MCADCafe Editorial 
Sanjay Gangal
Sanjay Gangal is the President of IBSystems, the parent company of AECCafe.com, MCADCafe, EDACafe.Com, GISCafe.Com, and ShareCG.Com. MCADCafe Industry Predictions for 2023 – Rev-SimDecember 14th, 2022 by Sanjay Gangal
 Robert Farrell Simulation Assets are Leveraged More Fully Throughout the coming year simulation will continue to take on an even greater role as companies search for ways to become more innovative, leverage resources, and keep pace with accelerated product development cycles. Consequently, the expanded use of advanced simulation tools beyond expert CAE analysts (i.e., the democratization of simulation) will become an even greater industry-wide priority. Democratizing Simulation allows product engineering, manufacturing, and support organizations to leverage their CAE investments and resources more fully by allowing expert analysis to focus their time and expertise on high-priority simulations while allowing non-experts to perform basic (and even some advanced) CAE analysis. The result of simulation-driven design will compress product development cycles and accelerate innovation with a measurable increase in product quality. Read the rest of MCADCafe Industry Predictions for 2023 – Rev-Sim Bantam Tools: Small CNC Machines Yield Big ResultsOctober 25th, 2022 by Jeff Rowe
MCADCafe recently interviewed Bre Pettis, CEO of Bantam Tools about several things regarding his past and current endeavors that interestingly involve additive and subtractive manufacturing. Pettis has had many personal and professional iterations during his career, but has always stayed close to design and manufacturing. Pettis is probably still best known as the co-founder and former CEO of Makerbot Industries, a 3D printer/additive manufacturing (AM) company now owned by Stratasys. He left Makerbot in 2014. In June 2017, Pettis acquired start-up Other Machine Co. — now known as Bantam Tools — from its founder and CEO, Danielle Applestone.
Bantam Tools builds reliable and precise desktop CNC machines. Since 2013, the company has been manufacturing desktop CNC machines for engineers and product designers enabling them to bring machining in-house and accelerate their rapid prototyping processes. Its CNC machines are also widely used by educators in classrooms and makerspaces. The company is on an ambitious mission to build an ecosystem of hardware and software products that will empower its users to create sustainable energy sources, fight climate change, land on Mars, prevent the next pandemic, and close the growing skills gap in U.S. manufacturing. Bantam Tools strives to keep as much of its manufacturing in-house as possible, and its machines are assembled and tested in-house in Peekskill, NY.
MCADCafe Interviews Bre Pettis, CEO Bantam ToolsRead the rest of Bantam Tools: Small CNC Machines Yield Big Results Sigmetrix: Mechanical Variation Management Helps Engineers Maker Better Decisions for Building Better ProductsAugust 17th, 2022 by Jeff Rowe
We recently spoke with Ed Walsh, VP of Global Sales at Sigmetrix for an update on the company and its technologies. During the interview, he spoke how the company continues to be focused on helping customer design and build better products through mechanical variation management. Sigmetrix is unique because it’s not just a software company, but also a service and training company that together provide a comprehensive solutions approach for its customers.
Sigmetrix is a company whose focus has always been on helping companies create better products through mechanical variation management. Walsh said, “We can break mechanical variation management down into two parts. Better products would mean a product that’s safer, maybe more efficient, produces less pollution, and is more accurate. For us, that’s what better products mean. Variation is something that comes in and can make those products not so good. Maybe makes the product less competitive or makes customers less happy. So, we’re trying to manage that to make better products”. “Our customers want to get the most out of their technology investments with the most efficient use of their resources. This includes things like having solutions that scale to multiple skill levels in an organization. We address this need by having our cornerstone tolerance analysis tool (CETOL 6 Sigma) that is used for advanced applications because it’s very powerful, but also a 1D tool (EZtol), that’s relatively simple to use. We are seeing an increased demand for tools that teach people geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) as they use them by incorporating training solutions in all of our tools. We feel that that education helps establish a use case, or ability to be used, by that whole spectrum of users”.
MCADCafe Interviews Ed Walsh, VP Global Sales, SigmetrixWhat Does Mechanical Variation Management Mean?Sigmetrix’s mission statement is “Better products through mechanical variation management.” We asked Walsh if he could elaborate on what that actually means. “I think the way we can best describe it is by defining what variation actually is. Variation can represent any number of things between the viscosity of a fluid or the amount of flow through a circuit, just based on the random variation of how things work in the world, for example, weather”. SPEE3D: Making Additive Manufacturing Easier Is Only the BeginningJuly 18th, 2022 by Jeff Rowe
It’s 2022 and additive manufacturing (AM) companies and technologies continue to proliferate, some more successful than others. While many new companies in this space claim to be unique and innovative, truth be told, relatively few actually are. That said, when we spot something that truly is innovative we take note, and feel that SPEE3D definitely qualifies. We recently spoke with SPEE3D CEO and co-founder, Byron Kennedy, about his company and its unique AM technologies, materials, and processes. SPEE3D is an Australian-based company and a manufacturer of metal-based 3D printers. The advantage of these 3D metal printers is that they’re very fast and also transportable. This means customers can put them in trucks or ships and take them right to the front line where parts can be manufactured and immediately used.
SPEE3D printers enable affordable metal additive manufacturing processes. They make metal parts quickly, leveraging metal cold spray technology to produce industrial quality metal parts in minutes, rather than days or weeks. The process is powered by kinetic energy, rather than relying on high-power lasers and expensive gasses. Finally, the process provides metal 3D printing at costs normally associated with traditional production methods. How did SPEE3D get started? Kennedy said, “Our (he and the other co-founder and CTO, Steven Camilleri) background was in manufacturing. We previously had another company designing electric motors, sold that to a large US multinational and worked with them for near on 10 years in manufacturing. We saw 3D printing coming, but the reality is that it was just too expensive, and too slow. So when we finished up at the motor company, we wondered if we could take 3D printing into the production space and really solve this cost and speed issue. Thus, the company was born”. Read the rest of SPEE3D: Making Additive Manufacturing Easier Is Only the Beginning Cadence: A Natural Progression From EDA to CFDJune 9th, 2022 by Jeff Rowe
We recently spoke with John Chawner, Senior Group Leader at Cadence about the company’s entry into computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technologies after many years of being known for its expertise in electronic design automation (EDA). Cadence has long been a leader in electronic systems design, building upon more than 30 years of computational software expertise. The company applies its underlying Intelligent System Design strategy for creating innovative software, hardware, and IP solutions. In turn, Cadence customers are some of the world’s most innovative companies, delivering extraordinary electronic products from chips to boards to complete systems for the most dynamic market applications including hyperscale computing, 5G communications, automotive, mobile, aerospace, consumer, industrial, and healthcare.
Generally, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is an aspect of multiphysics system analysis that simulates the behavior of fluids and their thermodynamic properties using numerical models. Cadence’s CFD suite includes application areas such as propulsion, aerodynamics, hydrodynamics, and combustion. What makes CFD platforms especially pivotal is their ability to adapt to specific instances of additional physical phenomena. Cadence’s primary CFD products include: Fidelity CFD Solution – Provides a streamlined CFD workflow for design, multidisciplinary analysis, and optimization in a single environment. The Cadence Fidelity CFD software is a scalable Cadence CFD solution that provides technology beyond the Omnis end-to-end CFD workflow and Pointwise legacy meshing. For over a decade, the CFD industry has recognized that progress in three vital areas has plateaued: numerical algorithms, modeling of turbulent and separated flow, and the exploitation of HPC assets. Fidelity CFD makes strides in all three; the two most unique aspects are its high-order solver and the first steps toward integrating the Omnis and Pointwise meshing technologies into a single, unique platform while also advancing them separately. The Fidelity high-order solver can provide 10 times the accuracy of classic flow solvers, and 3 times mesh speedup using the Pointwise solution within Fidelity CFD. Fidelity Pointwise CFD Mesh Generation – Utilizes advanced mesh generation techniques as well as geometry model preparation capabilities for high fidelity characterization of fluids. It is well known that meshing is the most time-intensive part of the CFD workflow with one of the highest impacts, but is vital to ensuring high-accuracy and high-efficiency CFD simulations moving forward. Beyond meshing, however, Fidelity Pointwise can integrate into just about any CFD simulation workflow. Through its mesh export and import tools and pre-built relationships with other solvers and simulation tools, Fidelity Pointwise can enhance existing workflows. The entire team dedicated to Fidelity Pointwise is deeply connected to the greater meshing community and is involved in many aspects of the industry and influential guidelines like the CFD 2030 plan. Read the rest of Cadence: A Natural Progression From EDA to CFD Addifab: Pushing the Boundaries of Additive ManufacturingMay 3rd, 2022 by Jeff Rowe
We recently spoke with Lasse Guldborg Staal, CEO, Addifab about his take on his company as well as the state of the additive manufacturing (AM) industry – where it is and where it’s going. Based in Denmark, Addifab is a global company built on market knowledge and high ambitions. Based on its experience, the company has developed a unique soluble mold tool enabling a process known as Freeform Injection Molding (FIM). With its innovative Print→Inject→Dissolve process, the Freeform Injection Molding technique is free of any design or material choice limitations. By printing the tool, you can create unseen designs. You can mold unseen products and business potential by injecting virtually any available material before dissolving the molding tool.
MCADCafe Interviews Lasse Guldborg Staal, CEO, Addifab “Injection molders work with plastic materials and normally use metal tools to produce parts. Metal tools are expensive and time consuming to produce. So, what we do with the 3D printing is to create injection mold tooling that is faster and cheaper, and it’s actually also greener than the conventional metal tooling. If you want to have a low cost injection molded prototype, I think the Addifab technology freeform injection molding is probably your best and most cost effective alternative.” ___________________________________________________________________________________ “At Addifab, we are committed to helping innovators capture the full potential of their ideas, and to bring their products to market faster. With Freeform Injection Molding, we deliver on this commitment; start-ups bring their ideas to market using our technology, and global industry leaders adopt our technology to boost their product development.” Lasse Staal, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder, Addifab ___________________________________________________________________________________ “What we’ve tried to do with our technology freeform injection molding is to reduce the costs and reduce lead times. We also want to provide injection molders with a new level of design freedom. And for this reason we have created injection mold tooling that is soluble because if you can dissolve your injection mold tooling, you can create geometries that are impossible to mold with any other method.” Read the rest of Addifab: Pushing the Boundaries of Additive Manufacturing Spatial Corp.’s SDKs Help Build Innovative Engineering Software SolutionsApril 12th, 2022 by Jeff Rowe
We recently spoke with Frédéric Jacqmin, VP Worldwide Business Development, Spatial Corp. about specific recent developments within Spatial and the industry in general. From its inception in 1986, Spatial, a Dassault Systèmes company, has developed software components – modular software packages that perform a set of specific and related functions. Software components are also known as software development toolkits (SDKs). This class of software is designed to work as a functional component of a larger application, such as CAD, CAM, CAE, and far beyond. The goal of component software is to standardize the interfaces between software components so that they can work together efficiently.
SDKs are used by almost every CAD/CAM vendor in one form or another. Popular host applications include 3D geometric modeling, data translation, visualization, metrology, toolpath generation, and simulation. In 1986, Spatial had a primary product: ACIS, the first commercially available 3D geometric modeling kernel. Over time, Spatial added other products to its portfolio that enabled independent software vendors (ISVs), primarily in the engineering software industries, for building host applications. These components include extensions and updates to the ACIS modeler, other design and visualization products, as well as acquisitions in translator technology. Read the rest of Spatial Corp.’s SDKs Help Build Innovative Engineering Software Solutions MCADCafe Industry Predictions for 2022 – TheoremFebruary 2nd, 2022 by Industry Experts
Will XR and 3D PDF help define your 2022 digital transformation strategy? Let’s look back to move forwards.. Every year you can always count on a wave of new products or concepts that hope to become the next big thing, especially in regards to technology. Some make it, some don’t. The thing is, whilst these new products are new and exciting, they often don’t have a visible ROI to back them up early on, so when it comes to using these products in industry, it can take time for them to gain the confidence of an organisation, especially where they may be perceived as being disruptive, instead of complementary. Digital transformation Over the past few years, companies have been concerned with developing their digital transformation strategy- an organisation’s plan of action on how to strategically reposition itself in the digital economy. This looks set to continue as we are constantly moving towards a more and more digitised world. But from an engineering perspective, is there anything that can be realised as a digital ‘game changer’ for an organisation in the next 12 months? Read the rest of MCADCafe Industry Predictions for 2022 – Theorem MCADCafe Industry Predictions for 2022 – 3DChimeraJanuary 28th, 2022 by Industry Experts
In 2021 many companies were plagued with global supply chain issues and shipping delays, which will continue to play out over the next several years. With an eye to the future, the most innovative businesses have turned to additive manufacturing to supplement their production via outsourced service bureaus or with the acquisition of new 3d printing equipment for in-house production. In 2022, we expect to see more companies adopting additive manufacturing as a practical alternative to traditional manufacturing methods like injection molding or CNC. With strong parts, fine details, quick turnaround times, onshore production, and the elimination of tooling expenses additive manufacturing gives companies an opportunity to produce better products more quickly and efficiently than ever before, without the inherent risks of global supply chain and shipping delays. Read the rest of MCADCafe Industry Predictions for 2022 – 3DChimera MCADCafe Industry Predictions for 2022 – BMFJanuary 24th, 2022 by Industry Experts
Industry Prediction from BMF, John Kawola, CEO: Many have marveled at how additive manufacturing has found its way into real end-use part applications. This has happened as technologies have improved, costs have come down and awareness has expanded. However, big picture this migration is only in the first inning, or maybe in the first at bat of the first inning. Compared to overall global manufacturing, a multi-trillion dollar market, additive manufacturing is a still a very tiny percentage. Why is that? Arguably, much of manufacturing has well established processes, many of which are already cost effective, proven and getting better and better each year. Additive manufacturing is the most valuable as a disruptive alternative in applications, markets and parts that are difficult or expensive to make now. In 2022, we will begin to see more of these cases emerge. Read the rest of MCADCafe Industry Predictions for 2022 – BMF |
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