With shifting customer preferences and rapid developments in technology, today’s automotive manufacturers are facing challenges that the industry has never seen before. At this year’s 3DEXPERIENCE FORUM, one of our speakers included Honda’s Ron Emerson, associate chief 
engineer of Honda North America’s Virtual Maturation Team, who explained how the company continues to overcome these challenges using Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform. As part of Honda’s Virtual Maturation Team, Ron uses Dassault Systèmes’ software to simulate Honda’s production process from conception to customer delivery.
Specifically, the Virtual Maturation Team uses the 3DEXPERIENCE platform for design and trial processes during manufacturing verification, including its product, process and resource functions. Here’s a look at how it’s done:
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- Product – Dassault Systèmes’ CATIA software allows Honda to virtually simulate its cars to ensure specific plants can build vehicles as designed. With the software, Honda is able to see any vehicle and guarantee that its plants have the contents and resources they need to build each specific variation. Dassault Systèmes’ CATIA enables Honda’s plant managers to view the product build and sequence and apply it to the actual plant. Because all of Honda’s plants carry different resources, this step is particularly important.
- Process – Honda’s legacy process tool was only text based. While it was a valuable tool for engineers at the time, Honda couldn’t take advantage of the 3D data R&D produced and the 2D data was difficult for process planners to visualize. To correct this, Honda needed a software solution that could process 3D data quickly and simply. By working with Dassault Systèmes, Honda created a tool that could pull data from its legacy system as a starting point and allowed process engineers to easily make changes. Additionally, the software clearly outlined part consumption, ensuring plants had the correct parts for the vehicle variation they produced.
- Resource – Because Honda’s plants are all built differently, the company uses Dassault Systèmes’ software to virtually design each specific manufacturing plant. To create these simulations, Honda used an AEC application to bring each plant into context, reflecting the kinetics, conveyance system and entire work area. The virtual model allows Honda to preview how its products will move through a specific plant and to visualize if certain conveyor models will work across plants.
Using Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform, Honda’s Virtual Maturation Team was able to move its verification process from strictly physical to primarily digital verification, which has enhanced the company’s time to market and productivity.
Didn’t catch Honda’s session at the 3DEXPERIENCE FORUM? Here’s the full presentation for more on how the 3DEXPERIENCE platform has enabled Honda’s digital product development.
