What are the main types of industrial software?

The following article comes from Zhizaoyuan, the author Xiaozhi

This article is quoted from the latest masterpiece of the intelligent manufacturing series: "Intelligent Manufacturing Practice" (Author: Huang Pei, Xu Zhiying, Zhang Hefang)

Reading guide:What are the main types of industrial software? This article is elaborated for your reference.

「 1. ERP」

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is the core management software of manufacturing enterprises. The basic idea of the ERP system is to determine production by sales, collaboratively control the production, supply, marketing, personnel, finance, material and other resources of the enterprise, and help enterprises to accurately arrange production and procurement plans according to sales orders, based on factors such as product manufacturing BOM, inventory, equipment capacity and procurement lead time, production lead time, etc., so as to reduce inventory and capital occupation, help enterprises achieve efficient operation, ensure that enterprises can deliver on time, and realize closed-loop management of business operations. The development of ERP has gone through the development process of MRP (material requirements planning), closed-loop MRP (considering the actual capacity of the enterprise), MRPII (manufacturing resource planning, combining finance and cost, and being able to analyze the profitability of the enterprise), the concept of ERP was proposed by Gartner in the nineties of the last century, which can adapt to the application of discrete and process industries, and large-scale ERP software can support multi-factory, multi-organization, multi-currency, to meet the needs of group enterprise management and control, as well as compliance management of listed companies.

The integration relationship between ERP and other systems is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 ERP integration with other systems

「 2. MES」

Manufacturing execution system (MES) is a workshop-level management system, which is responsible for undertaking the production plan issued by the ERP system, scientifically scheduling production according to the various manufacturing processes of products or parts that need to be manufactured in the workshop, as well as the actual status of production equipment, and supporting closed-loop functions such as production traceability, quality information management, production reporting, and equipment data collection. In terms of application, MES is a system with strong industry characteristics, and the MES applications of enterprises in different industries will be very different. Table 1 illustrates the differences in MES demand in several of these key industries.

Table 1 Differences in the individual requirements of the MES industry

In recent years, manufacturing operation management (MOM) has gradually attracted attention from the industry. In 2000, the United States Instrument, Systems and Automation Association (ISA) first proposed the concept of MOM, and defined that MOM coverage is all activities within manufacturing operation management, including production operation, maintenance operation, quality operation, inventory operation four parts, greatly expanding the traditional definition of MES, as shown in Figure 2. MOM is not an either/or substitution relationship, MOM is a further expansion of MES, is the product of the upgrading of manufacturing management concepts, relatively speaking, it is more in line with the development trend of integration standardization and platformization.

Figure 2 The five-layer structure of enterprise informatization proposed by ISA-95 (Source: ISA)

「 3. PLM」

CIMdata, the world's leading PLM research organization, believes that product lifecycle management (PLM) is a strategic business approach that applies a series of business solutions to support the collaborative creation, management, dissemination and application of product definition information throughout the entire product life cycle within and across enterprises, and integrates people, processes, business systems and product information. With the development of PLM technology, CIMdata has further extended the connotation definition of PLM on this basis: PLM is not only a technology, but also an integrated collection of business solutions; collaboratively create, use, manage, and share product-related intellectual assets; Includes definition information of all products/plants, such as MCAD, AEC, EDA, ALM analysis, formulas, specifications, product groups, documents, etc., as well as process definitions of all products/plants, such as those related to planning, design, production, operation, support, end-of-life, recycling; PLM enables enterprise-to-enterprise collaboration across the entire product and plant lifecycle, from concept design to end-of-life.

The core functions of PLM software include drawing and document management, R&D process management, product structure, structure management, BOM management, R&D project management, etc. (Figure 3). To meet specific data management needs, PLM provides a range of centralized capabilities such as: Engineering Change Management, Configuration Management, Component Management, Product Configurator, Design Collaboration, Design Cost Management, Content and Knowledge Management, Technical Specification Management, Requirements Management, Process Management, Simulation Management, and Design Quality Management. For embedded software development, an ALM (Application Lifecycle Management) system is derived; For the maintenance service process, MRO (overhaul maintenance management) and SLM (service life cycle management) systems are derived. Through the integration of PLM with ERP, MES and other operation management systems, unified product data can be shared and utilized at different stages of the life cycle.

Figure 3 PLM lifecycle management

「 4. CAD」

Computer aided design (CAD) software refers to software programs that use computers and their graphics equipment to help engineers design and manufacture physical products. CIMdata divides CAD software into multidisciplinary mechanical CAD (multidisciplinary CAD) and design-focused mechanical CAD (design CAD).

Multidisciplinary CAD mainly refers to full-featured mechanical CAD systems that support drawing, 3D geometric modeling, solid modeling, surface modeling (including Class A surfaces used in the automotive industry) and feature modeling, constraint and feature-based design (or similar functions, such as related design), integrated engineering analysis, integrated CAM systems including CNC programming, and other product development functions; Design CAD offers fewer specialized software packages compared to multidisciplinary mechanical CAD, for example, does not provide harness design, esoteric analysis functions, CAM, etc.,

These specialized modules are provided by third-party developers and are integrated through a relatively simple CAD data management software, while design-oriented mechanical CAD systems usually only provide basic solid modeling and 2D drawing functions, and do not provide data management functions, which is a file-based system. In addition to being used in the mechanical field, there are also electrical CAD software for the field of electrical design, which can help electrical engineers improve the efficiency of electrical design, reduce repetitive work and error rate; There are also professional software such as sheet metal CAD, mold CAD, etc. In recent years, CAD software based on direct modeling, as well as synchronous CAD systems that combine solid modeling and direct modeling technology, have further improved the flexibility of CAD systems for 3D modeling and editing. At the same time, 2D CAD software, which mainly focuses on engineering drawing functions, will also exist for a long time. However, it has become a consensus in the industry to implement full 3D CAD design and MBD (Model-Based Product Definition).

「 5. EDA」

Electronic design automation (EDA) refers to the use of computer-aided tools to complete the design of functional design, synthesis, verification, physical design and other processes of large-scale integrated circuit chips. CIMdata defines EDA as a tool for designing, analyzing, simulating, and manufacturing electronic systems, from printed circuit boards to integrated circuits. Since EDA involves all aspects of electronic design, there are many EDA software, which can be summarized into electronic circuit design and simulation tools, PCB design software, PLD design software, IC design software and other categories. The core functions of EDA include the design process of digital systems, the design of printed power brush circuit boards, programmable logic devices and design methods, the hardware description language VHDL, and EDA development tools. At present, EDA has become the lifeblood of the integrated circuit industry chain, from chip design, wafer manufacturing, packaging and testing, to the design of electronic products, EDA tools are inseparable.

「 6. CAPP」

Computer aided process planning (CAPP) software, including process scheme design, process route formulation, process specification design, process quota preparation and other related work of manufacturing process design. CAPP is the link between product design and manufacturing, and transforms product design information into manufacturing process information. CAPP technology can be divided into card-based process preparation and structured process design.

The card-type process preparation adopts the form of "what you see is what you get" to fill in the process card, and CAD tools can also be introduced through OLE and other methods to complete the drawing of process diagrams, which can significantly improve the efficiency of process preparation. However, the card-based process compilation is disconnected from the product digital model and lacks product structure information. Structured process planning software is based on the three-dimensional CAD environment, focusing on the generation and management of process design data, which can realize the visualization of processing and assembly processes, materials, process resources, and process knowledge are dataized and modeled, and can undertake design BOM and design models through the PLM/PDM system, which is used for the construction of manufacturing BOM and the content preparation of SOP. Support collaborative process design and version management of process information. Through the integration of the structured process planning software with the MES system, the SOP can be issued to the machine for direct use in manufacturing, and at the same time, the implementation of the process planning can also be fed back through the MES to optimize the process.

「 7. CAE」

Computer aided engineering (CAE) generally refers to simulation technology, including process software that simulates and analyzes the physical properties and manufacturing processes of products and optimizes the design. Among them, engineering simulation refers to an approximate numerical analysis method that uses computer aided solutions to solve the analysis and calculation of mechanical properties such as strength, stiffness, buckling stability, dynamic response, heat conduction, three-dimensional multi-body contact, elastoplasticity, etc., as well as the optimal design of structural properties. Process simulation includes stamping, welding, casting, injection molding, bending and other process simulations; Performance simulation includes vibration and noise simulation, drop simulation, collision simulation and so on of the product under specific working conditions; Optimization software includes numerical optimization, topology optimization and other software; It also includes software to conduct all kinds of virtual experiments.

In recent years, multiphysics simulation, multidisciplinary simulation and optimization technology have developed rapidly, and simulation data management, simulation process management, simulation standards and simulation specification construction have received extensive attention from enterprises. CIMdata defines CAE simulation analysis as a range of techniques such as structural analysis, multibody simulation, computational fluid dynamics, and other techniques that can help engineers simulate real-world loads, stresses, and functions in order to enable simulation analysis through digital modeling, explore new designs and techniques, evaluate possibilities, and perform in-depth evaluations of product performance. On the basis of topology optimization technology, integrating additive manufacturing and other processes, generative design technology has become an emerging technology that international PLM and simulation software giants are competing to develop and innovate.

As simulation technology has entered a relatively mature development period, international advanced enterprises have taken simulation technology as a magic weapon to win the competition, and the benefits brought by simulation technology are getting higher and higher, and the role of simulation technology in product innovation and technological breakthroughs is also increasing. At present, simulation technology has been widely used in all walks of life, and plays an important role in the R&D and manufacturing process of new aircraft, automobiles, equipment, and even new drugs and vaccines: optimizing the overall product design scheme through system simulation, improving product performance through multiphysics simulation, improving product quality and manufacturability through process simulation, reducing physical trials through virtual testing, realizing virtual and real integration through digital twins, optimizing product operations, and improving the performance of next-generation products. Figure 4 shows the application of CAE in various industries.

Figure 4 Application of CAE in various industries

「 8. Digital Factory Planning and Simulation

The traditional factory planning process is generally based on the product for process planning, then cycle time analysis and optimization, and finally logistics, auxiliary areas and plant master planning, these plans are interrelated, the logic is complex, the traditional way often relies on empirical calculations, it is difficult to get the best results.

With the vigorous development of virtual modeling and simulation technology, factory planning can be based on the three-dimensional digital model of the product for process development, and then according to the product process for production line planning and design, and finally through production line simulation to verify whether the factory planning is feasible and meets the design requirements. The content of digital factory planning and simulation mainly includes: digital process planning, production line planning and design, and production line simulation verification, wherein: digital process planning is to carry out processing technology and assembly process planning, beat analysis and processing process simulation for product digital modeling, and form a process flow diagram; The planning and design of the production line is based on the process flow diagram and standard working hours, and the preliminary 3D design and scheme evaluation and optimization of the layout of equipment, production lines, logistics areas, etc., and then the modeling and simulation of the 3D plant are completed; Production line simulation verification is to evaluate the production line planning scheme to verify whether the production capacity meets the design requirements, including simulating the actual production situation, analyzing bottlenecks, verifying the production capacity of the production line, and simulating the logistics route and operation.

At the same time, the simulation is used to further optimize logistics equipment, logistics routes and storage locations to improve lean capabilities. Finally, the entire production line system is tested through virtual commissioning, using models of factories, workshops, and manufacturing machines to simulate the operation of the entire or part of the production process, and test important functions and performance before the production line is officially put into operation, so as to eliminate design defects. Some mainstream PLM manufacturers in the world provide digital factory planning and simulation solutions, such as Siemens' Tecnomatix's Line Planning &Designer provides digital factory design solutions, Tecnomatix's Plant Simulation provides plant simulation solutions, and Dassault Systèmes' DELMIA provides digital plant design and simulation solutions. Autodesk has Revit for digital factory design, AVEVA provides digital factory planning solutions for the petrochemical industry, Hexagon's Intergraph provides SmartPlant solutions, and Beijing Dameisheng provides factory digital delivery systems for process and power plants in China.

「 9. CAM」

Computer aided manufacturing (CAM) is a software used to create CNC equipment codes for parts manufacturing, the core of which is based on the three-dimensional model of parts, using visual methods, according to the machining path and tooling equipment, simulating the whole process of machining parts in the real machine tool and automatically generating NC codes that can be recognized by the machine tool. The key to this technology is to be able to truly simulate the movement of real 2.5-axis, three-axis, five-axis and other CNC machine tools, and to support and identify different models of CNC machine tools from different manufacturers.

CAM software has been widely used in manufacturing enterprises in automotive, aircraft, defense, aerospace, computer, communication electronics, heavy industry, machine tool instruments, medical equipment, energy and power, entertainment toys, consumer products and other industries. Through the application of CAM, NC code generation, toolpath planning and simulation, CNC machine tool processing simulation, CNC machining process simulation based on NC program, plate laser cutting system, 5-axis machining, production process simulation, post-processing, etc. can be realized. With the continuous progress of processing technology, CAM technology is constantly developing, and CNC simulation technology can simulate and optimize the machining trajectory of CNC code. At the same time, it also supports the simulation of machine tool movement, so as to avoid damage to the machine tool due to collision and interference in the process of CNC machining. Figure 5 shows a typical product design and manufacturing process.

Figure 5 Typical product design and manufacturing process

「 10. CRM」

The concept of customer relationship management (CRM), pioneered by Gartner, is a general term for the theory, practice, and technical means of identifying, acquiring, retaining, and increasing "profitable customers." CRM is a management software system that uses information technology to make business processes such as marketing, sales management, customer service and support informational, and realize the effective use of customer resources. Its core idea is "customer-centric", improve customer satisfaction, improve customer relationships, and thus improve the competitiveness of enterprises. Common functional modules include: customer management, marketing management, sales management, customer service, etc. With the development of artificial intelligence and big data technology, intelligent CRM is becoming more and more favored by enterprises. Figure 6 illustrates the relationship between the CRM system and other information systems.

Figure 6 Relationship between CRM and other systems

「 11. EAM」

Enterprise asset management (EAM) Gartner defines enterprise asset management (EAM) as a set of systems that use modern information technology (IT) to improve the operational reliability and use value of assets, reduce maintenance and repair costs, improve enterprise management level and personnel literacy, and strengthen the core competitiveness of asset-intensive enterprises around the whole life cycle of assets from design and procurement, installation and commissioning, operation management to transfer and scrapping. The EAM system is a full life cycle management system of equipment assets with comprehensive equipment management as the main content, with the purpose of improving equipment reliability and reducing maintenance costs, so that the utilization rate of enterprise equipment is the highest, the risk rate is the lowest, and the maintenance cost is the lowest, so as to maximize the return on assets. For EAM, preventive maintenance (PM) is a very important concept and application direction.

With the transformation and upgrading of the global industrial field and the continuous development of emerging technologies, equipment management systems with predictive perception functions are more favored by enterprises. The industrial Internet uses ubiquitous sensing technology to accurately collect information on multi-source equipment, heterogeneous systems, operating environments and other elements in real time, builds a new capability map based on "data + computing power + algorithm", realizes the intelligent connection of people, machines, things and knowledge, and supports the comprehensive perception, dynamic transmission and real-time analysis of industrial data, so as to form key capabilities such as scientific decision-making and intelligent control. Through deep integration with the industrial Internet, the EAM system can obtain the health status of assets in real time, determine the best preventive maintenance strategy, and give enterprises a complete view of equipment assets from a seamless platform.

「 12. SCM」

Supply chain management (SCM) is based on the idea of collaborative supply chain management, with the help of the Internet, information system and the application of IT technology, so that the upstream and downstream links of the enterprise supply chain are seamlessly linked, forming a five-in-one model of logistics, information flow, document flow, business flow and capital flow. By using the shared information on the supply chain, SCM accelerates the flow of logistics and capital in the supply chain, strengthens the visual management of the supply chain, and creates more value for the enterprise. Supply chain management software comes into being with the development of the supply chain, due to the many links of supply chain management, the current supply chain software includes two types of supply chain execution level and supply chain planning and planning level.

Supply chain execution refers to the actual operation and operation management of the supply chain, such as inventory management, transportation management and distribution management, including warehouse management system (WMS), transportation management system (TMS), and distribution management system (DMS); Supply chain planning includes supply chain network optimization, demand planning, distribution planning, manufacturing planning, advanced planning and scheduling, etc. Internationally, supply chain software is roughly divided into four categories: supply chain strategy design, supply chain planning, supply chain execution, and EDI & B2B gateway. Table 2 shows the areas covered by the SCM software.

Table 2 Fields covered by the SCM software

「 13. SRM」

Supplier relationship management (SRM) is based on the complete and effective management and application of the supplier's supplier and supply-related information, and comprehensively manages and supports the supplier's current situation, history, products or services provided, communication, information exchange, contracts, funds, cooperative relations, cooperation projects and related business decisions. Supplier relationship management aims to improve the relationship between enterprises and suppliers of a new management mechanism, the goal is to establish a long-term, close business relationship with suppliers, and through the integration of resources and competitive advantages of both parties, to establish a "win-win" enterprise management model.

SRM system is a kind of customized and highly implementable software, which may involve multiple departments on both sides of the supply according to the specific situation of the enterprise, such as IT department, management department, bidding department, procurement department, finance department, etc. The implementation cycle is usually 3~6 months or even longer. The key technologies of SRM mainly include: dataware housing, data mining, online analysis and processing, and electronic data interchange. Figure 7 shows the typical functional architecture of a supplier relationship management system.

Figure 7 Typical functional architecture of a supplier relationship management system

Commonly used industrial software also includes:

(1) distributed control system (DCS), which is a multi-level computer system composed of process control level and process monitoring level, with communication network as the link, its basic idea is decentralized control, centralized operation, hierarchical management, flexible configuration and convenient configuration.

(2) Advanced process control (APC) software adopts advanced control theory and control methods, with process analysis and mathematical model calculation as the core, and factory control network and management network as the information carrier, so that the production process control transitions from the original conventional PID control to multivariable model predictive control, and finally realizes the purpose of enhancing the stability of the operation of the device and improving the economic benefits of the device. The advanced control system is the basis for enterprises to realize the integration of management and control, and is an important means to realize the integration of informatization and automation.

(3) The energy management software can monitor, analyze and predict the energy consumption status of the enterprise, so as to achieve the refined energy management and control goals of digging deep into the energy saving potential, reasonably planning and utilizing energy, and monitoring and pushing abnormal energy consumption information in real time.

(4) The quality management information system (QMS) can assist enterprises to establish an effective quality assurance system, usually including the formulation of quality policies, objectives, quality planning, quality control, quality assurance and quality improvement activities, to achieve the policy and objectives of quality management, and effectively carry out various quality management activities. The QMS system covers the whole life cycle of products, strengthens the quality management of the whole process from design and development, production, inspection, sales and use, and institutionalizes and standardizes it, so as to improve the robustness of quality. The functional modules of mainstream QMS products on the market mainly include: quality system management, product design quality management, supply control quality management, production process quality management, after-sales quality management, quality traceability analysis and other modules, covering the quality work of R&D, procurement, inspection, prototypes, manufacturing, spare parts and maintenance.

(5) Advanced planning and scheduling (APS) is based on the constraints of manufacturing BOM, process planning, actual working hours and actual capacity of equipment of product manufacturing, and automatically plans and schedules according to the planning and scheduling priorities of the enterprise, which can significantly improve the equipment utilization rate (OEE) and utilization rate of the enterprise, improve production efficiency, and can replace the MRP (material requirements planning) module in ERP software. However, APS has high requirements for the accuracy of basic data, and it is difficult to implement.

In addition, there are various types of automation control system programming, simulation software, industrial robot offline programming and simulation software, configuration software and data acquisition and monitoring and control (SCADA) software, laboratory information management system (LIMS), test data management (TDM), dealer management (DMS), DNC (distributed numerical control, distribution of CNC programs to machine tools) and machine tool data acquisition (MDC), etc. Master data management (MDM) is also being used in large enterprises. Software such as OA, document management, knowledge management, business process management, and project management (including multi-project management) are also widely used in the manufacturing industry.

Transferred from the official account: industrial software applications