Panasonic's home appliances company and its kitchen appliance business unit are partnering with PLM (product lifecycle management) software firm Dassault Systèmes.Yasushi Morimoto, team leader at the kitchen appliance unit, says the goal is to support development of more convenient and safer home appliances, as well as to accelerate introduction of induced heating appliances, such as flat cooktops, into the Japanese market.
He makes the point that, as demand increases for products that perform intelligent functions, companies face the challenge of managing complex design environments to interconnect the software, mechanical and electrical components required to manufacture more sophisticated products.
IBM and Dassault Systèmes are helping Panasonic to use Catia software for digital development of product design plans, he explains.
"Compared to other software products, Catia has a rich set of design functions needed for products requiring sophisticated surface and shape designs such as our electric cooking heaters," says Morimoto.
"Seamless integration between CAD, CAE and CAM drove our decision to choose Dassault Systèmes' 3D platform. Our goal is to expand into new product development areas by enhancing collaboration among internal units, realising global collaborative design, and improving perfection of design through expanding utilization of CAE," he adds.
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