CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
30 March 2010
Implementation Investments
Lattice Technology Solutions Deliver 3D to Motor Insurance Repair Research Center
Lattice Technology® Inc. is delivering key solutions to Thatcham, also known as the British Motor Insurance Repair Research Centre, to enable 3D simulation and documentation of automotive repairs for the UK insurance industry.
Thatcham undertakes research on behalf of UK automotive insurers to calculate repair times for all models of vehicle on the UK roads. Traditionally, this has involved physically disassembling a particular model, stripping it of its parts and then conducting timed studies as it is reassembled. These 'Thatcham times' are then used by the UK automotive insurers to assess the cost of repairs when claims are being made.
Andrew Marsh, Advanced Data and Methods Operations Manager, Thatcham, explains "Tracking down the required car model, shipping it to our workshop and then undertaking these disassembly processes is a very costly procedure in both monetary terms and time." He continues, "With 3D CAD data we knew that we could reduce the cost of this process."
However, it would be too expensive for the not-for-profit organization to invest in the wide range of CAD packages operated by the various automotive manufacturers. Therefore, UK reseller Epitomy recommended Lattice Technology's Lattice3D Dataway as the ideal solution for handling all major 3D CAD data formats for a fraction of the cost.
"Lattice3D Dataway offers the flexibility Thatcham needs to open all CAD data formats and save as XVL® without requiring CAD seats and CAD expertise. Once in XVL format, Lattice Technology's XVL Studio tools can be used to edit, animate and manipulate the 3D data," explains Bill Barnes, General Manager, Lattice Technology Inc.
With automotive manufacturers sharing 3D CAD data, Thatcham's complete reliance on physical parts is reduced, making significant budgetary and time savings.
Says Andrew Marsh, "The immediate return on investment comes from exporting technical illustrations directly from XVL Studio. Without the CAD data, technical illustrations previously took hours to create from photographs and other sources. With XVL Studio's Illustration Export Option, we anticipate a 70% time saving in producing supporting publications."
Lattice Technology Solutions allow 3D data to be used downstream, regardless of the source, for simulation, mock up, and comprehensive technical documentation. XVL Studio is the core authoring tool for complete and accurate digital mock up of 3D data, and is complemented by Lattice3D Reporter, for delivering usable 3D mBOMs, sBOMs, work instructions and more in Excel spreadsheets. XVL Web Master delivers the same information in HTML, and Lattice3D Dataway is used for native input of 3D data into Lattice Technology Solutions and creation of resulting information in PDF.
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