Five points to consider for a CAD Software Development Process
In any software development process, the methodology involved is more or less the same. The most generic requirements are developers, preferred programming language, testers and carefully planned set of actions to perform. The same can be applied to development of CAD software as well. Having CAD software that can actually meet product development needs is an obvious necessity. Although, there is a lot of common ground between a CAD software development project and a regular software development project, there are criteria very specific to CAD software development projects which needs to be addressed. Let us take a walkthrough: Acceptance Criteria Acceptance criteria are a list that mentions user requirements and product scenarios, one by one. Acceptance criteria explain conditions under which the user requirements are desired, thus getting rid of any uncertainty of the client’s expectations and misunderstandings. However, defining acceptance criteria is not simple, but has its complications. Also, it is not convenient to expect a 100% pass rate. In such case, an ideal way is to have a set of test cases with defined input and output data. Algorithmic Complexities To successfully develop a complex product, two critical questions must be answered, how to develop the right product and how to develop the product right.Unlike some of the other problems like interest rate calculations or workflow management system, there is not a defined set of steps that results in the final answer. There are often multiple algorithms for a single issue and the situation becomes more complicated when a particular algorithm, deemed to be perfect for a given situation, may not perform that well in a different scenario, which often leads to trade offs. Tolerances Tolerance is one of the factors to evaluate product quality and cost. It has a significant role. As tight tolerance assignment ensures design requirements in terms of function and quality, it also induces more requirements in manufacturing, inspection and service that results in higher production cost. Most of CAD data works on variables that are doubles and floats and Floating point precision, Tolerance plays a very important role in the algorithms. When using data from other systems say STEP file from other source, if there is a mismatch in the tolerance, the destination system can cause lot of issues. Risk of Regression Adding a new functionality or improving an algorithm always has a risk of impacting the test cases that were working before the fixes. One should always develop a robust test suite for catching regressions while carrying out testing. To create a regression test case suite one must have thorough application knowledge or complete understanding of the product flow. Interoperability The quick emergence of varied CAD software has led designers to democratize, leading to the usage of multiple CAD systems in the design process, thus challenging the CAD interoperability aggressively. Different suppliers require different CAD platforms. It depends on many factors, primarily the nature of the task and product upon which it has to work. Merging different CAD data together without affecting the design intent is quite the hassle. Although, a lot of software these days support different CAD files, there are instances, where the particulars of a project has made the product confined to that one CAD software. Interoperability eases up extra work and whether to make your own software compatible with other, is a decision that should be seriously taken into account.
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Reverse Engineering: Outsourcing and Beyond
FAQs Points to keep in mind while outsourcing reverse engineering services Choosing a Vendor all know reverse engineering is an economical approach towards product development & innovation, which manufacturers often utilize to evaluate and redesign competitor products. Reverse Engineering services involve understanding the product design, system integrity, and manufacturing processes involved to realize the potential required to build a similar or improved product version. The reverse engineering technique is best suitable for producing design data and related technical manuals for products that no longer have any design information. The entire work process involves engineers studying every design feature, associated manufacturing processes, and tools needed for product development and storing information. After digitizing the complete information, suitable design modifications are carried out as per requirements. However, to get things right, one should have an efficient and dedicated engineering team, the right software, hardware tools, etc., which seems difficult to have within the organization. FAQs Here comes the advantage of outsourcing reverse engineering projects where the activities can significantly reduce the cost of product development and burden the engineers who can focus on developing innovative design solutions for the product.Reverse engineering services outsourcing might invoke some hesitancy. To address it, here are some of the crucial benefits of outsourcing reverse engineering projects: Still have more questions, ask us Prescient Technology’s reverse engineering expertise has helped companies meet their designing and innovative demands. If you wish to know more, just click the button below. Points to keep in mind while outsourcing reverse engineering services As feasible as reverse engineering outsourcing sounds, there are specific steps to follow and factors to consider. Few crucial points to discuss when outsourcing reverse engineering services are as follows: Choosing a Vendor After finalizing the decision to outsource reverse engineering service, the next vital step to consider is choosing a vendor. A responsive and efficient vendor makes all the difference. Finding a professional vendor with a high level of efficiency and even heightened work ethic is a complex but satisfying process. Be aware that once you are engaged with a vendor, it becomes a little difficult to break the deal and discontinue ‘business’ with the existing vendor. So choose carefully but commit completely after the contract.When a vendor has been finalized, the organization issues a request for quotation (RFQ). RFQs are created to invite suppliers to a bidding process to bid on specific services/products. The organization should also take a legal approach and have the service provider’s non-disclosure agreement (NDA). This is done to prevent unlawful, authorized distribution, or illicit product adoption.Now that the legal approach and paperwork have been taken care of, the organization sends the physical product to the service provider or the scanned files, depending on the company’s needs. The vendor is also supplied with measurement specifications and related industry standards to follow. Eventually, the vendor creates a digital format and sends it back to the organization for further design modification or innovation investigations.For manufacturers, reverse engineering is a profitable strategy in today’s competitive scenario; however, outsourcing brings along the other benefits that ensure the product development process remains cost-effective. Prescient Technologies is adept at providing outstanding reverse engineering services and has extensive experience in the end-to-end process, so feel free to contact us today.
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Digitization
For starters, digitization is converting of analog/physical things such as paper documents, microfilm images, photographs, sounds and more into digital (bits and bytes) version. So it is simply converting and/or representing something non-digital into a digital format which then can be used by a computing system for numerous reasons. Sometimes a paper document gets destroyed after having digitized, sometimes we capture the sound and images in the form of video of your presentation at an event, the digital format continues to exist while your voice and physical presentation during that presentation are gone forever. Digitizing doesn’t means replacing the original document, image, sound, etc. Another synonymous term is ‘Automation’ which more or less means the same. The conversion of physical data into intangible format has its benefit and has revolutionized paperwork in its own way. Benefits of Digitization 5 ways digitization is helping the business Automation/Artificial Intelligence There have been debates about automation and development of artificial intelligence (AI) over the last couple of years. All credits to movies and their takes on AI. Some eminent minds have also predicted its dark future. However, AI has already changed the business world with companies gradually automatizing work and other sorts of activities. Almost 85% of industry leaders believe automation will allow their companies to obtain or sustain a competitive advantage. Flexibility of working hours With all the data and information being stored on digital media and devices; digitization has made it possible for us to transform it and access it from anywhere. As a result, we can adjust our work schedule to our personal needs and lifestyle. We can choose how to work and when to work, and we owe it to digitization. Innovation We all know, innovation helps companies come up with groundbreaking ideas, use special tools and business applications for organizing & managing work, reach wider audience and create a better product. Digitization is not only about transforming physical data into digital format, but also about using it and finding new ways of developing/enhancing them. Communication The lack of right information transfer leads to misunderstandings and conflicts. Without proper communication, a business cannot thrive. Communication has always been one of the most important aspects of our lives. Fortunately, there are tools and channels that enable smooth exchange of information. There are tools that facilitate the exchange of thoughts, ideas and opinions such as blogs, websites, conferences and business meetings. Digitization has made it possible to propagate information while providing ready access to information, thereby, consuming less amount of time.
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The perks of Electronic Product Catalog
The perks of Electronic Product Catalog An electronic product catalog is a comprehensive list of all your products in a digital publication. Unlike paper catalogs, electronic product catalogs are easier to navigate and maintain regularly. The primary objective of the electronic product catalog is to facilitate product availability and information to customers, thereby pushing sales. In Computer-Aided Design (CAD), such a digital product catalog consists of a list of CAD products readily available to the customers and other prospects. An increasing number of companies resort to electronic product catalogs with information about CAD products available to their customers and prospects. The reason behind this points towards a handful of benefits that electronic product catalogs bring, they are as follows: An excellent electronic product catalog requires some planning and decisions to be perfect for your requirement. Here are the few areas you need to consider and make decisions on: The Product: The first and foremost task is to decide which products you wish to include in the catalog and how you wish to portray them. You may have dozens or even hundreds of products in your portfolio. You could apply the 80-20 rule and decide on a set of products that gives you maximum coverage. Remember to not flood a single page with the bulk of your products, as that kills the purpose of a smooth customer experience. It would help if you also determined how you group your products. Righ grouping results in a better surfing experience. The Platform: Choose the preferred platform to house your product catalog. The most obvious choice is to make it available on your website. However, you could choose to make a Phone App or create a DVD (if you have a vast number of products). You can also go for a host website that works solely to monitor and maintain your catalog. A particular advantage of host websites is their inventory of pre-existing design features, tools, and templates. It saves a lot of brainstorming. The Data format: Decide what data you wish to make available. You can have a plethora of data, and including all of them will mess up your platform. Visual appeal is a must, and you must carefully decide which one to prefer, be it 2D data vs. 3D data, GA or schematic vs. to the scale drawings, dumb 3D models vs. parametric models, etc. The Technology: At a high level, there are two main approaches to solving this: Pre-Cooked and On- The-Fly. In the Pre-Cooked method, data for all configurations of your products are kept in the repository and are delivered on-demand. This option is suitable if your products’ unique configurations are on the lower side, say up to a few hundred. The On-The-Fly method generates the necessary data in real-time using specific master models. It can very easily handle any number of unique product configurations that you may have. Pricing and tax: Pricing and hidden tax rates are crucial if you want a business-friendly e-catalog. You have to decide the price of your products, and they need to be market-specific. Tax and other charges (shipping charges) contribute to the overall cost of a product, and you must make sure they are reflected under the product description or payment gateway. Links and CTAs: Electronic product catalogs work best with links inside. Links are a great way to point buyers to your shop. Alongside links, we have call-to-action (CTA) buttons short text on buttons prompting the customer to take the next step. CTA buttons alongside links are an excellent tool to boost sales. So it is up to you to decide how you want to enhance your catalog. Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Since your e-catalog will be published online for the public to see, you need a robust SEO strategy to ensure your catalog platform is readily available in the search engines. For that, you will need marketing SEO expertise to help you go through SEO objectives. Electronic product catalogs are a fantastic way to showcase your inventory and make sales. Make sure you have ticked off all the necessary do’s and dont’s before launching your e-catalog.
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Mass Customization: Why “built-to-order” is a healthy step for your business
Product Configurators Mass Customization as a brilliant strategy Nowadays, there is a trend where businesses and consumers opt for more personalized products and services. When scaled appropriately, this trend, called Mass Customization, combines the Customization and flexibility of built-to-order products with low production costs. Mass Customization is the practice of providing products and services built or modified as per a customer’s requirements. In other words, mass Customization involves your blueprint mixed with a professional’s expertise and necessary tools to make the perfect product of your desire, which is uniquely yours. Mass Customization is also called built-to-order or made-to-order. Mass Customization facilitates customized product features while keeping in sync with low unit costs of mass production. Sometimes, mass Customization also involves the modularity of product components. Such flexibility allows effective mix-and-match to build a customized final commodity. Mass Customization has been well adopted in retail, software development, financial services & fintech, and modular home builders. Utilizing such business practices provides an edge over your competitors. With every individual looking for a custom product designed especially for them, more and more companies are now offering Mass Customization to satisfy the needs of their customers. In his book, Mass Customization: The New Frontier in Business Competition, B. Joseph Pine II talks about four mass customization types. They are: CollaborativeCustomization AdaptiveCustomization TransparentCustomization CosmeticCustomization companies collaborate with customers to offer products uniquely crafted to each client companies deliver products based on one standard but customizable by the end-user companies provide personalized products to individual clients without overtly disclosing that they are customized companies build single standard products but deliver them in different ways as per other customer demands Works great in fashion, apparel, & retail businesses It fits good in the lighting, luxury bath fittings sector E-commerce brands and OTT platforms are good examples Applies to textile, food & beverage industry Product Configurators In CAD software development and services, mass Customization is achieved by using web-based tools like Product Configurators which achieves Customization yet results in savings in cost. Software developers apply personalized product configurators that allow end-users to add, change, modify, or tweak certain features & functions of a core product. Don’t miss out your chance to have a customized product configurator today Prescient Technology’s robust IT team can build personalized configurators specifically curated for your business needs. If you have any query, feel free to get in touch with us today. From the top of the pyramid, mass customization can be categorized into two broad areas: Since mass Customization essentially means offering customers according to their orders rather than generic products, it creates a massive differentiator in the minds of both B2B and B2C customers. Let us have a look at how built-to-order personalization works: Configure: The Product Configurators present a simple user interface for customers to try out various options by changing parameters and selecting different options to suit their specific requirements. Once they are satisfied, they can often preview their selections in the form of a 3D model. Instant Quote: The quote generation system is linked to the Product Configurator, helping customers with instant quotes for the selections that they make. Ready to Manufacture: The Product Configurator can generate all the details like manufacturing drawings required by the manufacturing/assembly team without manual intervention. Such innovative manufacturing processes enable the production of interchangeable parts that can be shuffled differently to build a cost-effective product that fulfills client requirements. The levels of automation depend on the complexity of the product and the nature of the sales cycle. It can be autonomous for simple products (typically B2C), and for complex products (typically B2B), it can be semi-autonomous. Even for B2B products, the semi-automatic process dramatically improves the productivity of the sales team and the design team. Product configurators are found at a B2B level across diverse industries ranging from Cranes & Hoists, Material Handling and Storage, Pumps, Valves, Bearings, etc. The benefits are: At a B2C level, product configurators are found across various sectors like laptops, apparel, shoes, jewelry, houses, furniture, etc. The benefits are: Mass Customization as a brilliant strategy There is a term known as “product differentiation,” and mass customization allows manufacturers to postpone product differentiation till the end phase of manufacturing. Customized features are more likely to engage consumers since they get to make many decisions about the operation and makeup. The ability to tweak a product based on personal preference has a high possibility of swinging a client’s choice towards what you have to offer than your competitor. Mass Customization also helps you with excess inventory expenses. A JIT (just-in-time) approach can prevent flooding of inventory unnecessarily. Mass Customization can be used as a part of a marketing strategy where your ability to produce personalized products or provide tailor-made services at a market standard price is used as a lucrative branding of your product. If there is no compromise on quality, on-time delivery, you have a good chance of driving sales, churning profits, and attracting customer loyalty. Prescient Technologes has hands-on experience in creating client-centric, on-demand product config and software solutions and we will be glad to assist you with your needs or queries.
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Why your business needs Custom Software Development
Introduction The quest to evolve digitally has prompted many tech enterprises to invest in new software/technology solutions to explore the market in terms of revenue and make public life easier. However, when an organization announces a brand-new investment, it is flocked by already available options in the market by players of the tech industry. Is investing in already existing solutions an excellent way to get a foothold in such a competitive industry? According to industry experts, not always. Tech businesses should be encouraged more and more to invest in their custom CAD software development. Having a personalized asset in your digital arsenal is so much needed these days. They can be efficient and adjustable, which will turn out to be beneficial for business in the long run. Although investments of that kind tick off many business owners due to the cost aspect, it is always worth the investment if done the right way. Here is an outline of how custom software development is highly recommended for your business. Tailored Solution The intention behind custom-made CAD software is to target the specific requirements of the organization. Every business needs tailored digital solutions that focus on individual business needs and addresses particular issues. Having custom-made CAD software gives one a competitive edge in such a fast-growing market. Easier to Scale As your business grows with time, your needs will change, and consequently, your business solutions will need an update. Readymade software solutions usually work for small-scale companies. However, custom-made software that can grow and scale your business processes is highly recommended if you don’t want to be held back by purchased software & features and want to succeed at your own pace. Integration with other software Custom CAD software facilitates easy & smooth integration of your product with other software in use or already existing in the market. It prevents integration issues, and it is tailor-made to fit within any business’ software ecosystem easily, that too without errors. A subcontractor in home construction industry would prepare quotation by marking up the home layout in a pdf document, followed by listing out various material and overhead costs. Such manual approach was affecting the turnaround time and accuracy/consistency of the quotes. Prescient developed the solution in multiple phases as given below: Independence from 3 rd. party developer An essential point while purchasing readymade software is that it depends on the organization that has developed it — from cost to terms and conditions of use. In the event of any unfortunate mishap or bankruptcy, the developing company might stop updating the product. Such news is not pleasant for your business as you will be in dire need of another provider with their own set of terms of engagement. Potential for future innovations Innovation drives every competitive business scenario today. Competition breeds innovation. More innovations mean you have more chances of addressing varied consumer interests. When organizations buy expensive and ready-to-deploy software applications from reputed vendors, it often limits their likelihood of innovation. Custom software drives more experiments and helps grind out innovative concepts faster without being dependent on outside technology vendors to do it. It builds an exceptional market competence as your brand is recognized as a precursor rather than a latecomer in the innovation arena. The modern market demands every technology implementation to go hand-in-hand with business objectives. Business firms need to have a clear idea of use cases that particular technology could solve. With custom software, firms can address such use cases and work on them without any restrictions, as long as they want it. Although they need to carry out the maintenance themselves, it provides benefits worth the expenses on a larger scale.
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