Tech Briefs Magazine - January 2024 - 12

Emerging Technologies
Artificial Intelligence
How Cloud Technology and AI Drive a More
Productive Future
Stephen Hooper, Vice President of Design and Manufacturing, Autodesk
T
oo little capacity - and too much
complexity - are stifling the ability
of people and industries to design
and make much of what the world needs
to thrive.
Emerging cloud-connected technology
is poised to help solve these challenges.
In the cloud, data becomes a precious
resource, and artificial intelligence enables
businesses to squeeze every ounce
of value from it. AI can automate tedious
tasks, analyze and surface important insights,
and augment design and manufacturing
in ways that let people be more
creative and productive.
To make the most of the cloud - and
AI - the manufacturing industry cannot
simply move workflows from desktops
and servers to secure data centers. The
industry needs radically new technology environments, where
files are no longer the primary source of information sharing.
Where the currency for collaboration is data, from product design
details, dimensions and materials to cost, schedules and
sustainability metrics. When projects live in the cloud, in a single
data model, from inception to manufacturing, information
can be automated to flow to the right people and machines.
Data in the cloud opens new lines of sight. A product design
can be reconfigured to replace delayed materials with available
ones. And every collaborator upstream and downstream can
see those updates at just the moment they need them. Mistakes
and waste can be minimized when the same sets of information
flow to and from an engineer at a computer, a machinist on the
shop floor, or an executive on an airplane.
Limited resources are maximized when teams stop searching
massive, proprietary files for scraps of relevant data and manually
transferring design details between tools that don't play
nicely with one another.
Industry clouds provide the environment for this new way to
collaborate. Using a central data model, an industry cloud frees
data from proprietary files and connects it to the tools, people,
and practices that need it. The data itself is granular, interoperable,
and accessible. That means smaller pieces of data - lightweight
data that's relevant to a certain person, function, or discipline
- can quickly flow between the various software and
devices that each discipline uses, increasing everyone's insights
and productivity.
Consider the alphabet soup of software that exists today in
design and manufacturing: CAD, CAM, PLM, PDM, CAE, PCB,
and MES. When data is restructured in the cloud, the wall between
each silo vanishes, which enables data to move between
solutions and keep pace with demand.
Productivity breakthroughs start in increments. They're
gained with every piece of data that an engineer can unlock the
12
moment she needs it. And those increments build exponentially
when they extend to more collaborators. That's why it's not
enough to build a central data model in the cloud. The data
needs to be open and extensible, so it can link to any technology
solution used through the design-to-make process.
Autodesk's new partnership with Cadence offers an example
of how an open data model enables teams to harness AI
on their preferred tool. Cadence provides AI-powered printed
circuit board (PCB) design, and their integration connects
Cadence PCB tools directly to Autodesk Fusion. Changes in
either Cadence's tools or Fusion are reflected in both technologies.
Each team member can work in their tool of choice
without losing data or time between each stage of the product
lifecycle.
Autodesk has also partnered with CloudNC, which harnesses
AI to automate toolpath creation. Users upload a 3D model of
any part and with one click, program the CNC cutting of that
part. Early analysis shows an 80 percent reduction in programming
times.
In another innovation, AI is automating documentation,
a necessary but tedious task for product designers. Autodesk
built a Fusion cloud service that automates creating 2D drawings
from the 3D data model - drawings that conform to
industry standards.
These advances offer a glimpse of where cloud-connected
data and AI are headed, but ultimately companies are in the
driver's seat. They'll decide how to combine automation with
manual work. How to use AI as an assistant to generate a greater
range of ideas. How to use it for mundane work so designers
and engineers have more time to be creative. And how to mine
data for insights to improve product designs and processes.
This new era of technology eases the twin challenges of capacity
and complexity and offers more flexibility than ever for
businesses to respond to a fast-changing world.
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Tech Briefs, January 2024
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Tech Briefs Magazine - January 2024

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