Modeling & Simulation

NALI is promoting the use of modeling and simulation to ensure the global competitiveness of the U.S. manufacturing supply chain. Virtual reality in the realm of manufacturing is what NALI modeling and simulation is all about. Using digital tools to help suppliers handle complex part designs more efficiently, define detailed assembly procedures, test machining strategies in a virtual environment, conduct inspections virtually, and even lay out their factories for maximum process flow are some of the applications the NALI modeling and simulation group use in their pursuit of employing digital manufacturing in the supply chain.

Digital manufacturing is all about doing things in virtual space. Why test your NC program by cutting material on your horizontal machining center with your hand poised for an emergency stop, when you can simulate the cutting process in a software environment? Why move machines around your factory floor to gain optimal efficiency when you can define your machines, people, and factory floor space in a virtual world, move them around, and simulate their processes to validate intelligent equipment movement?

In the NALI modeling and simulation program, the applications used in virtual space are part of a product lifecycle management (PLM) approach to manufacturing that facilitates product, process, and resource tools to develop, manufacture, and produce parts and assemblies. These tools are all components of digital manufacturing. The modeling and simulation specialists at CCAT define digital manufacturing as a sequence of manufacturing stages with appropriate virtual applications.

The sequence of digital manufacturing goes like this:

• 3D Product Design
• Assembly Sequence
• Ergonomics
• Robotics
• Machining
• Inspection
• Factory Simulation

"It’s not enough that we in the NALI program know how to use these modeling and simulation tools. Technology transition is a key component to our efforts so making the tools more accessible by the supply chain is critical too," says Tom Scotton, CCAT’s NALI Modeling and Simulation Manager. Enabling connections and interfaces to previously compartmentalized machining products is one approach. Developing easy to use data input devices for complex software tools is another.