Autodesk’s design and manufacturing division aims to help lead the industry into a resilient, digital future.
With its reliance on global shipping and logistics networks, material supplies and human labor in close quarters on production floors, the manufacturing industry stands out as one that was particularly prone to disruption as the global pandemic continues to snarl the economy. Manufacturers have been left powerless at times to deal with disruptions to the supply chain, government-mandated factory shutdowns and consumer demands and trends that are as fleeting as the wind (remember the great toilet paper shortage of April 2020?). Companies that are able to navigate through these headwinds will ultimately emerge as industry leaders.
Through evolution and a willingness to accept digital trends that power design, collaboration and communication and automation, many manufacturers have been able to survive the pandemic, and in some cases, emerge stronger and more resilient. At Autodesk University 2021, we hear of how embracing change and employing strategies can help companies be successful even when faced with the challenges posed by COVID-19.
“We have all grown stronger over the last year,” started Autodesk VP of Industry Strategy for Design and Manufacturing Srinath Jonnalagadda, who can be fairly sure he is talking to survivors. “We built stronger supply chains. We adopted the cloud like never before. We all accelerated the pace of our adoption of digital transformation.”
Jonnalagadda also acknowledged that many of the challenges that existed in the manufacturing and design industry before COVID still persist and many other have been brought to the forefront. However, a great deal of uncertainty over the future of the international economy remains and the pace of recovery is impossible to predict. Despite the overarching uncertainty in the overall global economy, manufacturers are still under pressure to continue meeting heightened expectations to deliver better products with increasing frequency while, at the same time, keep costs in check and become more sustainable in how they consume raw materials.
For manufacturers stretched thin by these demands, the acceleration in development and demand for smart products may make them snap. If the consumer wants a refrigerator with a touch screen and the ability to send a grocery list right to their phone, we will have to give it to them, say the manufacturers, making the design of new products increasing complex. The only way to get in front of these challenges is to innovate and develop new systems and processes that are in line with digital trends.
“The cost of doing nothing is simply too high. We cannot afford to return to our old ways of working,” said Jonnalagadda. “To be successful, more than ever, manufacturers need solutions that will deliver tangible, reliable and rapid outcomes.”
The onus to step up and develop transformative ways of working and operating falls squarely on the shoulders of manufacturing companies. Autodesk believes their software offers a solution to digitize design and manufacturing in a way that eliminates wasted time, improves collaboration across teams and cut down on errors that result from poor communication or inefficient file structures. Autodesk’s Forge platform and Fusion 360 are offered to unify the many disparate tools that manufacturers and designers utilize for end-to-end product development.
Forge platform connects multiple disciplines working on the same project and ensures that everyone who needs access to information has it when they need it. The platform powers the digital transformation of product development with a goal of driving better outcomes, better processes, better products and enhanced productivity.
“Our vision is a singular cloud environment built on the Forge platform that can support the entire product development and manufacturing process with a range of capabilities that span concept ideation through physical production that bridges departmental silos, connects supply chains and supports industry convergence,” Jonnalagadda explained.
Unlocking the Power of Data to Improve Design
Data is at the heart of Autodesk’s vision to transform manufacturing software. With Fusion 360, all of the most important ideas and inputs will be stored together in a singular location. Every model, idea or piece of information can now be tied together, allowing engineers, designers, machinists working in the shop or suppliers to tie everything together and work together more seamlessly. This will allow processes to be automated.
“Automation eliminates the delays of working manually and can exponentially accelerate product development across all processes and departments. Our intent with Fusion 360 is to make automation accessible to everyone,” said Derrek Cooper, Autodesk’s VP of Data and Process Management. “There is a huge potential to uncover new insights that can help teams work faster and more efficiently.”
The future of product design is all digital and Fusion 360 and its AI [more on that later] will allow designers to automate and be free of repetitive tasks, giving them freedom and allowing them to focus their energy on innovation. Everyone is able to stay on the same page without having to constantly update drawings and documents manually. The entire process is constantly in sync.
The Forge platform and Fusion 360 have been designed by Autodesk to be easily deployed by customers. It works seamlessly with other third-party solutions and is flexible so that it can be used alongside many different software applications – not just Autodesk’s. Forge and Fusion support a broad range of hardware systems, including desktop, mobile and browser deployments so that users can get started quickly and grow at their own pace as they discover which tools are most important.
Autodesk Powers Innovative Product Design
One company that has benefitted from the digitalization trends brought on by the pandemic is Logitech, makers of headsets, webcams and input devices like wireless keyboards and mice. As employees across the globe scrambled to set up their work-from-home spaces, Logitech experienced an unprecedented surge in demand for their products. Home office products weren’t the only segment driving sales for Logitech. With many entertainment options closed and people forced to stay at home, Logitech’s video gaming headsets also racked up gigantic sales figures. This led the company to develop new product lines.
With demand changing and a younger demographic buying their first high-end gaming headsets during the pandemic, Logitech knew they needed to come up with a product that would appeal to a different generation. The company set out to design the G435 headset as their lightest, most sustainable gaming headset with an expressive design that appeals to the younger gamer.
As their design process unfolded, Logitech’s team transitioned from SOLIDWORKS to Fusion 360. Lead industrial designer Seter Wu was able to develop multiple concepts and 3D models within Fusion 360 and update them automatically as parameters changed. He was also able to take advantage of the integration of Fusion 360 with his 3D printer.
“Rapid iteration and understanding manufacturing technologies while designing drives the need to converge tech across the product development process,” said Stephen Hooper, VP of the Design and Manufacturing division at Autodesk. “This creates demand for disruptive workflows that enabled designers to build stylized conceptual models in a user-friendly way.”
Fusion 360 has also ushered in an exciting new era in design with artificial intelligence and generative design capabilities. Similar to how a smart phone can complete your text messages by understanding your patterns and with contextual clues, Autodesk’s CAD software can automatically fill in different parts of a design model by using its understanding of previously completed designs. This makes it well suited for conceptual design.
Emerging from the Pandemic with a Stronger Manufacturing Industry
Global manufacturers learned a lot about what makes their businesses function well during the pandemic, while also identifying their biggest stumbling blocks. Despite the prolonged economic and supply chain malaise as the world attempts to get back to normal, it is important not to lose sight of the fact that things will indeed, one day, get back to normal. Supply chain disruptions will abate, material and labor costs will normalize and consumer demand will become easier to predict. The progress made towards digitizing the entire design and manufacturing process over the last 18 months will only keep providing benefits when the pandemic abates.