Protecting Intellectual Property

By barb schmitz | Published: March 22, 2011

 

All businesses have trade secrets; information that they would rather keep confidential that is valuable to a company’s growth and competitive advantage. This could include technical information (formulas, designs, tools, manufacturing processes, and computer source codes) as well as business secrets (customer and employee lists, financial and accounting data, and product and marketing plans). Such information can be critical to the success of a business; however, many companies do little to protect it.

 

Many changes in the business community have made protecting intellectual property (IP) more challenging. Today’s business environment is extremely dynamic and increasingly competitive on a global level. For manufacturers, this new globalized economy requires managing extended supply chains in which outside partners and suppliers perform critical functions, from product design and manufacturing to product support, from various locations throughout the world.

In order to remain competitive, manufacturers are also increasingly turning to outsourcing and off-shoring, making protecting design data even more problematic and it more essential for them to have a well established strategy for managing supply chain risk. In addition, rapid technology changes and today’s increasingly mobile workforce both add to the complexities of IP protection.  The risk of having IP stolen or in some way compromised is among the greatest risk that manufacturers face today.

IP theft can result in counterfeited versions of a company’s products being designed, manufactured and sold on the black market. Whether it’s actually outright theft of IP or possibly an unintentional “leakage” of valuable information by an employee or supply chain partner, it carries a hefty cost. The World Customs Organization estimates that IP theft impact on the global economy accounts for $500-$600 billion in lost sales each year, or 5-7% of world trade. The FBI estimates that in the U.S. alone, counterfeiting and piracy accounts for over $200 billion is lost sales each year.

IP Protection in Product Development

Because of all the complexities mentioned above, IP contained in products and product designs is increasingly at risk. In order to enable truly collaborative design, companies are opening themselves up to heightened risk of IP theft. Implementing the organizational structures, business processes, and technologies that support “IP friendly” collaboration are essential to protect design IP. Companies must also document IP, establish legal protection, and safeguard product data by enhancing IP security and digital rights management.

One way in which manufacturers are combating the risks of IP theft is through the implementation of product lifecycle management (PLM) software. PLM systems enable companies to create a central repository, or vault, in which data from multiple systems across an extended global supply chain, is safely kept. The PLM platform becomes the mechanism by which product data is shared among the extended design team members.

The PLM system can determine whether a person is authorized to access the data they are attempting to access, in essence protecting IP while also streamlining the product development process. With this type of system in place, all requests for product data—regardless of where it originates within the company or supply chain—are managed by this single system. Multinational project teams can then collaborate effectively while obeying any relevant export control regulations, commercial IP laws, and security protocols of all countries involved.

While IP theft is still a huge concern for global manufacturers, it’s a risk they can mitigate with proper diligence from an organizational and technology standpoint. With the right processes and systems in place, manufacturers can safely compete in the global market while also protecting their most valuable assets.