Richard ButtonRichard Button
Manager, Engineering and Manufacturing Automation
Abbott Laboratories

Rick Button is the manager of engineering and manufacturing automation (EMA) at Abbott Laboratories in Irving Texas. EMA is the engineering IT organization for the systems development, core R&D organization of Abbott Diagnostics Division (ADD). Mr. Button has worked at ADD, a leading supplier of invitro diagnostic equipment, for 12 years. Simply stated, ADD builds blood and urine analyzers. In his role, Mr. Button manages the application development and support personnel for the engineering applications used by ADD systems development. These applications include the UGS I-Deas mechanical CAE / CAD suite of applications, the Cadence suite of electrical CAE / CAD applications, the UGS Teamcenter Enterprise Product Lifecycle Management application, the Right Hemisphere Product Graphics Management suite of tools, and several other ancillary tools to support engineering applications including FPGA development, requirements management, design for manufacturing analysis, and reliability analysis. Prior to becoming the EMA manager, Mr. Button was an R&D development manager in charge of developing major subsystems for the Architect line of analyzers. Mr. Button spent 10 years with Vaught Aircraft, where he managed a group that developed robotic manufacturing applications. He also spent over six years at Texas Instruments where he was involved in robotic and CAD development activities.

Abstract

PLM Downstream: A key area for ROI

This presentation will show how Abbott Laboratories efficiently and cost-effectively published 3D product design and associated product manufacturing information (PMI) across its extended enterprise in the PDF format without compromising security. Suppliers understood design intent faster and therefore increased component reliability sooner. Manufacturing assembly instructions were developed earlier in the development phase and enabled faster ramp-up time to production. Support training and service manuals were developed faster and sooner so that field service and support call centers were ready when products first shipped. Downstream PLM publishing is a key component of any successful PLM strategy, and a significant component of PLM ROI.