Antonio Carraro - Siemens PLM Software

Industrial machinery and heavy equipment
Antonio Carraro
Delivering maximum functionality in minimum space
Products
NX, Teamcenter
Business challenges
Design compact tractors with
the same functionality as traditional models
Shorten product development
cycle
Minimize physical prototypes
Keys to success
NX to design in 3D and leverage virtual prototyping
Teamcenter for full traceability and efficient management
of all components
Replacement of 2D drawings
with advanced 3D files to
improve supply chain
communication
Results
20 percent reduction of development time for new projects
Full visibility and traceability
of each component and
project, enabling faster development and early detection of
errors
Using NX and Teamcenter,
Antonio Carraro cuts tractor
development time by 20 percent,
minimizes use of physical
prototypes and optimizes supply
chain collaboration
Compact multifunction tractors
The history of Carraro tractors dates back
to 1910, when Giovanni Carraro built the
first multifunction agricultural machine.
His workshop expanded gradually, transforming into an industrial business for the
production of sowing machines and then
tractors, until Antonio, his younger son,
founded Antonio Carraro di Giovanni in
1960 and launched the company’s first
single-axis tractor. Since then the business, based in Campodarsego near Padova
in northeast Italy, has focused on the construction of compact multifunction
tractors.
Compact and multifunction are the two
distinct properties that differentiate
Antonio Carraro’s tractors from conventional tractors. Damiano De Checchi, technical manager, explains, “Our tractors are
compact and have a low gravity center,
because they must operate in areas that
traditional models typically can’t navigate,
for instance vineyards and fruit fields, on
expansive hills and even mountains with
steep slopes. And they are multifunctional
as they have to carry a wide range of
equipment to perform operations not only
in agriculture, but also in municipal services like road cleaning. This includes winter activities that require snow blades and
salt spreaders.”
Same functionality, half the space
Antonio Carraro offers 20 to 100 continuously variable transmission (CVT) models
with two basic architectures: tractors with
steering front wheels and articulated tractors with fixed wheels that turn by means
of a central articulated joint on their chassis. Besides compact dimensions, the
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Results (continued)
Tighter supply chain integration for co-design activities
and production outsourcing
Association of all types of
data (Microsoft Office® documents, e-mails, pictures,
text and tables) to item/
product codes
“Compact dimensions are
essential for our tractors.
In the past we had to make
physical prototypes for each
new model to understand
how we could layout and
incorporate all components.
Now, with NX, we can check
everything virtually, in a
faster and easier way. With
virtual prototyping we have
achieved a time saving of
20 percent.”
Damiano De Checchi
Manager
Technical Department
Antonio Carraro
“With virtual prototyping we
have achieved a time saving of
20 percent.”
Damiano De Checchi
Manager
Technical Department
Antonio Carraro
peculiarity of these machines is their
reversibility, i.e., the driver’s seat can be
rotated by 180 degrees to drive the tractor
in either direction with equally complete
control, whether pulling or pushing.
“These peculiarities have an impact on our
design cycle,” notes De Checchi. “Being
designed for special applications, our tractors must have basically the same features
as traditional models, but within half the
space. Therefore, design involves careful
negotiation, and each time a new device
or part is added, we review the entire project to fit everything into the available
envelope.”
To meet these design challenges, accelerate the product development cycle and
reduce the use of physical prototypes, the
company decided to make the transition to
3D design. In 1999, the company adopted
NX™ software.
With NX, the product development process
has improved significantly. De Checchi
explains, “Compact dimensions are essential for our tractors. In the past we had to
make physical prototypes for each new
model to understand how we could lay out
and incorporate all components. Now,
with NX, we can check everything virtually
in a faster and easier way. With virtual prototyping we have achieved a time saving
of 20 percent and we can leverage the
benefits of rapid prototyping, generating
physical prototypes of metal parts directly
from the 3D model through techniques
like stereolithography.”
Supply chain integration,
standardization
The transition to 3D presented its challenges as De Checchi recalls: “We had
some 18,000 active parts in 2D. Besides
reducing prototypes, we needed a data
format other than the 2D drawing; it had
to be a file, a more advanced document to
dialog with others outside our company,
particularly suppliers requesting a 3D
model to generate molds and data for
their machining centers.”
Today, Antonio Carraro designs
tractors in-house and outsources component
production to subcontractors. After defining
the guidelines of a project, a co-design
phase is launched in collaboration with the
supplier to industrialize the product and
optimize costs. NX facilitates communication by offering effective data exchange
support via the STEP format.
NX has brought significant benefits in
terms of standardization and optimization.
Gradually, Antonio Carraro’s technical
department has developed libraries of
screws, washers, O-rings, Seeger® rings,
bearings and other components to accelerate design. The routing capability of NX
has streamlined path definition, which
used to require the physical construction
of all pipes and fittings to identify the best
route inside the physical mockup. “Another
highly productive benefit is directly
derived from NX FEM functionality,” adds
Checchi, “as it allows us to compare different metal structures, brackets and stress
levels on the bodywork, and avoid mistakes in the early project stages.”
Full traceability of the entire lifecycle of
a component
In 2000, the NX implementation was followed by the adoption of Teamcenter®
software for digital lifecycle management.
Currently, Teamcenter is used only in
design, but there are plans to extend it
outside the technical domain. “We are
training users who currently use other
methods to manage data, “says De
Checchi. “Teamcenter can associate
different types of objects, such as
Microsoft Office documents or other applications, making them accessible and visible to all users according to specific
authorization levels. We can store and
retrieve e-mails, pictures, text documents
and table files associated to product items,
so that we can share more information.
That’s why we are planning an even tighter
integration with Teamcenter.”
The JT™ data format plays a key role in the
company’s plans to improve collaboration
as it enables the company to distribute
information outside the technical department, as well as to access Teamcenter
from remote locations via the web, making
it easy and convenient to retrieve a file, do
the required work and save it after
modifications.
“NX FEM functionality allows us to compare
different metal structures, brackets and
stress levels on the bodywork, and avoid
mistakes in the early project stages.”
Damiano De Checchi
Manager
Technical Department
Antonio Carraro
Solutions/Services
NX
www.siemens.com/nx
Teamcenter
www.siemens.com/teamcenter
Customer’s primary business
Antonio Carraro, with a storied
history in multifunction tractors, offers alternative and
innovative products designed
to deliver the best possible
solutions to customers in agriculture, green areas and road
maintenance.
Customer location
Campodarsego (PD)
Italy
The change management strengths of
Teamcenter provide Antonio Carraro with
extraordinary benefits over its former process. De Checchi explains, “Our prior PDM
approach was very simple and just kept
the latest correct and approved version of
any component. With Teamcenter, instead,
we have the full traceability of the entire
lifecycle of a component, with all of its
change history.”
“With Teamcenter...we have the full
traceability of the entire lifecycle of a
component, with all of its change history.”
Damiano De Checchi
Manager
Technical Department
Antonio Carraro
Siemens PLM Software
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+1 314 264 8499
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+44 (0) 1276 413200
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www.siemens.com/plm
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