Manufacturing industry disruptions may have positive results

In the first half of 2020 during pandemic prevention measures, GovTech.com reports that hackers intensified attacks on manufacturing, technology and telecom companies.

IT, telecom and financial companies are routinely targeted, but the “manufacturing industry has experienced a dramatic increase in interactive intrusion activity compared to past years,” according to cybersecurity research firm CrowdStrike. Manufacturing companies saw an 11% increase in attacks and intrusions on their networks compared with all of 2019.

Working from home increased risk exposure

The spike in attacks was “likely driven by the sudden shift to remote working,” which revealed “more security gaps and vulnerabilities being exploited, reads the firm’s 2020 Threat Hunting Report: Insights from the CrowdStrike OverWatch Team.

Some corporate networks already had strong security practices. However, the abrupt transition to remote work meant others “have had to invest heavily or change their security strategy to survive,” CrowdStrike VP Jennifer Ayers wrote I an email to the media company CQ Roll Call, which operates the publication formerly known as Congressional Quarterly.

Since 2017, KISTERS’ CAD visualization software 3DViewStation Desktop has helped manufacturers to increase cybersecurity and IP protection. Users are able to show or hide internal parts without hindering product lifecycle management. All visible CAD data can be color coded, rotated and redacted as needed. Watch here.

Getting more value from CAD software alternatives

Prior to the pandemic, lean principles already focused on operating process improvements and inventory management.

As manufacturers are urgently looking to further reduce production costs, they are seeking more value from the most essential operating expenses and finding solutions in alternatives they hadn’t previously considered.

Today’s innovative CAD visualization software now includes a complete set of tools to perform Digital Mockup (DMU) analysis. Shedding the hefty price of a CAD license or subscription, and perhaps the slow performance speed, users of KISTERS’ 3DViewStation are access DMU functionalities – such as fast clash detection; clearance checks using color-coded distance bands; and analysis of wall thicknesses, draft angles, and undercuts — on workstations and mobile devices.

“However, 3DViewStation offers more. Other analysis functions like split, geometric compare, neutral fiber and drill-hole recognition round out and complete 3DViewStation’s DMU capabilities,” stated Kelly Baumann, KISTERS North America Business Development Manager.

Since the term digital mockup is used in different ways, developers of 3DViewStation continuously enhance the software to respond to customer needs and requirements.

Baumann explained that some users simply want to load two geometries into the same scene, “For example, they may load 3D CAD data from various sources (or multiple CAD systems) into the same scene – without pre-translation into a common file format.”

For others with more expectations and needs, 3DViewStation provides advanced functionalities to work with the loaded data. Examples include navigating to the area of interest and using boxing or zoning functions to quickly isolate a selection of objects for further processing.

She added, “For many users, the clash analysis feature is a typical Digital Mockup function. 3DViewStation’s clash detection calculates intersection curves, clash volume and penetration depth.”

Baumann welcomes questions, inquiries and even free trials of 3DViewStation. The official product website, 3DViewStation.com, offers extensive information about versions available for Desktop, Virtual Reality (VR) and HTML5 browsers (no installation required) as well as KISTERS VisShare for online collaboration. 3DViewStation may be utilized as stand-alone software or integrate with a PLM, ERP or other management system via APIs.