MCADCafe Editorial 
2021 MCADCafe Predictions
Additive Manufacturing Will Boom in 2021January 12th, 2021 by 2021 MCADCafe Predictions
 Blake Teipel, CEO and Co-founder, Essentium The promise of additive manufacturing has always been tremendous. But it’s not just a promise anymore—now the capability is a reality. Here are five trends that will push 3D printing to greater success in the coming year. 1: Additive manufacturing will be deployed more broadly The question has always been: how do you use this technology to cost-effectively create not just one or two items but hundreds or thousands? Well, manufacturing companies have finally cracked the code, and there will be no turning back. Essentium recently completed the third installment in our annual additive manufacturing industrial survey, conducted by Dimensional Research. We found that the number of companies now using additive manufacturing for full-scale production runs of hundreds of thousands of parts doubled from 7% in 2019 to 14% in 2020. And we expect that percentage to grow even larger next year. 3D Printing in 2021 – A Year of Radical RenewalJanuary 9th, 2021 by 2021 MCADCafe Predictions
 Bryan Crutchfield, VP & GM, Materialise In 2021, we enter the fourth decade of 3D printing. At the same time, we are entering a decade with potential for radical renewal in our industry. In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, 3D printing stood up to make a difference, providing an alternative way to produce vital goods and supplies in a fast, local, cost-efficient and safe way. The three trends we foresee in the coming year look to take us to the other side of the COVID crisis stronger, more flexible and ready for the possibilities where 3D printed products and components bring more value. The first is a continued, supercharged move toward digitization. This shift will require more than just incremental steps. With an opportunity to go back to the drawing board and rethink how we approach manufacturing solutions, we open the door to radical new designs and innovative processes, something 3D printing is naturally designed to do. 3D printing frees designers from the constraints and limitations of traditional manufacturing technologies, helping them to focus on the solution instead of the product. The Corona-crisis represented an opportunity for 3D printing to demonstrate its potential. Now, as digitization accelerates, we have an opportunity to demonstrate how 3D printing can create real business value. Read the rest of 3D Printing in 2021 – A Year of Radical Renewal 2021 Predictions – SyncronJanuary 4th, 2021 by 2021 MCADCafe Predictions
 Venkat Eswara, VP of Product Marketing Pandemic Drives New Customer Experience From remote service to “contactless” test drives, manufacturing has gone to great lengths in its attempts to modify existing operations so that it can meet customer needs in a “COVID safe” manner. And with customers becoming more accustomed to these offerings, and workers becoming more comfortable with these new methods, expect the manufacturing industry to further integrate these “alternatives” into its long-term approaches. This will allow manufacturers to not only deliver more personalized service, but will also give them the opportunity to further diversify their operations and build new workforces. New Technology Officially Becomes “Mainstream” The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the manufacturing industry to scrutinize its entire infrastructure and operations. And with that, manufacturing businesses are beginning to more widely embrace sophisticated computing technologies to help them optimize weaknesses that may have been uncovered during the COVID era. For example, more and more manufacturers are beginning to embrace IoT technology to provide greater verification of sourcing provenance, while others are looking at ways in which technology — such as AI, ML and IoT — can be used to support remote workforces to make them more agile and effective. This means that 2021 could be the dawn of a manufacturing sector that looks much different technologically from anything that we have seen in the past. Autodesk University 2020: Being Virtually There and Reimagining the PossibleNovember 23rd, 2020 by Jeff Rowe
For as long as I can remember, Las Vegas in November has signified one thing — Autodesk University. This year, however, was different. It is November, and Autodesk University 2020 did take place, but the show went on virtually online due to the ongoing pandemic, and not in Las Vegas. AU was free of charge to attend this year online (which I felt was a nice gesture), and Autodesk claims 100,000+ registrants/attendees. Given the circumstances, overall, the presentations and classes were well done with good content. Although there were obviously online production costs, and no attendee fees, I’m sure Autodesk saved a ton of money as compared to a “live event.” This year’s theme was “Reimagine Possible.”
As in years past, with industry-specific sessions, AU covers architecture, media & entertainment, and design & manufacturing. So what was announced for design & manufacturing in particular? Let’s take a quick look. Read the rest of Autodesk University 2020: Being Virtually There and Reimagining the Possible Sigmetrix: Producing Better Products with Mechanical Variation ManagementOctober 12th, 2020 by Jeff Rowe
Since in-person trade shows and interviews are not possible right now and into the foreseeable future, via Zoom we recently interviewed Ed Walsh, VP of Global Sales at Sigmetrix. During the interview, he spoke about how the company is focused on helping customers design and build better products through mechanical variation management. “We’re unique because Sigmetrix is a software company, a service company, and a training company that together provide a solutions approach for our customers,” Walsh said.
When asked for a little background on himself and Sigmetrix, Walsh said, “I’ve been with Sigmetrix for 14 years, and have been in this industry for over 20. Over that time, I’ve witnessed a need that customers are starting to convey – they 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”. “Because too much confidence is often placed in 3D models alone, we also see that customers want a tool that can be used in the multiple stages of the product development process. For example, traditionally, tolerance stack-up was done at the end of the design process just before it went into production. It was more of a validation tool, whether they were using spreadsheets or other tools”. “If I look at the best of our customers versus the rest of our customers, just like most other simulation tools, they’ve shifted it earlier into the product development process, into the concept, and even R&D stages, to get an order of magnitude, a ‘what if’ type of analysis, on what’s better and what’s not. Our CETOL tool would be an example where people have shifted that usage. Customers also want to have decision-making from these analysis tools that can be addressed by multiple tiers of accountability in an organization”.
MCADCafe Interviews Ed Walsh, VP Global Sales, SigmetrixMaking the Case for GD&T and Tolerance AnalysisWhile Sigmetrix considers itself a niche company for GD&T and tolerance analysis and mechanical variation management, it is a very important niche that goes well beyond product validation and can be applied in all phases of development, design, and inspection that can help customers make better decisions to ensure meeting their product requirements. Read the rest of Sigmetrix: Producing Better Products with Mechanical Variation Management Ultimaker Faces AM Challenges Head-On and Thrives During Trying TimesAugust 14th, 2020 by Jeff Rowe
Accepting the reality that in-person trade shows and interviews are out of the question right now and into the foreseeable future, via Zoom we recently interviewed Greg Elfering, President of Ultimaker Americas. During the course of the interview, he spoke how the company is adapting to changing market conditions for 3D printing/additive manufacturing (AM) as it continues to innovate with its hardware and software products and services.
When asked for a little background, Elfering said, “Ultimaker is a company that was founded on 3D printing [also known as additive manufacturing] hardware and software technologies. We’re based in Utrecht, Netherlands, and headquartered here in the United States just outside of Boston in Waltham, Massachusetts. We’ve been in the American market for approximately five years.” “Prior to joining Ultimaker, I was with 3D Systems for 15 years. I joined a year and a half ago and I had a chance to learn the business for a year, understand our products and resellers. I was given a chance in January to take over the responsibility as President for the Americas. So, I’m six months into this position with Ultimaker.”
MCADCafe Interviews Greg Elfering, President of Ultimaker Americas Since 2011, Ultimaker has built an open and easy-to-use solution of 3D printers, software, and materials for professional designers and engineers. Read the rest of Ultimaker Faces AM Challenges Head-On and Thrives During Trying Times Addressing Change and Molding the Future With K-Compare RevisionJuly 21st, 2020 by Jeff Rowe
Circle 5 Tool & Mold can now quickly create comprehensive custom reports of differences between any two versions of CAD models with Kubotek K-Compare Revision Has a complex product ever been designed without any changes made during the development process? The answer is a resounding “NO!” From the beginning, engineering change orders (ECOs) and resulting design revisions have been prone to errors (and fraught with problems) because of the methods used to address and resolve them. That is, until now with Kubotek K-Compare Revision. Circle 5 Tool & Mold, one of the early adopters of K-Compare Revision, is a world class supplier of injection molds, primarily serving the automotive and medical industries, building high-volume steel and aluminum molds that range from 50-2500 Tons. From its inception in 1987, the company has been committed to being on the cutting edge of technology and a leader in injection molding solutions for the 21st century.
Lise Kennette, Engineering Manager, Circle 5 Tool & Mold, was instrumental in evaluating K-Compare Revision at the company. Kennette said managing ECOs properly the first time is critical. Miscommunicated design changes often result in losses such as missed deadlines, re-work, and scrap, which can be devastating to any company. This need for minimizing or eliminating ECO problems was the primary motivator for Circle 5 implementing K-Compare Revision. Read the rest of Addressing Change and Molding the Future With K-Compare Revision Despite the Pandemic, Things Are Adding Up for Autodesk in ManufacturingJune 12th, 2020 by Jeff Rowe
Although traditional in-person software vendor conferences, such as Autodesk University, and industry events, such as RAPID and IMTS have been cancelled this year, some vendors are forging full speed ahead with product development and introductions. Autodesk is proving to be one of these companies. We had intended on conducting in-person video interviews at RAPID 2020, but COVID-19 got in the way. However, we have been able to conduct them virtually via Zoom. The following is based on a virtual interview we conducted with Sualp Ozel, Autodesk Senior Product Manager. We started the conversation by asking how he and Autodesk were faring in the midst of the pandemic. He said, “We are busier than ever. Now that most of us are working from home, it feels like we’re working 24/7”. MCADCafe Interviews Sualp Ozel, Autodesk Senior Product Manager Read the rest of Despite the Pandemic, Things Are Adding Up for Autodesk in Manufacturing Interview with Paul Schommer, Tooling Engineer from SOLIDReporter at 3D Experience World 2020March 23rd, 2020 by Sanjay Gangal
We recently had the opportunity to interview Paul Schommer, Tooling Engineer for SOLIDReporter at 3D Experience World 2020. SOLIDReporter products are developed and offered by LOGOPRESS SAS, a company that has been developing and offering solutions dedicated to the tool & die industry for 30 years and with 20 years experience in the Solidworks ecosystem. The goal of SOLIDReporter is to meet a recurring demand from CAD/CAM users who want to free themselves as much as possible from administrative constraints and make recording and managing their time, comments and follow-up notes more reliable. Toward this goal, SOLIDReporter is an add-in for Solidworks for the recording, management and analysis of time, events, and comments. Jeff Rowe: Since SOLIDReporter is so new, can you provide our viewers a little background on it? Paul Schommer: The idea is that we are tracking time in SOLIDWORKS based on the files that you have opened using the file name or the folder structure to automatically assign the time that you have spent in those files to the project that those files go with. So rather than trying to stop and start stuff manually, this is all just handling it automatically. Interview with Graham Hargreaves, Marketing Manager from Mastercam/CNC Software at 3D Experience World 2020March 16th, 2020 by Sanjay Gangal
We recently had the opportunity to interview Graham Hargreaves, Marketing Manager of MasterCAM at 3D Experience World 2020. Mastercam is a suite of Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM) and CAD/CAM software applications. Founded in 1983, CNC Software, Inc. is one of the oldest developers of PC-based CAD/CAM software. Mastercam, CNC Software’s main product, started as a 2D CAM system with CAD tools that let machinists design virtual parts on a computer screen and also guided computer numerical controlled (CNC) machine tools in the manufacture of parts. Mastercam’s comprehensive set of predefined toolpaths—including contour, drill, pocketing, face, peel mill, engraving, surface high speed, advanced multiaxis, and many more—enable machinists to cut parts efficiently and accurately. Mastercam users can create and cut parts using one of many supplied machine and control definitions, or they can use Mastercam’s advanced tools to create their own customized definitions. Jeff Rowe: Can you provide some information or background on Mastercam for our viewers? Graham Hargreaves: Basically, Mastercam is a CAD-CAM package and we also integrate directly within SOLIDWorks. So, basically we are producing G-code that powers CNC machines. |
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