Drawingless Manufacturing: the Model-Based Definition (MBD) approach

The adoption of Model-Based Definition (MBD), or Drawingless Manufacturing, as an approach in 3D design allows to bring all the design and manufacturing information (PMI, Product and Manufacturing Information) into a single container, such as dimensions, tolerances, annotations , surface finishes, mechanical processes or materials to be used, making their transfer between the design and production functions (internal or external) more effective.

Thanks to the implementation of the MBD approach, it is possible to eliminate the need for 2D table setting which, still today, is the most popular solution for the transfer of SMEs to the production department or to the external supplier. In this way, the design and production processes can be accelerated and the available information can be easily reused for various purposes (e.g. machine costing).

However, some barriers may still make it difficult to adopt Drawingless Manufacturing: the lack of adequate design tools, the lack of skills, the difficulty of the staff involved in adapting to change.

The work and comparison table aims to allow CRIT member companies to discuss the proposed topic, already addressed in 2016, in order to share best practices, approaches, methodologies, and any tools used.

The recipients potentially interested in participating in the Working Table are professional profiles from the following areas: Design Area, Technical Office, Manufacturing, IT.