PDM Product Data Management

Product Data Management (PDM) plays a crucial and indispensable role in the operation system of Manufacturing Execution System (MES), and can be regarded as one of the core execution standards.It is built on a series of complex and refined foundations, including product formula research, product structure design (BOM), construction standard design, and various process flows.

In terms of product formula research, this is a process of in-depth exploration and precise blending.Taking the tire industry as an example, the technical team needs to conduct in-depth research on the characteristics, efficacy, and interactions between rubber compounds and chemical raw materials.In order to develop a high-performance tire, R&D personnel need to conduct extensive experiments and try different proportions of each component. From the initial screening of raw materials, to multiple small sample experiments, and finally determining the final formula, every detail in this series of processes needs to be accurately recorded and managed through the PDM system.

In the field of product structure design, engineers use advanced design software and PDM systems to create detailed engineering drawings and product layer by layer BOM structures, ensuring the scientific and traceable design of the entire product structure.

Relying on the PDM system, the product development process has achieved comprehensive and standardized management.Unified product code management is crucial, as it assigns a unique "ID" to each product.In finished product management, each product needs to be assigned a universal unique code. Through this code, accurate identification and tracking can be achieved throughout the entire lifecycle of the product, from the initial manufacturing process on the production line, to warehouse storage, logistics transportation, sales terminals, and after-sales processes.Version management during the R&D process provides a clear framework for the product's development process.For example, in the tire prototype development project, every time the technical team performs a component replacement or upgrade, the PDM system will automatically generate a new process version.Technicians can trace back to previous versions at any time to see at which stage feature changes were added, greatly improving the collaborative efficiency and quality control capabilities of process development work.

Product lifecycle management runs through the entire process of a product from its inception to its demise.In the stage of product concept formation, the market research team collects information such as consumer demand and industry trends, which are transmitted to the R&D department through the PDM system to provide direction for the initial design of the product.During the product production phase, PDM systems assist enterprises in managing production processes, quality control, and supply chain collaboration.After the product enters the market for sale, the after-sales feedback information collected through the PDM system allows the enterprise to improve and upgrade the product.At the end of the product lifecycle, PDM system can also guide enterprises to carry out reasonable product recycling and disposal, ensuring the effective utilization of resources and environmental protection.Product construction standard management ensures that products strictly follow established standard specifications during the production process.The PDM system integrates and manages these standards, allowing on-site production personnel to access them at any time, ensuring that the construction process meets design requirements and safety regulations.The document and drawing management module is responsible for storing, organizing, and retrieving all product related document materials.

The laboratory management part in the PDM system also plays a crucial role.It is based on precise experimental tracking and detection, and strictly controls the entire process of raw materials from entry to inspection, testing process to testing data.In the tire industry, when the purchased natural rubber, synthetic rubber and other raw materials arrive at the factory, PDM obtains the batch and supplier information of the raw materials, and technicians send the samples to the laboratory for various indicator tests according to the testing plan.During the testing process, the data automatically recorded by the experimental equipment is transmitted in real-time to PDM.The management of the new design specification test tire has been under the supervision of the PDM system since the project was approved.The project team clarifies the research and development goals, performance requirements, and other project approval information of the test tire in the PDM system.In the product equipment stage, select suitable tire manufacturing equipment based on testing requirements, and debug and record equipment parameters.When developing a trial production plan, accurately arrange production time, personnel allocation, and raw material supply details.Finally, the produced test tires will be sent to a professional laboratory for comprehensive testing, including testing of key performance indicators such as tire wear resistance, grip, and high-speed stability.This series of processes fully reflects the collaborative environment in the product development process, where different departments such as research and development, production, and quality inspection work closely together through the PDM system to jointly promote the product development process.At the same time, the PDM system effectively manages the standardized development research process, revolutionizing the traditional product development process management system and establishing a system of knowledge assets throughout the entire lifecycle (product development) for enterprises. This enables valuable experience, technical data, and other knowledge assets accumulated by enterprises in the long-term product development process to be properly preserved and efficiently utilized.

Equipment process data has long been an important on-site setting task, relying on manual operation.Operators need to manually input the corresponding process parameters on each device, which is undoubtedly a huge and extremely tedious task.Moreover, due to the lack of effective recording methods, the setting of equipment process parameters has not formed a complete historical record.This leads to the inability of enterprises to accurately analyze the impact of past equipment parameter adjustments on product quality and production efficiency when making process improvements, making it difficult to summarize lessons learned from historical data, thus hindering the continuous optimization and tracking of processes.

The emergence of MES system has changed this situation, as it centrally manages equipment process data through sub stations.In the initial stage of system construction, technicians will use the basic information MES system of all equipment in the factory and establish process data templates corresponding to the equipment.As the production process progresses, the MES system collects real-time operating parameters of each device, such as operating temperature, vibration frequency, motor speed, etc.Through advanced data comparison algorithms, MES systems can not only compare the current operating parameters of equipment with historical data, but also analyze the optimal equipment settings for different products on different machines and time periods by combining production data of different products on different machines.For example, during the high temperature period in summer, reducing the temperature parameters of a certain extruder by 2-3 degrees Celsius and adjusting the screw speed can significantly stabilize the quality of the tread during washing.Once the optimal equipment setting scheme is determined, the MES system directly returns these parameters from the MES database to the PDM database through the planning execution function. The technical personnel determine the latest scheme, and after the scheme is approved, it is issued to the corresponding machine equipment.This process not only greatly saves manual operation time and reduces the probability of errors caused by manual input, but also improves the stability of the production process and the consistency of product quality, providing strong support for enterprises to improve production efficiency and reduce production costs.