Manufacturing industries will benefit from VR applications in several ways. The use of virtual reality to build prototypes will reduce the costs of finished products. Physical prototypes can be expensive to change, but virtual prototypes can be changed quickly and inexpensively. The traditional design tools of manufacturing, CAD and CAM, can be significantly extended through VR. Using VR techniques, a complete "walk-through" of a design can be used to give an environment like feel. Virtual reality will also help manufacturing labourers in assembly line production. Just as incision lines could be superimposed for a doctor, cut lines can be superimposed for a labourer. This will greatly increase the quality of a finished product.

Use in Design

• CAD/CAM have been mainstays in the manufacturing industry
• VR will extend CAD/CAM through visualization techniques
• after completing design of a manufacturing facility a complete walk through of the plant can be accomplished using VR

Use in Testing/Prototyping

• virtual prototypes of a products are created and tested in a virtual
• environment
• allows for easy switching of dials and gauges in the design of aircraft and other experimenting with ergonomics
• wind tunnels can also be simulated
• US government estimated a 1 billion dollar saving by using virtual prototypes for the design of one particular helicopter
• a virtual "protospace" was created by Boeing for the design of 777

Use for Technicians/Laborer

• much like the doctor, manufacturing technicians will be able to perform their jobs more accurately us VR
• superimposed cutting lines a near perfect product can be created every time
• technicians could use VR to have text from a manual pop into their vision while working a particular part, thus eliminating the time it takes to look it up in volumes of paper manuals

Links

Simulation Based Design