Yogiji Digi Saves Energy and Increases Innovation with 3DEXPERIENCE Works

India has the world's fifth highest reserves of iron ore, making the country a strong competitor in the global steel industry. India's finished steel consumption, anticipated to increase by 230 million tons, has spurred innovation in steel processing. At the heart of steel processing are cold rolling mills that shape steel into ideal forms for manufacturing.

A leading flat steel processing equipment manufacturer in Faridabad, India (just south of Delhi), Yogiji Digi is saving energy with its sustainable innovations. For example, the company’s cold rolling mill designs have resulted in a 2 to 3 percent reduction in rolling power consumption. Additionally, it reduces CO2 emissions by 356 tons of every year.

"We have always focused on energy conservation and the environmental impact of the equipment we develop," says Managing Director Navneet Gill. "Most steel production mills use lots of water in the process. We have designed our mills to use less water compared to other mills. Every year, we save around 3.2 million liters of water [about 845,350 gallons] on each mill."

OPTIMIZED INDUSTRIAL MACHINERY DESIGN

One of the biggest challenges Yogiji Digi faces is the sheer size and complexity of its flat steel processing equipment. “It takes lots of time to build the equipment from scratch," according to Navneet. "We have been able to overcome this challenge using the SOLIDWORKS Simulation platform.

High-speed rolling mill design demands accuracy and precision within microns. "There's no scope for error," says Head of Project Management Aseem Gill. "The design needs to be absolutely perfect." Due to size alone, most industrial machinery contains a staggering number of mechanical and electrical components. "SOLIDWORKS has made life a lot easier," emphasizes Aseem. "Generating the bill of materials used to take me two days. With SOLIDWORKS, it takes just two hours."

Yogiji Digi also leverages SOLIDWORKS to improve the designs of its behemoth machinery. "We designed the mill housing and complete cold rolling mill assembly for one of our customers," explains Chief Operating Officer Varun Rana. "It ultimately helped us reduce the mill housing weight by up to 30 percent."

BETTER COMMUNICATION ENABLES FASTER AND MORE EFFICIENT PROBLEM SOLVING

Companies can eliminate communication silos by enabling all team members, including customers and suppliers, to secure access to product data via the 3DEXPERIENCE Works platform. Communities on the platform enable anyone to make posts, discuss projects, create tasks, and more. Customized dashboard views enable users to display only the information needed to complete the job at hand.

"Sometimes [departmental] silos created friction. With 3DEXPERIENCE Works Lean Team Player, everyone is on a common dashboard," says Aseem. The Lean Team Player environment facilitates natural interactions and allows everyone to engage productively. Work-availability metrics, real-time shop-floor views and more enable informed decision-making. Aseem continues: "I've noticed people posting issues to the community. Other team members offer their suggestions or [voluntarily] take on some of the responsibility of the project. "Even if I am traveling, or one of my project engineers is at the site, he can just document his observations and put them online through Lean Team Player." Aseem concludes: "I think Lean Team Player has brought the team much closer."

REAL-TIME COLLABORATION MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE

"3DEXPERIENCE and Lean Team Player have helped our design and manufacturing teams collaborate on a real-time basis," says Navneet. "It also helps in the assembly of the goods because we manufacture such big lines. Each of the lines are more than 150 meters, sometimes 200 meters."

If you'd like to learn more about optimizing your designs and increasing departmental collaboration, contact your local reseller about SOLIDWORKS and 3DEXPERIENCE Works solutions.