Increased efficiency of tool development through an integrated and customized task management system

Conventional PLM systems that record the project progress and management are usually very cost-intensive and do not cover the specific needs of tool development. The Moldex3D iSLM (intelligent Simulation Lifecycle Management) has been developed to close exactly these gaps or requirements. More details about the capabilities of Moldex3D iSLM are explained in our article.

The entire development process of an injection mold in the plastics industry includes several phases such as product design, mold design, tool design, mold manufacturing and mold sampling. Furthermore, the complexity of this development process is increased by the fact that it is industry specific i.e. automotive, electrical, etc. and for each phase different departments and their respective expertise interact with each other. Therefore, a flexible management system is needed that is capable to adapt the different requirements of injection mold development as well as to the industries and companies.

Moldex3D iSLM offers exactly these capabilities. The entire development phase of a mold is represented in a project structure plan (psp), by dividing it into tasks and subtasks. For each subtask the status, priority, responsible person and a due date is displayed. This makes it possible to get a quick overview of the overall project progress and which capacity is is still available for further projects. Furthermore, it is possible to link or upload simulation results and display them in real time. Thus, the information can be retrieved quickly and on the spot. This saves a considerable amount of time, as lengthy communications are no longer necessary.

The project progress can be monitored individually for each user or tool order via the task object list. Furthermore, the estimated time of completion and the time required are displayed. The visualization of the tasks by means of the list and calendar display supports the project members and the person responsible to process or assign the tasks faster, as well as to control them. Thus, the entire project flow can run more smoothly and capacity bottlenecks can be better compensated.
Completed tasks of the individual project phases can also be shown as a bar chart. This provides a very good overview of project progress and staff utilization. This presentation method also has the advantage that the contribution of the individual team members becomes apparent and can be used as a basis for motivation. The data collected can also be used as a basis for planning similar projects in the future.

Finally, top-level managers can use Moldex3D iSLM to track the progress of overall project assignments as well as the status of individual project phases in order to react more quickly to difficulties or to better coordinate the acceptance of additional projects.