Facilities and Equipment of the PLM Environment

This chapter addresses the equipment and facilities that are used during the product lifecycle. A wide range of facilities is used across the product lifecycle. They vary from one industry sector to another. Depending on the industry, the facilities could include laboratories; wind tunnels; manufacturing plants; service centres; test sites; decommissioning facilities and wreckers’ yards. And an even wider range of equipment is used across the lifecycle. Depending on the industry, the equipment could include rapid prototyping equipment to produce accurate physical prototypes directly from a CAD model. It could include equipment used during the production phase of the lifecycle, such as a stamping machine to make car body parts, or a milling machine to machine a turbine blade, or an oven to heat plastics. Measuring equipment is used to measure the wear of products in test and in use. Sales and delivery equipment, such as a refrigerated display cabinet, could be used to get the product to the customer. Robots could be used to disassemble products when they get to end-of-life. Common characteristics and issues of equipment and facilities in the PLM environment are detailed.