Introducing SDE 2009

VISTAGY’s New Seat Design Environment™ 2009 Speeds Time to Market by Automating Entire Engineering Process

New Seat Design Environment™ 2009 (SDE) software provides seat cover manufacturing engineers with an accurate CAD master model definition of a seat trim cover from the earliest stages of design through to production. Using this master model, engineers can automatically generate up-to-date engineering data and documentation as well as flat patterns for manufacturing. Flat patterns altered with 2D editing software can also be brought back into the 3D CAD model and then used to automatically update all engineering and manufacturing data. This allows engineers to utilize a faster, more precise process for delivering high-quality and cost-effective seat covers to market.

Improving on Traditional Methodology

Shown is a producibility simulation and resulting flat patterns of an automotive seat cover generated by VISTAGY's Seat Design Environment™ (SDE). SDE's virtual prototyping environment enables seating designers to assess cover fit problems through material simulation so they can make alternations to the design earlier in the development phase when changes cost less and development time can be dramatically reduced. The simulation on the left indicates where there is mild tension or stretching (cyan), excessive tension (dark blue), mild wrinkling (yellow), excessive wrinkling (red) and areas where there are no manufacturing concerns (green). On the right is an exploded view of the flat patterns necessary to create this seat.SDE 2009 improves the traditional 2D-based seat trim cover design and manufacturing process by providing a CAD-integrated environment where geometric and non-geometric information can be captured within a single 3D CAD model throughout the entire design process; from styling, detailed design and initial generation of flat patterns to final transition to manufacturing. Document and data generation, such as engineering drawings, bills of materials (BOMs), cost assessments and sew instructions are automated, ensuring accurate documentation with a single click of a button. Now, design and manufacturing engineers can efficiently create and modify seat trim cover product definitions and generate associated engineering data automatically for use throughout a company and its supply chain.

SDE 2009 also provides enhanced capabilities for communication and documentation, producibility simulations and seat cover definition:

  • VISTAGY’s Seat Design Environment™ (SDE) generates engineering drawings that provide all of the relevant design information in a single, one-page document that helps communicate design intent to the manufacturing team. This increases accuracy and reduces overall product development time. Improved communication and documentation – Engineering
    as well as manufacturing drawings can now be created with SDE 2009. Show or hide cutouts in sewing reports and engineering drawings as well as highlight colors to show seam type (French/Deck, etc.) in isometric and flat pattern views

  • VISTAGY's SDE features powerful new capability for generating producibility simulations that can be used to visualize where manufacturing problems will occur so they can be addressed early in the development cycle. The simulation shown here on an automotive seat cushion highlights where there is tension or stretching (cyan), mild wrinkling (yellow), excessive wrinkling (red) and areas where there are no manufacturing concerns (green).” Enhanced producibility simulations – With enhanced display of producibility results, the simulation can be easily used to identify issues such as wrinkling that need to be addressed to make better flat
    patterns

  • Improved capabilities for defining seat covers – There are now more options for creating attachments (by center point and length, by start and end points, and by point and length) and for creating manufacturing sew lines (by curve, attachment or backing pad)

SDE 2009 lets seat design and manufacturing engineers create an invaluable master model for use throughout the entire trim design and manufacturing process by bringing flat patterns altered with 2D editing software back into the CAD model so engineering and manufacturing documentation and data can be automatically updated. SDE 2009 enhances your competitiveness by improving data accuracy and streamlining the engineering process.

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