Autodesk Bangs ‘Digital Prototyping’ Drum…Loudly
In the first day of its Mechanical Media Summit in Paris, Autodesk gave a confident and good-humored effort to its main message of the year: PLM is hogwash. All rise to Digital Prototyping.
Autodesk has never been a company to follow the footsteps of others, and is always happy to provide cud for the press herd to chew on. The subject of PLM versus, well, non-PLM, is a subject that often causes emotive arguments among the more vocal editors, and today has been no exception. Today’s presentations set tongues wagging, and a lot of conversation, but no one, except one editor I spoke to, was denying the attractiveness of Autodesk’s message.
So what is it? Digital Prototyping is Autodesk’s forward-thinking solution to the needs of manufacturers. Essentially, they are saying that PLM is not what customers are looking for. What they need is a way to experience and prove products prior to manufacture in the most efficient manner possible.
The apparent problem is the L in PLM. Lifecycle. But at the same time, Autodesk Mechanical keeps bringing up the issue, sans solutions at this point, about sustainable design practices. Sustainable as a word implies the whole issue of RoHS (Restrictions on Hazardous Substances). We may find out tomorrow that there is some life in the L word yet.
Rach
“digital prototyping” is a more appropriate description. Lets hope they will also change their BIM (Building Information Modelling) too. I design water features and work in a “BIM” environment but this has jack to do with buildings.
I agree with the article that the word Lifecycle is inappropriate. But perhaps digital prototyping is also inaccurate - how can that be applied to pipe fittings?
Link to 3D Pipe Fittings for AutoCAD website:
http://www.herculedesign.com
Benson,Benson,
To this respect I am latelly following a European Project, based on customization of products (www.custom-fit.org). Its aim is to manufacture products according to individual customers needs and requirements. To get it, project is splited up into several parts.
One of them is developing a scan format to extract 3D geometrical information from body and capture geometrical (i.e. body measurements) and non-geometrical (i.e. customer pesonal detail or preferences).
Other part is designin and producing the tools to manufacture products with different graded, multi-estructural materials. A press release on it has appeared in some news sites (i.e. http://www.free-press-release.com/news/200710/1193163852.html).
The final uses of those investigations are ashtonishig. And going from Motorcycle Helmet or Seat, till Knee or Mandibular Implants.
Do no hesitate to have a look on it. I do considere it one interesting project.
I completely agree; What they need is a way to experience and prove products prior to manufacture in the most efficient manner possible. Wouldn’t this be the main reason for anyone to make the switch!kingman arizona real estate
Hello Jeff,
Yes, it is. But I think project goes beyond. I believe that the final aim is to produce custom-fit articles in few hours.
The process would be, you come into a shop and want to customized your motocycle seat. Then, you sit in a model which keep your shape. Data are captured in 3D and mixed with your personal requirements in a software that, directly, translate the information to prototyping printer which are able to print multimaterials and different graduations in the objet structure. Indeed, software verifies previously the potential result. Once printed, you get your individualized objet in a record time.
This is one part. But since my point of view, the most interesting applications are focused on medical issues.
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