Automatic semi-custom design using Access and the DXF format, achieves in seconds what used to take hours.

Here I explain how a MS-Access database was used to speed up the creation of final construction drawings which were sent to the factory floor.

There was a problem in the flow of a semi-custom order from the customer to factory floor. The salesman would write down the requirements and pass them on to the technical department, which would assign a draughtsman to create the drawings.

Although the parts were semi-custom they had to be redrawn each time. And only if someone spotted that the new custom part was identical to one made previously was the previous drawing used.

I was asked to design a system which would speed up the creation of custom part drawings, by-passing the technical department altogether (they had enough real work as it was without "wasting time" on these custom parts!)

It is interesting to note that the I had to "capture the knowledge" of the (human) designers by creating a database of complex construction rules.

Comparison of manual and automatic methods.

The "manual" work flow was this:

1. Salesman gets order.
2. Salesman translates order into internal descriptions (dimensions, materials, and other parameters).
3. Salesman sends the order to the technical department.
4. Technical department examines the order for impossibile combinations of parts and other errors.
5. Technical department boss assigns the order to a draughtsman.
6. Draughtsman searches his own memory and old drawings to find out if he can re-use some parts. Often this is an impossible job, human memory being fallible, especially when hundreds of components have to be considered.
7. Draughtsman completes the drawing.
8. Another person in the technical department inserts the data for the order into the main IBM AS400 database (for the commercial department).
9. Drawings go to the factory floor.

With my program in place (an MS-Access based program) the workflow is as follows:

1. Salesman gets the order.
2. Salesman inserts the order via a simple Access form. The program, even at this early stage, checks for incompatibilities and other errors.
3. The program searches its database for already existing products and sub-components which can be used (wholy or in part) to fulfill the order.
4. The program creates a DXF drawing of the parts which are then sent directly to the factory floor.
5. The program also sends a bill of materials to the IBM AS400.

I think you can see how much smoother, faster, secure and efficient the automated system is.

Advantages of automated semi-custom design

1. Speed. What used to take hours now takes seconds, or at most minutes, saving thousands of dollars on each custom product produced.
2. No errors. To err is human, and both salesman and draughtsman erred every now and then. The program does not make errors. This too saves dollars, no need to re-make part a second or third time.
3. Component re-use. The program always tries to use as many already existing parts as possible. This includes components that it had created in the past, not simply "standard" parts it knew about.

Other considerations

When custom and semi-custom designs are being created there is a limit to how much can be automated. The above system works for a limited range of products and models. Real hard custom design is still carried out by human engineers and draughtsmen.

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