Sustainability and Project Viability Studies with Factory Design and ProModel

In our continued look at ProModel for AutoCAD, Inventor, and Factory Design Utilities, we take a look at Sustainability Initiatives and Overall Project Viability.

Perhaps one of the toughest sells for project capital is getting the idea across to the internal parties that need to release the funds even when you know it is a slam dunk for the company.  Proving that something will save the company money in the long run as well as provide a cleaner solution for workers and the environment is usually met with the proverbial..."Show me the numbers." remark. 

So lets examine a current situation where we have the current criteria for a manufacturing process.  In this example we have a small product mix that creates issues for manufacturing growth due to large changeover times for products on old machines as well as an antiquated gas fired process that creates a large carbon footprint.

The process begins with laying out the existing environment with validating current metrics to within ~5% of real life output results.  This creates the baseline for the optimization from descriptive analytics (fancy word for hindsight).  The power of this baseline becomes the gold standard for not only this capital project but also line balancing, shift outages, breakdowns and more that is still important leading up to the change over of any new proposed solution.  We even have a linked Revit model that when architectural changes occur it will update our factory layout in Inventor in real time so we can see when any structural, HVAC or other building changes occur.

Now for proposed process, it will utilize modern five axis machine tools and lineside electrical induction heat treating processes. This eliminates the need for the ovens.  Because the machines are CNC, product changeover occurs in minutes as compared to hours in the old process.

Utilizing The ProModel for AutoCAD Edition, we can compare the two processes against each other. This allows us to not only predict how the process changes will increase our profits over time, but study also how we can consume much less energy and greatly reduce our carbon dioxide output! 

At the end of 80 hours, we can see that the energy consumed per part is about 65 percent less than the original production state, producing more parts and reducing the carbon dioxide output by 69 percent!  An automated guided vehicle is no longer required, and two workers can be tasked somewhere else.  The savings in energy plus operations costs would pay for one of the machines proposed and all of the other benefits will also come with the solution.  There may even be local or federal grants for sustainability projects that will reduce this cost even further.

By using ProModel and Autodesk, you may communicate ideas better, and provide data to support new manufacturing design ideas – making better decision faster but "Showing the numbers." faster and with predictive analytics (fancy word for foresight).

Complete Video Overview from ProModel:

Previous Posts:

ProModel Overview and Autodesk Process Analysis Retirement

Warehouse Optimization with Factory Design and ProModel

About the Author

Engagement Engineer, Manufacturing<br><br>Mark has implemented the Autodesk manufacturing products with several industries including the blow/injection molding, automotive, and custom machinery markets. Autodesk Inventor has been a profound augmentation in his abilities allowing him to bring 3D digital prototyping to the forefront of the industries with which he has interacted. He has extensive experience and a comprehensive understanding of the technical, practical business, and human dimensions of implementation. He is an effective and skillful communicator, consulting with his clients to help achieve their business objectives. Mark is an ATC certified instructor and he helps his customers maximize their project’s effectiveness through training, support, and implementation.

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