Autodesk
AU 2018 Anagnost keynote
Autodesk CEO, Andrew Anagnost delivers a keynote presentation on the opening day of Autodesk University London 2018.
Swiftly debunking the myths of automation - in particular those that suggest robots are coming to take your job, do it more efficiently, and make less of a fuss about the unpaid overtime - with cold-hard facts inspired by the industrial revolutions of the past, Andrew Anagnost hits the ground running as he pitches Autodesk’s vision for the future of manufacturing.
More jobs were created in finance when ATM machines came in and roles were altered not removed when online banking blew up; there are more authors and graphic designers since the invention of the internet; and, today, more than 10 million people use CAD tools, whilst before they existed, there were only 300,000 drafters in the world.
“It’s really important to remember our ability to predict the future is pretty flawed,” the Autodesk CEO stressed. But that didn’t stop Anagnost from talking about the future as his keynote speech kicked off the 2018 Autodesk University (AU) London, held once again at Tobacco Dock. The underlying theme here is one you’ve likely heard before: Harnessing the technologies set to power a fourth industrial revolution to combat the issues that a growing population will undoubtedly bring, and ones the current population already has, for to continue with today’s way of manufacturing is grossly unsustainable.
Anagnost made the point that, in theory, the material used in the manufacture of one old vehicle on the road today could instead be used to make five electric ones, and bring down the cost at the point of purchase significantly too. He then exampled the Three Gorges Dam in China, which cost $30B, and over 100 lives, and such is the pollution in the Yangtze River, the locals say the water is undrinkable. But the power generation is at elite levels: the dam generated a world record 98.8 terawatt-hours in 2014, which, at the time, was a world record.
Yet, Autodesk isn’t satisfied with the scale of those trade-offs. The takeaway of Anagnost’s keynote was 'More, Better, Less'. That is, to make more, make it better, and do so with less negative impact, in terms of cost and efficiency, but society and the environment too. Its optimistic, perhaps speculative, notions of upcycled electric cars and robots that ground up road material and re-pave it in real-time, are a way away. But these ideas are only being made public because of the work Autodesk, its customers and peers are doing now.
Autodesk Uni
AU London 2018 attendees fill await Anagnost's arrival on the Main Stage.
“Do we really want to duplicate the old way of doing things in the new world?” Anagnost asks. “I’m not convinced we do. We look at automation and look at some of things we can do with automation we can reimagine and hydro-electric power, or other ways of capturing power, and that really does mean we can generate more power, do it better than before, and do it with a lot less negative impact.
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Exhibit at the UK's definitive and most influential 3D printing and additive manufacturing event, TCT 3Sixty.
“You might be asking ‘Is anybody actually using new types of automation technologies to do some things different? To actually explore new ways of building? Are we actually moving to a world where we might be able to do things in incredibly new ways? Do more, better with less?’” he continued. “The answer to that is emphatically yes.”
That wasn’t the last of Anagnost, but it was the introduction of a host of companies applying Autodesk software to transform industries – a host of companies who would present their endeavour to other users of BIM 360; Fusion 360; Inventor; Revit and so on. Royal BAM, Kier Construction, Faro Technologies and the Royal Opera House were among the varied bunch of Autodesk users to share their stories.
But taking to the stage after Anagnost was Jaimie Johnston, Director & Head of Global Systems at Bryden Wood. Bryden Wood, an integrated design, architecture and engineering consultancy, felt it imperative that it stepped into the construction space to bring in new, more efficient workflows. Johnston told the story of the company’s work with Laing O’Rourke and GLC UK on the £15B Crossrail project in London, which will result in a new east-to-west underground rail link through the centre of the city.
"It’s exactly the thing we need to create the diverse, highly productive workforce, to tackle all these endemic problems of productivity and the skills gap."
Bryden Wood’s first action was to take the original design intents of the architectural linings of the underground tunnels – a crucial part of the passenger experience because of the atmosphere it helps to create – and optimise them to find a better way to deliver them. With an automated approached, the partners adopted a workflow more in line with manufacturing than construction. Working in an environment deep underground, in a very constrained setting with no space for storage or spares, everything the workers did needed to work first time every time. Swept path analysis informed them where components needed to go, double handling was minimised by making sure materials were delivered just in time to an expert crew who knew what to do and when, and they even deployed a small robot to locate themselves in the tunnel and use lasers to locate the setting points of a component. Designs were optimised to use less material, fewer fixings, and less components. Large, heavy panels were fitted at the bottom, with lighter ones at the top. Such was the curvature of the architectural linings, they not only needed a lot of mass customisation, but because of their complexity drawing them in 2D was not an option. Instead they were fabricated and CNC cut directly from that digital model.
AU 2018 Bryden Wood Crossrail
Inside Tottenham Court Road Station, after Bryden Wood's consultancy helps design the architectural linings on the underground station.
It was a completely automated workflow that pulled together procurement, logistics and manufacturing to work coherently. A tough job, but worth it, not only for the results achieved on the Crossrail project, but because of the impact it’s had on Laing and GLC. These companies went away and began harnessing their newly-learned automation know-how on other projects. Word about automation in the infrastructure space is beginning to spread like gossip in a secondary school, and it can only be a good thing.
“It’s exactly the thing we need to create the diverse, highly productive workforce, to tackle all these endemic problems of productivity and the skills gap,” Johnston said. “This is how we do more, better, with less, and actually we think it is the only way we will increase the bandwidth of our current design communities contracting entities to keep up with the pace of demand that’s coming. It is the way that we think you will make the much talked about, but long overdue, [transition] from construction to manufacturing. There’s huge challenges facing infrastructure projects but actually it’s a massively exciting time and we think a critical moment in time where we get the chance to make a fundamental shift in how we think about delivering our infrastructure.”
Generative Design
Seemingly on everybody’s lips at the Autodesk University event, as well as in industry, in the pursuit of automated, transformative manufacturing solutions, was ‘Generative Design’. The two words graced the first issue of TCT Magazine North America this year as Lightning Motorcycles harnessed Autodesk’s latest manufacturing software tool to re-design parts of its LS-218 motorcycle. General Motors followed suit, the company’s Vice President, Ken Kezler describing the technology as ‘disruptive’ in light of its application of the software to re-think the design of a range of automotive components. So impressed by the possibilities of this software, Amazon Web Service then decided to offer 500 cloud credits for 1,000 of the next subscribers to Fusion 360 Ultimate to allow them greater freedom to explore the capabilities.
"You've got a complicated workflow, you need all the help you can get."
The tools give users a more comprehensive array of design options enabling the design and engineer teams to compare aesthetics, strength, weight, cost, safety factors, time to manufacture, and pick the best part for them or their client. The different design options are also geared towards a certain manufacturing process, be it 5-axis CNC machining or a 3D printing technology. It’s a tool that gives the user more power to manufacture the way want to. More than that, it brings design and manufacturing closer together, so they are both considered when either process is being undertaken.
Autodesk
AU 2018 swingarm-generative-design
Design options inside Generative Design for Lightning Motorcycle's swing arm component, the cover star of TCT Magazine NA 4.1.
“We’re trying to empower our customers to basically provide them with the toolset that lets them go between design and manufacturing seamlessly,” said Stephen Hooper, Sr Director, Design and Manufacturing, of Autodesk’s aims with its products, “and there’s a reason for that. It’s because they have to react to some of the trends you see in the market right now. Some of the things that pressure our customers now are reacting to more demand, for customised and tailored products, needing to improve the product performance itself so [giving them] access to [the latest manufacturing] technologies that let them evaluate the performance of their product earlier in the product development process and then [benefit from] shorter time to market.”
While the generative design tools are compatible with additive and subtractive technologies alike, SLM Solutions is one 3D printing company enthused about the technology. Technical Director, North America, Richard Grylls was introduced on stage during the second keynote of the AU event by Hooper, and also took part in a media roundtable the day prior. He emphasised the importance of having a software that flows through the entire lifecycle, and also suggested it’s exactly what the AM industry needs.
“Focusing on doing 3D printing to focusing on doing additive manufacturing is really helping to enable in all three stages, in us manufacturing this machine, the software that’s running all of that, and then in the end user, actually using Autodesk to design a component generatively and build it on the machine. This thing is real and it’s available.”
His point is that additive manufacturing encompasses all stages of the development of a product from design through printing through post processing. These workflows are complex, the design of machines that have 2.8KW worth of laser power burning into an envelope the size of a microwave oven, like the SLM 800, is complex too. As is the delivery of the break calliper Bugatti is producing with SLM machines. But the capabilities of Generative Design, as well as the ability to use it in parallel with a CAD program like Inventor for example, is helping to tie those stages together for a more efficient process. SLM has begun leveraging Generative Design to support its Additive Designer software, currently in beta testing, which drives the generation of CAM data going into its additive manufacturing machines.
“You’ve got a complicated workflow, you’re designing complex products for highly regulated industries using a new technology, you need all the help you can get,” Grylls said. “So by providing that back end for software packages that the designer is already used to using is a huge win in our mind going forward.”
Also on hand at AU London 2018 were Disrupt Disability and Aim93, two projects harnessing Generative Design with some so far promising outcomes. Disrupt Disability has partnered with Steve Cox of AMFORi Consulting to enhance the design and manufacturing of customised modular wheelchairs, taking into consideration the user’s preferences as well as body measurements. The result enhances the user experience the user experience, puts the chair into the background, and is potentially more lightweight and affordable. Meanwhile, Aim93 is a project looking to break the world record for a human powered vehicle (HPV). The team is designing a recumbent bicycle, making iterative changes to improve the aerodynamics, so they can reach 93mph and beat the HPV record of 89.6mph.
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Proof of concept: A customised modular wheelchair developed with the aid of generative design capabilities.
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CNC machined lattice structure side frames.
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Original prototype of the Aim93 human powered vehicle on display at AU London 2018.
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Design options for the Aim93 human powered vehicle.
There were further presentations and hands-on sessions throughout the two-day event to help attendees better exploit the potential of Generative Design and automated workflows. Though many of the 1,500 delegates were now fully embedded into their industries, the university aspect in London was still prevalent. Autodesk was keen to layout the importance of automation as demand increases, and followed up in demonstrating how it can be done, and is being done.
Crucial to that message was its many customers, clients and partners who helped to present their efforts. The company recognises the challenges involved with adopting and implementing new technologies – some areas aren’t as ready as others, and skills gaps around the world mean there are more jobs than are people to fill them. But with efficient collaborations and capable products, Autodesk believes automation can have a profound impact. And with what was on show at AU London 2018, it's not at all hard to imagine a society that makes more, better, with less comes to fruition.
“Automation is a team sport. There’s strength in numbers. Doing more, better, with less negative impact doesn’t mean you have to go it alone.” - Erin Bradner, Director, Robotics, Autodesk Research.
“I believe it is the moral and social responsibility of automation companies like Autodesk to participate in solving the fundamental problems [involved in utilising new technologies].” - Andrew Anagnost, CEO, Autodesk.
