Case Study: Ligier Automotive and 3DEXPERIENCE Get Up to Speed
Our team recently had the chance to talk with Chris Ruthstrom, the Chief Engineer of the U.S. branch of Ligier Automotive, a worldwide supplier of racing cars. Chris lead a digital transformation project with Ligier and implemented 3DEXPERIENCE with full PLM capabilities from their CATIA v5 instance. The goal was to enable internal cross-functional communication and streamline collaboration with external partners. 
The French arm of Ligier has been using CATIA for decades, but when they acquired the North American operations in 2016/2017, there was no effort made to synchronize or connect their systems, because at the time, there wasn’t a significant need for data transfer. “You don’t know what you don’t know,” Ruthstrom says. “There’s a huge amount of data transfer now, and there’s a hardware and software limitation. We’re actively working on breaking down those barriers.”
There’s no question in Ruthstrom’s mind that 3DEXPERIENCE has made his processes and work more efficient. “Having it in PLM. Knowing when I grab a part file I’m grabbing the latest and correct one. It’s very fast, very powerful, and I’m able to get a lot done very efficiently,” he says.
He’s eager to implement his plans for expanding use of the platform, which will ultimately be used on every single Ligier vehicle platform and development program. But he’s also being careful to be systematic and logical as he implements new processes, in order to reduce redundancies across the company.
The first steps will be to get purchasing and acquisitions departments using the software, to add manufacturing process documentation to the system, and to create a direct link from design to manufacturing using the platform and its cloud implementation to share data. Download the full case study
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