CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive

29 July 2008

Implementation Investments

Yacht-Maker, Construction Navale Bordeaux (CNB), Sets Sail with PTC® Steering Its Product Development

PTC announced that Construction Navale Bordeaux (CNB) has selected PTC® PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) solutions to design its full line of ships. Established in 1987, CNB is part of the Bénéteau group. The company designs and builds luxury single-hull boats and catamarans (Bordeaux and Lagoon range), fast patrol boats for the Gendarmerie Nationale, as well as fishing boats (CNB Pro range) and trawlers. CNB now completely relies on PTC solutions for the development of all its products from fishing boats to luxury catamarans.

Today, CNB is using a variety of PTC software solutions for a comprehensive Product Development System (PDS): Pro/ENGINEER® parametric 3D CAD for design, ProductView™ for digital mock-up (DMU) and visual collaboration between different departments and its European suppliers, Windchill® for content and process management and Arbortext® for technical illustration authoring. Today, PTC software is present everywhere at CNB, from the design stage to manufacturing, including the different engineering cycles. Additionally, in September 2008, CNB will deploy Mathcad®, PTC’s engineering calculations software into the PDS.

Significant Improvement in Product Quality and Customer Satisfaction

CNB sailing boats are uncompromising when it comes to performance, comfort and safety. CNB offers custom-built luxury models ranging in size from 70 to 117 feet that are designed with the combined skills of six or seven different craftsmen, as well as mechanics, plumbers, electricians, marine carpenters, and superstructure specialists. In all, these models are comprised of between 3,000 to 15,000 components. For CNB, the advantage of the PTC PDS is clear. While the number of hours worked in the design office initially increased with the change from 2D to 3D, the end-product has improved significantly in quality and customer satisfaction. Thanks to the digital mockups produced in ProductView, customers can view the progress of the project. As well, data output is now comprehensive and the use of Arbortext has eliminated the problems associated with assembly instructions.

In particular, as a result of using PTC’s PDS as an enterprise PLM system, CNB is able to take advantage of CAD/CAM capabilities as well as an integration to its ERP system. This has streamlined the development process and substantially contributed to the development of CNB’s flagship product, The Lagoon 620, a luxurious 62-foot catamaran. The PTC PDS has also enabled CNB to divide the work time of the teams and drive increased efficiency.

“The combination of Pro/ENGINEER and Windchill is undoubtedly the best PLM solution available. Scalable and adaptable, PTC solutions have revolutionized how we work and are ideal in meeting the needs of expanding companies. In 2001, we had 80 employees in the company and today we have more than 500. Our boats win awards each year. With PTC software we can design very high-end products within a minimum allotted time,” says Wilfried Cadiou, head of the Digital Department at CNB. “PTC is also a customer-focused company that takes the time to listen to you. PTC has supported us as we have grown in a true spirit of partnership.”

“CNB sailing vessels navigate in all the seas and oceans of the world and we are proud that our solutions are involved in the design and building of these top-of-the-line products,” says Marc Diouane, divisional vice president, PTC Europe. “And as CNB proves, the PTC Product Development System is perfectly adapted to shipbuilding of all kinds, including specialized leisure vessels. PTC will continue to work very closely with the CNB teams to optimize their product development process and create competitive differentiation in the shipbuilding industry.”

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