A glimpse at a CAM (Computer Aided Machining) Software Migration Study from 1994
CAM Platform Migration Study
Note: My employer agreed that this study could be posted publicly
as long as their name was not disclosed in it and that no information pertaining
to specific business directions or special discount pricing be revealed.
The views expressed are therefore only my own, as well as any conclusions
reached.
Background and Purpose
In 1994, 34 Windows NT PC’s were deployed into “The Company” for the
purpose of replacing antiquated, unreliable, custom-developed, or non-existent
DNC systems with a single common corporate-recommended DNC system. As an
added perk, the PC’s were equipped with eXceed software to allow CAM users
to view and program tool paths directly from the same PC that provided
the electronic Paper Tape Program (PTP) files to their Computerized Numerically
Controlled (CNC) machines – about 70 in all.
This configuration of software and hardware was the best combination
of a low-cost, reliable, modern, low maintenance system available at that
time. The equipment’s 3-year lease has long since expired. The Company
is prohibited from deploying future DNC upgrades because the upgrade requires
Windows NT 4.0, eXceed 6.0, and a newer NFS software than what they have.
These newer software packages do not perform well and will not install
on 66Mhz Pentium PCs with the limited RAM and disk space they have. However,
most of their CNC machines are the same as in 1994 and there is no strong
reason to upgrade solely due to DNC requirements.
At this time, Unigraphics Solutions is preparing to release Unigraphics
16, which will run natively under many UNIX workstations or Windows NT.
Many CAD/CAM sites are eyeing Windows NT UG as an opportunity to reduce
their overall CAD/CAM system platform cost, due to the higher cost of commercial
UNIX hardware platforms like Hewlett Packard and Sun. The purpose of this
study then, is to evaluate whether The Company’s CAM business would benefit
from a migration of its current HP/UX based UG systems to a lower-cost
PC platform. Included in the PC platform study will be Linux, which is
a UNIX variant that is less expensive and more popular today than all commercial
UNIX systems combined.
Benchmarks
Performance
Pentium-based PCs use a CISC style CPU which is not as efficient
as the RISC CPU used in modern workstations. Benchmarks between similarly
equipped systems using both CPUs vary wildly depending on use. It’s safe
to say that overall, a 500Mhz PC should perform as well as a 360Mhz HP
workstation, similarly equipped. As a single-user station, Windows NT and
Linux should perform very similarly on the same CPU, with Linux gaining
the edge.
Cost (for 34 seats)
Software Linux HP/UX Windows NT DNC $5000 (develop) $10,200 $25,296 Text editor free free free X-client free free $5,950 NFS free free $2,210 Telnet free free free Web browser free free free E-mail free free free Office Suite free $23,800 $11,900 ANSI C compiler free $50,830 $8,670 UNIX utils free free $6,800 OS Server free free $11,900 TOTAL $5,000 $84,830 $72,726 Hardware Linux HP/UX Windows NT Lease $122,400 $699,736 $214,200 GRAND TOTAL $127,400 $784,566 $286,926 * yearly fees are factored for 3 years. * Software licensing fees (not shown) for CAD/CAM applications (Unigraphics, etc) will be assumed to be the same on all platforms. * The Company normally equips Windows NT PCs with Lotus Notes, though this is not a requirement for e-mail communication. * UG Solutions indicates that its products may be available on Linux in 2002. * Linux lease fee adjusted by -75.00/mo/PC in consideration of all eliminated non-UG commercial software fees.
Linux DNC Development
In a short study, three practical replacements for the current
DNC system were determined to be feasible and could be functional within
one month from start of development:
- By using a free communications tool called “MiniCom”, scripts to
automate DNC functions with any of their CNC controls could be written
and triggered by a very attractive GUI front-end. MiniCom is only available
on UNIX systems. This solution offers the benefit of I/O routines already
being in the main program, allowing high level control of DNC functions
from a TCL script. An added benefit to this solution is the possibility
of complete integration with UG 16’s UG-Post.
- By using free Linux software called SampLin, a very modern GUI can
control I/O to multiple CNC machines using a BASIC-like programming language
for GUI and I/O. This solution is Linux-specific.
- By using TCL to drive Perl scripts with a SerialPort library, low-level
control of DNC functions could be accomplished. This solution is cross-platform
compatible with the Windows SerialPort Perl library. An added benefit to
this solution is the possibility of complete integration with UG-Post and
offloading support and maintenance to UG Solutions after it’s functional
at The Company.
CAM Platform Decision Matrix Weight (1-5) Windows NT Linux HP/UX Windows 95 Criteria Score: -0.28 2.12 -0.37 -0.68 Alternative DNC solutions availability 5 1 0 0 0 Availability of native UG Solutions prod. 3 1 0 1 0 Business Application choice 2 1 0 0 1 Business Application cost is minimal 3 1 1 0 1 Business Application upgrade cost 3 1 1 1 1 Compatibility with the Engineering Desktop 4 1 0 -1 1 Consistency of User Interface 3 1 0 -1 1 Cost of development tools 2 -1 1 0 -1 Cost of online support 3 -1 1 -1 -1 The Company's User App order time (red tape) 2 -1 1 -1 -1 Ease of casual user use 3 1 0 -1 1 Enables The Company's continuous improvement 3 0 1 1 0 Enables The Company's cost reduction vision 3 0 1 -1 0 Enables The Company's responsiveness vision 3 0 1 1 0 Enables The Company's technology leadership vision 3 -1 1 0 -1 Flexibility of Development Tools 3 -1 1 1 -1 GUI is like Windows 95 2 1 0 -1 1 GUI/OS Customization/Optimization 3 -1 1 0 -1 Hardware cost 4 1 1 -1 1 Low memory performance (<128Mb) 2 -1 -1 -1 0 Microsoft-compatible Office Suite available 3 1 1 0 1 Modernness of OS & base Apps 2 1 1 -1 0 Number of developers 2 0 1 -1 0 Opportunity: phase out GUI development 2 1 1 -1 1 OS & User App Bug fix rapidity 2 0 1 -1 0 OS (base) "out of the box" usability 3 0 1 -1 0 OS (base) can act as a server 2 -1 1 1 -1 OS (base) Cross-platform Compatibility 4 0 1 0 -1 OS (base) supports disk quotas 1 -1 1 1 -1 OS (company-specific) Config Speed Loss 4 0 0 -1 0 OS can run (display) apps remotely 1 -1 1 1 -1 OS cost 3 -1 1 -1 -1 OS Crashes less than once/month 5 -1 1 1 -1 OS Developer accessibility 3 -1 1 -1 -1 OS facilitates virus propagation 4 -1 1 1 -1 OS improvement rate 3 0 1 -1 -1 OS installs via FTP/NFS/SMB/CD/HD 1 0 1 0 -1 OS is not Single Source 1 -1 1 -1 -1 OS is Open Source 2 -1 1 -1 -1 OS Market Share 2 1 0 -1 1 OS maturity 2 -1 0 1 0 OS per-user license fees 3 -1 1 1 -1 OS protects memory between processes 5 0 1 1 -1 OS requires reboots for reconfiguration 3 -1 1 1 -1 OS runs on multiple architectures (CPUs) 1 0 1 -1 0 OS scalability (users & CPU's=SMP) 2 -1 1 0 -1 OS speed 4 0 1 1 0 OS Taught/used in mainstream colleges 1 1 1 0 1 OS upgrade cost 3 -1 1 -1 -1 OS upgrade goes over existing OS 1 0 1 -1 0 OS Inherent Y2K compliance 5 0 1 1 0 Remote administration & diagnosis 4 0 1 1 -1 Runs on Intel/HP Merced 3 0 1 -1 -1 Standards compliance of documents 2 -1 1 0 -1 Support for advanced Internet protocols 1 -1 1 0 -1 Support for strong cryptography 2 0 1 0 0 User Application choice 3 1 0 -1 1 User Application cost is minimal 3 -1 1 -1 0 User Application upgrade cost 3 -1 1 -1 0 Web enablement of OS & apps 4 0 1 -1 -1
Conclusion: Linux appears to be a better CAM platform
choice than Windows NT, HP/UX, or Windows 95 by a factor of eight.
Nature of the CAM Environment
Platform choice has to be weighed carefully against the business drivers
and software solutions present in The Company’s manufacturing environment
today. Here are some observations:
1. Manufacturing upper management does not support the use of
Unigraphics because it is a highest, complex, Engineering-driven system.
2. Manufacturing is not interested in compatibility with Engineering
systems as demonstrated by their rejection of The Company’s standard Desktop
system.
3. However, corporate leadership still maintains that Unigraphics
is the common CAD/CAM system, despite tolerance of AutoCAD and MasterCAM
in several locations.
4. Unigraphics CAM lags behind CAD in (quality and) development,
often resulting in OS-based “workarounds” being required to overcome software
quirks. Thus, Unigraphics CAM requires more development and support than
the CAD product. However, UG CAM is without a doubt “Best in Class” in
CAM.
5. Manufacturing is minimally committed to training their people
on new software. This infers that more development effort is required to
ease the training burden.
6. The Company’s CAM leadership philosophy towards “Standards”
is that all standards should be automated.
7. Every CAM support team’s long-term objective should be to phase itself
out. This has not appeared to be possible at The Company for the past 8 years.
8. Manufacturing users of computer systems are largely computer
challenged. Frequent or severe change has adverse impact on productivity
and morale. Average computer literacy lags the modern world by at least
3 years.
9. The current Manufacturing CAM systems at several company sites
are highly dependent on UNIX functions and flexibility to operate. The
current development staff predicts a 2 man-year effort would be required
to migrate to a Windows NT system. If they simply loaded UG on a Windows
NT computer and asked CAM users to do their job, it would be impossible
without this effort.
In summary, Manufacturing applications of Unigraphics
require a lot of development.
Nature of UNIX and Windows NT Operating Systems
In the early days of Microsoft, DOS was the main interface to programs
which could be run on a PC. DOS was a revised subset of CP/M which is a
command environment much simpler and limited than the UNIX command environment.
The Windows interface was developed to replace DOS, and most users
and developers now use GUI programs to accomplish tasks with Windows NT.
Functions not supported in the provided Windows interface are generally
custom-programmed using tools like Visual C++ or Visual Basic, which Microsoft
sells separately. The fact that both the Operating System and its development
tools cost money recalls the fact that Microsoft operating systems are
based on a profit model. Because there is significant cost to purchase
tools to develop programs, the developers must increase their software
prices.
In contrast, UNIX was developed among government and educational institutions
who freely shared the source code to their development tools so that others
could improve upon them. In its beginnings, UNIX had an extremely flexible,
diversely functional text based command environment which allowed common
commands to be combined to interact together and provide desired results
quickly. Today, the text based tools continue to increase in variety and
capability while various GUI interfaces (once called Window Managers) offer
the simpler interface desired by most users, with capabilities rivaling
Windows NT. The most capable GUI interface for UNIX today is KDE (www.kde.org).
Linux incorporates all the capabilities of commercial UNIX systems, and
is licensed without cost.
Because Linux is based on a non-profit model, software developed
for it is often free and widely distributed for use. Commercial software
for Linux is usually less expensive than the same software for Windows.
The variety, quality, and number of software development tools available
for Linux are mind boggling – and because the source code to these tools
and the operating system are freely and widely available, there are basically
no limits to how Linux can be developed to meet business needs. All of
these tools are available with the base Linux operating system, if they
are wanted.
In short, Linux is the ultimate development platform
for Manufacturing business needs, considering the nature of that environment.
Who’s Using Linux Today?
For one, The Company is. The Company’s Linux-based Engineering web server
has been serving them faithfully for nearly two years now.
Others…
- Mercedes-Benz
- The Boeing Company
- Northrop Grumman Corporation
- Cisco Systems Inc.
- Yellow Cab Service Corporation
- Sony WorldWide Networks
- US West, Inc.
- US Army Publishing Agency
- US Navy Personnel Support Agency
- Re/Max Team Ideal Realty, Inc.
- Allied Tours
- Siemens S.A. de C.V.
- Compaq
- Texas Tech University
- Sallie Mae, Inc.
- Fuller Theological Seminary
- United States Postal Service
- New Jersey State Police
- NASA
…and over 450 more notable companies.
But consider the following headlines:
- GM Eyes Linux for 7,500 Dealer Systems – Might replace NT for order tracking
- Linux Helps Bring Titanic to Life – Digital Domain uses Linux to create
high-tech visual effects for the movies. - Burlington Coat Factory will install Linux on 1,150 computers in its 250
stores over the next 12 to 18 months. - SouthWestern Bell: Linux for monitoring a telco network
- Biomedical Research and Linux at Harvard Medical School
- Linux Means Business – United Railway Signal Group, Inc.
- Schlumberger – Linux in a Point of sale system
- Jay Jacobs – a 130 retail stores under linux
- Garden Grove: a whole city is running Linux since 1995
- Mexican Schools Embrace Linux – to install the free Linux operating system
in 140,000 elementary and middle-school computer labs - Linux Takes Flight on Northwest Simulators – OS used in $34M pilot training
systems - Siemens announces first SAP certified SAP R/3 Standard Application Benchmark
on Linux! – the highest number of benchmark users on a 4-CPU Intel system
measured to date
Who’s Developing Software for Linux Today?
- 3-Com
- Apple
- Computer Associates
- Corel
- Dell
- Hewlett Packard
- IBM
- Informix
- Intel
- Lotus
- NAI
- Netscape
- Novell
- Oracle
- SAP
- Sun
- Sybase
…and more, plus thousands of individual developers all over the world.
Analysis of The Future of Commercial UNIX
IBM has announced wide support of the Linux Operating System. HP and
SGI recently made similar announcements. IBM and HP would not be doing
this if they thought their AIX and HP/UX OS’s were viable, competitive
products. Though they won’t come out and say it, I suspect they hope to
abandon their in-house OS support (and certainly development) and focus
on hardware. This agrees with the experience that HP/UX has been a dead
product from the end-user perspective for the past 2-3 years.
HP’s intention to port Linux to their PA-RISC CPU chip is probably a
short-term, low-cost tactic to keep interest in their workstation hardware
high enough to remain profitable until the Merced chip is in production.
At that time, I believe they will abandon development of PA-RISC and focus
on Linux Workstation solutions using Merced. The reason is because there
isn’t enough volume demand for PA-RISC chips to get the price down to compete
with Intel chips. Linux was the first OS able to run on the Merced.
The future of commercial UNIX is not bright when “the whole aerospace
and mechanical engineering related industries are going Linux for their
high-end needs,” said Bryan Smith, a software engineer at Coleman Aerospace.
For certain applications, Smith said, “$20,000 Linux clusters match $200,000
SGI and Sun [Microsystems Inc.] systems in performance. They have a $17,000
12-way Celeron cluster currently on order that will speed up our analysis
[more than 10 times] compared to our current PC/NT and SGI/Irix systems.”
Why would a company spend money on commercial UNIX when “Saddled with
low oil prices and a need to cut costs, global oil giant Amerada Hess Corp.
is saving millions of dollars by replacing a costly IBM supercomputer with
high-end parallel clusters running Linux, the free Unix variant that some
CIOs still regard as a wild card. A 32-node Linux cluster, called a Beowulf
supercomputer, lets the company render detailed 3-D images of the seafloor
from terabytes of data. The $130,000 Beowulf system performs the task in
about the same time – two weeks – as the 32-node IBM SP2 system running
AIX that the company paid $2 million to lease for three years, said Vic
Forsyth, Amerada Hess’ Houston-based manager of geophysical systems.”
Bottom Line: Commercial UNIX OS’s are generally
no longer a viable choice for forward-looking cost conscious organizations,
given the availability of Linux.
Analysis of The Future of Windows NT
Windows GUI development is progressing in 3-year release intervals,
while Linux progresses bi-annually. Windows has taken 8 years to progress
to where it is now, while the Linux KDE GUI has taken 2 years to reach
nearly the same level. At this pace, Linux KDE will probably surpass
Windows 2000 functionality within a year. The base Linux OS is already
far ahead.
Last year, according to market researcher International Data Corp.,
there were more than 750,000 new installations of Linux, giving it 17%
of the low- to medium-size server market. If Linux’ growth rate continues,
its share of that $2 billion segment of the server market could double
by yearend, eclipsing Microsoft’s NT as the segment leader. Windows has
an established base of about 200 million users, where current Linux estimates
are from 10-20 million.
Microsoft recently decided not to port Windows NT for the Digital Alpha
CPU any longer, limiting its future functionality to Intel (80386, 486,
Pentium) and clones (Cyrix 6×86, AMD K5, K6). In comparison, Linux runs
on Acorn ARM, Digital Alpha AXP, AMD (K5, K6, K7), Cyrix, HP PA-RISC, IBM
PowerPC, Intel, Motorola (68k series and PowerPC), Sun SPARC and UltraSPARC,
SGI MIPS, and a Fujitsu mainframe. Linux is simply more flexible and portable
than Windows NT.
As an analogy to what’s going on, consider the historical challenge
between the Sony Betamax and the VCR. Sony had a technically superior product,
but was price gouging its consumers – and due to the proprietary technology,
prevented competition. The VCR won the market because it had an open standard
which increased competition and drove costs down, making the VCR more attractive
to buyers. The Sony Betamax is now a dead product. Like the Sony Betamax,
Windows is a proprietary technology, and Microsoft is price gouging its
customers – and a better, cheaper product is now on the market…Linux!
Conclusion: Windows NT cannot survive against
the capabilities, development pace, and price superiority of Linux. Windows
NT will likely fade away as a dead end legacy product.
Availability of UG Solutions Software on Linux
As noted in the CAM Platform Decision Matrix earlier, UG Solutions does
not currently port their products to Linux. Comments on their Linux direction
at the Spring 1999 User Group Conference were to the effect that a port
might be available in about 2 years. In the Fall 1999 conference, there
was considerable customer interest expressed, and UGS indicated they were
studying the Linux implementation. Until the UG port is released, Linux
provides access to running Unigraphics on host workstations, exactly as
eXceed allows today. UG Solutions is receptive to customer requests to
port their software to new platforms that demonstrate high levels of customer
satisfaction.
This eXceed-like Linux configuration noted above requires 7 HP “host”
workstations (1 per 5 Linux seats) at a cost of $154,528 over 3 years,
still resulting in a savings of $5000 compared to Windows NT platform costs.
Implementing Linux in this fashion could have the benefit of giving The
Company 2 years of experience with Linux before actually running native
UG software on that platform – however, the need to upgrade existing Windows
NT DNC PC’s is not currently justifiable since the functional demands on
those PCs have not changed since their purchase.
Summary
Linux fits The Company’s Manufacturing business model which focuses
on low cost, continuous improvement, and technology leadership. No other
operating system provides the development environment needed to provide
manufacturing business process automation with such agility.
Recommendations
Work with UG Solutions to obtain a commitment to a Linux port of their
products by January 2001 for UG version 18.