CAD, CAM, and Increased Design to Manufacturing Integration

In many of the blogs I post here we discuss the need for improved speed to solution and project completion that is at the center of many trends in CAD. However, it doesn’t just stop at CAD, there is increasing levels of integration beyond CAD to CAM and even the actual manufacturing process. The news is not that this is happening, but the amazing level of integration that is actually being driven by the various software and machine suppliers.

From a tactical perspective for the CAD professional, this makes the ability of the workstation to run the latest version of CAD software ever more important, as new versions with increased integration are coming more frequently. This is driven by the key factors contributing to greater integration. Read full article »

New Deadlines, Old Workstations – A Bad Combination

The productivity of CAD professionals is tied closely to the capability of their tools, particularly their workstation. In fact, there are few professions that have such high correlation between the tools and the output. This puts a needed focus on just what tools CAD pros are using.

In addition to the regular demands of the design work, organizations today are finding that they are moving ever faster, with quicker product development schedules and shortened time frames for completing key tasks. Simply put, everything needs to happen faster and more efficiently. This is why I believe that maximizing the productivity of the workstation is essential to meeting these challenges. Read full article »

News from zCon

One of the newer and most recent trade shows around 3D design and development was the recent zCon show in Mountain View CA. The show provided a number of technical sessions, but more importantly the chance to allow collaboration and interaction among developers, designers, and hardware suppliers for 3D applications and systems. Hence the focus on “z”.

Although this is a smaller event, it did offer some excellent sessions as well as the “Birds of a Feather” lunches that allow individuals that have specific interests a chance to network and spend time together. Another benefit of the agenda was a focus on commercial versus research/academia sessions. Read full article »

CAD Collaboration – Are You Taking the Best Path?

By its very nature, CAD and CAM activities are collaborative. Unlike other professionals, the work of the design and process specialists must ripple through the organizational processes to provide the input and impetus for delivering the products. However, the level of collaboration is only going to increase substantially in the next few years, as the demands for reducing time to market and increasing efficiency continue.

And the tools for collaboration are changing as well. There are new options and the impact of the Cloud is starting to come to the fore as well. The result is new and changing options for improving CAD collaboration. Read full article »

CAD in the Cloud – What’s New Now

The Cloud, and discussion about it, permeates the technology space. As organizations move to their first real, production level use, of Cloud solutions and understand all the ramifications of moving we are starting to get a sense of what the future may hold. This blog will look at some of the latest news around CAD in the Cloud and what hints that might give us about the future.

Going to School on Office 365

One of the trends that are mostly likely to continue and impact how we use CAD solutions is the delivery of Cloud based versions of common applications. When Microsoft launched their cloud version of Office last year, it served as an excellent model for how to move on-premise software to cloud subscriptions, and we are seeing the same in CAD. One of the most notable offerings is the Autodesk 360 offering. While not a complete solution for on-premise software, this offering starts to point the way on pricing, functionality, and the ability to interact with CAD files on multiple devices. It’s pretty clear that pricing is going to have be in the $25-$35 per month per application range to start, but I’d expect that some suppliers will use predatory pricing in the cloud to try and build market share. More importantly, the Cloud solutions will put some real utility on “viewers” or tools that allow for some interaction with CAD files on smaller tablets and smart phones. Read full article »