Discus Software Solution Provides Production Planning, First-Article Inspection Services

Discus Software Co. showcases its software tools, which are said to reduce the time it takes to complete first article inspection, in-process inspection planning, process planning and production analysis.

Discus Desktop is the foundation module of Discus tools that run on a Windows workstation. This is the only required component, while all other modules are optional add-ons.

Discus Desktop combined with IDA enables auto ballooning of PDF or TIFF engineering drawings. Discus Desktop can enable users to manage the Technical Data Package (TDP) and identify characteristics and requirements from 2D drawings and specification documents. Other Discus modules can be added to capture results (Discus Results), open and interrogate 3D CAD models (Discus 3D) and create detailed in-process inspection plans (Discus Planner).

According to the company, the concept behind Discus Desktop is for users to have multiple documents in a TDP that contain the specific part characteristics that need to be identified and verified. Rather than spending hours manually ballooning drawings and documents, as well as typing the requirements into various forms, the Discus IDA tool is designed to enable users to identify and tag these requirements. Users can then generate a consolidated master list of requirements, known as the “Bill of Characteristics.”

Discus Desktop can be started by opening the 2D part drawing and any associated requirement documents. Discus IDA then drops balloons and captures the annotations that represent the requirements. Discus automatically generates the associated Bill of Characteristics.

When the user is done ballooning, they can simply export the ballooned drawing to a PDF file and the characteristic data (users can use the requirement images, or convert it to structured format) to the Customers’ Excel or Net-Inspect format.