(Lattice Technology: San Francisco) -- Lattice Technology Inc., developers of digital manufacturing applications using the XVL format, recently released Chapters 11 and 12 of the new book, Improving Lean Manufacturing Through 3-D Data by Hiroshi Toriya.
First published in Japan in late 2008, this book is targeted at manufacturing executives and educators trying out new strategies to build greater productivity and efficiencies into existing manufacturing processes. The book covers a wide range of case studies from leading Japanese manufacturers, along with recent survey data, to build understanding of how manufacturing can be enhanced using 3-D data in downstream processes. It also explains the evolution of 3-D and information technology in the industry, and shows how it can be leveraged into other areas of manufacturing that are still using traditional processes.
Chapter 11 shows how Digital Soken, a division of Digital General Printing in Japan, delivers services and consulting to manufacturers who want to cut costs and streamline global operations through 3-D technical documentation. Digital Soken delivers services such as creating illustrations directly from customers’ 3-D data, delivering 3-D assembly instructions to a manufacturer’s global operations long before a product is launched, and advising manufacturers on how to improve their 3-D design data for downstream use. The company believes that this kind of documentation is the media of the very near future for manufacturers. JAXA, the Japanese Space Agency, is featured in Chapter 12 as a shining example of how XVL delivers critical information easily to dispersed groups.
Japan’s Kibo experiment platform is now operational on the International Space Station, and will provide the base for zero-gravity experiments over the next 10 years. The experiment platform has more than 2 million parts, all designed in 3-D CAD. Having transferred the CAD data to XVL, and implemented the data in a 3-D search database, operations staff and engineers on the ground, and at many global locations can quickly identify specific faulty parts, see them in 3-D, view operational data, and assist astronauts with repairs, while continuing to add critical maintenance and operations information into the database.
To find out more, view selected pages and to register to download the book, visit Lattice Technology’s Book Resources page.
Hiroshi Toriya is the president and CEO of Lattice Technology, which was founded in 1997 with a mission to deliver very lightweight 3-D viewing technology. His career started after he graduated from Tokyo University in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in science, and began development work at Ricoh building a solid modeling kernel as part of Chiyokura’s team. Toriya then built the team at Ricoh that supported, sold, and further developed the resulting DESIGNBASE kernel. In 1989 Toriya gained his doctorate on the strength of his thesis “A Study of an Interactive Solid Modeler Containing Free-Form Surfaces.” He was appointed president and CEO of Lattice Technology in 1999.
Toriya has previously published 2 books, both in Japanese and English, titled 3-D CAD Principles and Applications, (Springer-Verlag) and 3-D Manufacturing Innovation, (Springer-Verlag). This latest book, Improving Lean Manufacturing Through 3-D Data is also available in hard cover, in Japanese, from JIPM Solutions.
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