Siemens 2013 Annual Report Download - page 48

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Enhancing industrial productivity
 – Knee replacements make it
possible for people like Gordon
France to live normal, active lives
once again.
 – At our Technology and Applica-
tion Center in Erlangen, Germany,
Sabine Fietz describes how intelli-
gent software solutions from
Siemens enable manufac turers to
produce implants faster and thus
more economically – for the bene-
fit of patients.
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Industry solutions for people
Siemens engineer Sabine Fietz has big
plans: “One of the megatrends in our soci-
ety relates to demographic development.
People are living longer, which means that
there’s a growing need for healthcare prod-
ucts. As the age pyramid for the industrial-
ized countries clearly shows, more and
more individuals – like Gordon France – are
reaching an age at which their joints are no
longer up to the demands placed on them
in daily life. Of course, these people still
want to continue leading active lives. For
many patients, artificial knees are the only
way to improve their clinical outcomes and
maintain their quality of life. The challenge
is to manufacture increasingly individual-
ized products that are also affordable.”
This challenge applies particularly to im-
plants, many of which have only a limited
lifespan and must be replaced after a cer-
tain time. Artificial knees, for example, are
subject to heavy loads and generally do not
last longer than ten to  years. The quest
to provide the best possible prosthetic for
each patient is spawning a continually in-
creasing number of different implant sizes
and shapes. Aware of this situation, Sabine
Fietz and her colleagues are leveraging
Siemens’ strengths to create solutions for
implant manufacturers. “At Siemens, we not
only have decades of experience in indus-
trial production. We’re also one of Europe’s
largest software providers. Our innovative
software solutions enable all process
steps – from a product’s development to its
manufacture – to be simulated, tested and
integrated in a virtual environment. What’s
the advantage? Our customers can test and
optimize all steps in the product develop-
ment and manufacturing process in the
virtual domain before a single machine
tool or production facility goes into opera-
tion. They can see what impact a change in
the planned product design has on all fur-
ther production steps, whether the produc-
tion facility is running smoothly, and where
the manufacturing processes can be made
even more productive, efficient and flexi-
ble.” Only when everything is working per-
fectly in the on-screen simulation does the
real production process begin.
Siemens is also leveraging this expertise in
its solution for the industrial production of
implants, thus supporting prosthetics man-
ufacturers worldwide. As Sabine Fietz
knows from many discussions with custom-
ers, manufacturers find themselves facing
more and more new challenges: “Due to
the steadily increasing number of patients
in need of artificial joints, the demand for
different implant sizes and shapes is also
growing.” In order to manufacture vari-
ously sized batches of prosthetics econom-
ically and thus as cost-neutrally as possible,
companies are looking for ways to optimize
their existing processes. What’s needed are
manufacturing solutions that offer greater
flexibility and efficiency while maintaining
high standards of quality and current levels
of production reliability. “That’s exactly
what our solution does,” says Sabine Fietz.
“By linking virtual and real processes, we
enable the efficient use of manufacturing
facilities even for small-batch production.”
Efficiency means one thing above all: speed.
Whether rapidly implementing specifica-
tions in the form of digital prototypes,
quickly developing computer-numerical-
ly-controlled (CNC) programs, swiftly set-
ting up or retooling machines for different
batch sizes or, last but not least, accelerat-
ing machine-tool performance – Siemens’
solution makes it all possible while also
ensuring that quality requirements are
met. “By implementing this approach,
we’re reducing the cost, effort and time
needed to manufacture implants and lay-
ing the foundation for more affordable and
thus more widely available implantation
processes.” That’s what Sabine Fietz finds
most rewarding: “Our solution is helping
patients regain their quality of life. And ulti-
mately, that’s what counts.” PAGE 
Creating efficient solutions