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. 2024 Nvidia Outlook: The AI Revolution in Business, from Generative Models to Quantum LeapsDecember 6th, 2023 by Sanjay Gangal
NVIDIA AI experts predict rapid transformations across industries as companies accelerate AI rollouts and begin to build best practices for adopting generative AI.
Move over, Merriam-Webster: Enterprises this year found plenty of candidates to add for word of the year. “Generative AI” and “generative pretrained transformer” were followed by terms such as “large language models” and “retrieval-augmented generation” (RAG) as whole industries turned their attention to transformative new technologies. Generative AI started the year as a blip on the radar but ended with a splash. Many companies are sprinting to harness its ability to ingest text, voice and video to churn out new content that can revolutionize productivity, innovation and creativity. Enterprises are riding the trend. Deep learning algorithms like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, further trained with corporate data, could add the equivalent of $2.6 trillion to $4.4 trillion annually across 63 business use cases, according to McKinsey & Company. Yet managing massive amounts of internal data often has been cited as the biggest obstacle to scaling AI. Some NVIDIA experts in AI predict that 2024 will be all about phoning a friend — creating partnerships and collaborations with cloud service providers, data storage and analytical companies, and others with the know-how to handle, fine-tune and deploy big data efficiently. Large language models are at the center of it all. NVIDIA experts say advancements in LLM research will increasingly be applied in business and enterprise applications. AI capabilities like RAG, autonomous intelligent agents and multimodal interactions will become more accessible and more easily deployed via virtually any platform. Nvidia’s Staggering Q2 Earnings Shed Light on Looming AI ChallengesAugust 23rd, 2023 by Sanjay Gangal
NVIDIA announced its financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2024, reporting record revenue of $13.51 billion, an increase of 88% from the previous quarter and 101% from the same period a year ago. The company’s Data Center revenue also hit a record of $10.32 billion, rising by 141% from the previous quarter and 171% from a year ago. GAAP earnings per diluted share for the quarter were $2.48, which marked a significant increase of 854% from a year ago and 202% from the previous quarter. Non-GAAP earnings per diluted share were $2.70, up 429% from a year ago and 148% from the previous quarter. NVIDIA’s CEO, Jensen Huang, stated that a new computing era has begun, with companies transitioning to accelerated computing and generative AI. The company’s GPUs, combined with its networking technologies and software stack, play a crucial role in the emerging landscape of generative AI.  NVIDIA campus in Santa Clara, Calif. Read the rest of Nvidia’s Staggering Q2 Earnings Shed Light on Looming AI Challenges InnovMetric: 3D Metrology Ecosystem Continues to Evolve for Digital TransformationApril 24th, 2023 by Jeff Rowe
Like virtually all engineering software, metrology (measurement) software has made and continues to make giant strides for manufacturing organizations seeking the best path to a comprehensive digital transformation. For metrology, one of the companies leading this charge for digital transformation is InnovMetric. We recently spoke to Marc Soucy, President of InnovMetric about his company, new and improved technologies offered by his company, and his take on the state of metrology software.
InnovMetric considers itself the pioneer of point cloud-based inspection that invented the concept of a universal 3D metrology software platform. Soucy kicked things off by saying, “We are an independent software development company, and we empower manufacturers of every size to digitally transform their 3D measurement processes. We revolutionized 3D metrology with the introduction of point-cloud-based dimensional inspection in 2000, and the concept of a universal platform in 2006. Today with over 20,000 customers in 100 countries, including the largest industrial manufacturers that have adopted our PolyWorks solutions as their standard 3D methodology software platform. We are focusing on creating next-generation digital data and process management technologies. We are a multinational organization with 550 employees dedicated to bringing 3D measurement data at the heart of enterprise manufacturing processes.”
MCADCafe Interviews Marc Soucy, President, InnovMetricRead the rest of InnovMetric: 3D Metrology Ecosystem Continues to Evolve for Digital Transformation MCADCafe Industry Predictions for 2023 – Bantam ToolsJanuary 21st, 2023 by Sanjay Gangal
By Bre Pettis, CEO, Bantam Tools Bre Pettis I predict that 2023 will be a breakout year for Desktop CNC Milling Machines as users explore ways of integrating them into their prototyping and production workspaces. At Bantam Tools, besides the bread and butter use cases of making prototypes and jigs and fixtures with Desktop CNCs, one of the things I predict we will see more and more of is connected fleets of cnc machines. We showed up at IMTS this year making a laserpointer keychain out of aluminum with 3 Bantam Tools CNC Milling Machines. Each machine was set up with a single tool in a single fixture doing a single operation and with the part moving between machines. Because Bantam Tools CNC milling machines are smaller CNCs, each individual spindle might remove less material but collectively they create a network effect that is more resilient for uptime. Beyond Bantam Tools, I would expect this trend to expand into the greater CNC world and I predict we will see software options set up to manage fleets of machines. Read the rest of MCADCafe Industry Predictions for 2023 – Bantam Tools MCADCafe Industry Predictions for 2023 – ModuleworksJanuary 21st, 2023 by Sanjay Gangal
Trends in CAM technology by Dr. Yavuz Murtezaoglu Dr. Yavuz Murtezaoglu There are more than 1 million CAM Operators worldwide and they are using around 40 different major CAM software brands. The focus of the CAM vendors in 2023 is going to be delivering more value to their user base by providing annual maintenance updates. Most CAM vendors are focusing on improving the User Experience to improve the productivity of the CAM operators and to reduce training needs for new operators. This means “easy to use” and “easy to learn” are both equally important topics to address by CAM vendors. Capabilities of tool path technology in CAM systems will evolve to address the needs for higher productivity of the CAM operators. A good example of this trend is quick adoption of tool path strategies like “One click Deburring” or “Fully automated Rotary machining” in many CAM systems. Many CAM Software vendors are deciding to license such tool path technologies from ModuleWorks as their main component provider for tool path calculation and simulation. This frees up their development resources to address the complete workflow from design with PMI (product manufacturing information) to post processing. CloudNC: Cloud-Based CAM Automation Yields Faster Results and Higher QualityJanuary 10th, 2023 by Jeff Rowe
Cloud-based computer applications are all around us and continue to expand and influence many aspects of our personal and professional lives. Digital, or computer-based machining (CAM) is no exception. Although CAM and computer numerically controlled (CNC) technologies have been with us for several decades, cloud-based methods are relatively new, but evolving at a rapid pace. The first NC machines were built in the 1940s and 1950s, based on existing tools that were modified with servomotors that moved tools or parts to follow points fed into the system on punched tape. These early servomechanisms were rapidly augmented with analog and digital computers, creating the modern CNC machine tools that revolutionized machining, and more recently, cloud-based processes. Read the rest of CloudNC: Cloud-Based CAM Automation Yields Faster Results and Higher Quality 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 |
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