Abstract: The aim of this thesis is to make clear what the possibilities are towards the implementation of Product Data Management (PDM) in combination with CAD/CAM software in the shipbuilding industry. Even though in many industries there is already an extensive PDM integration in combination with CAD/CAM software, the shipbuilding industry is in its initial phase of integrating PDM in its standard way of working. The main focus of this research is to Investigate the use of PDM together with CAD/CAM software and design a concept solution that meets the requirements of an optimal integration collaboration between PDM and CAD/CAM software. In order to make clear what these possibilities are, a literature study has been done. From literature the theory of PDM has been described and the UML modelling language has been chosen for a description of the PDM possibilities in shipbuilding. Before description of these possibilities a generic engineering process of shipbuilding is described to function as a basis to identify PDM possibilities. A virtual block of a not existing ship has been used to delimit this engineering process to a surveyable size. Within the described engineering process, activities are identified that not only have a connection to PDM but may also benefit from PDM. Using the described engineering process and PDM theory, the PDM functions have been described. These functions have been directed to assist the activities that are linked to PDM and also benefit from PDM. The PDM functions are not only described for their functionality but they are also placed in a system architecture to give a representation of how the PDM functions are executed when used by the described engineering process. Based on the description of the engineering process and the PDM functionality, a qualitative measurement has been performed to give a clear indication of the benefits that the PDM solution has on the described engineering process. In order to show that the described engineering process can also handle the engineering of a complete ship, the process has been expanded to describe the engineering of two existing ships. Finally the functionality of the PDM solutions has been tested for its feasibility on the NUPAS-CADMATIC hull and outfitting packages. The implementation of PDM consists of two main aspects. The main perspective is taken into consideration from a system point of view where PDM functionality is executed by a PDM system and makes re-use of engineering data possible. Moreover, the data storage needs to be redesigned to a central data vault that facilitates this re-use and other benefits. The other perspective is from a managerial point of view, where configuration management and a different decision making is implemented in the way of working on the work floor of the engineers. An important part of this research are the changes to the system regarding the NUPAS-CADMATIC hull and outfitting packages. At this moment, the proposed PDM solution is not feasible with the packages. This means that should the packages decide to adhere to the proposed solution, changes need to be made to the systems for them to have a shared central data vault and therefore benefit from proper re-use of engineering data as described by PDM.
Publication Year: 2015
Publication Date: 2015-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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