Industry Predictions for 2020 by XponentialWorks’s Avi Reichental and 3DQue Systems’s Steph Sharp

Avi Reichental Founder and CEO   XponentialWorks

I believe that in 2020 the 3D printing industry will come together to demonstrate convincingly that additive manufacturing is the most sustainable manufacturing technology available. I hope by the end of the decade that Additive Manufacturing will be the defining transformative force in democratizing habitat and mobility on earth and in space.

Steph Sharp        Co-Founder & CEO 3DQue Systems

2020 is the year that in-house 3D printing will start to be seen as a viable, sustainable alternative to outsourcing mid-volume orders of plastic parts. Even as the manufacturing sector is slowing down, 3D printers are producing higher quality parts at a lower cost. Manufacturers under pressure to reduce lead times and inventory levels will turn their attention to adoption of fully autonomous 3D printing networks to deliver quality parts on demand. This focus on innovation will also help companies achieve their sustainability goals by reducing bulk shipping and warehousing and reducing waste.

2020 will be a difficult year.  Major currents in technology, such as Artificial Intelligence, Biomechanics and Additive Manufacturing, will be tempered by the state of markets and the economy.  It appears as if the big slowdown is finally upon us.  Will the US dollar relinquish its status as the world reserve currency? Will a liquidity shortage extend beyond banks into commercial enterprises?  Will credit for large commercial enterprises dry-up and restrict investment?  Will a recession turn into a run on banks and global depression?  Hard times appear to be ahead.  Yet innovation and its younger sister creativity continue to drive society forward.  So, here are some trends that should shake up 2020 and beyond.

Internet of Things (IOT)
The grand expectation of the internet of things is coming to fruition.  Connectivity between the world wide web and day to day hardware will continue to infiltrate every nook and cranny of our lives.  Very soon, Alexa will not be the only unfamiliar voice in our homes, shops and offices.  Unfortunately, privacy will continue to take a back seat during this expansion.  Our smart refrigerator will not only chat with our toaster but also keep track of our purchases in order to inform “interested parties” about our purchasing habits, which could be good or bad depending upon one’s point of view.  As a pioneer in the integration of sensor hardware with adaptive and intelligent software, AlphaSTAR understands the value of IOT and incorporates the technology into products and solutions where possible and logical.  In the case of Additive Manufacturing, our AlphaSTAR products take advantage of in-situ monitoring, big data process, real time visualization and feed forward control.  However, it does not stop there.  AlphaSTAR engineers understand information is critical for build success.

Read the rest of MCADCafe Industry Predictions for 2020 – AlphaSTAR

The State of the Software industry and the competitive advantage.  By David Selliman, Vice President of CoreTechnologie.

I recently attended CES in Las Vegas, known for the largest electronic show in the world with a full city of attendees with every device you can ever think of.   I thought I was going to see something so new and innovative, I would wonder, why I did not think of that?  Surely, it was more of the same.  I have to say the few products or inventions that stuck to my head with amazement was Bell and Uber partnership developing a taxi helicopter with embracing 2030 in 2020. Hyundai with its competitive helicopter taxi and android services solution to carry 50 plus pounds with a 50 pound android, servicing complex cities globally. The big hurdle to bring the flying products to market was one simple word – FAA.  Another product that caught my eye was the babysitting robot with all the knowledge in its memory banks is what makes IBM Watson look dump, and lastly the innovation of Samsung to create a booth that defines its eco system of technology that surpassed anything on the planet based on its core business.

Read the rest of MCADCafe Industry Predictions for 2020 – Core Technologies

Software is playing an important role on the shop floor of manufacturers today, but it’s often focused on one task or a portion of the workflow. While there is benefit to that discrete function, the impact on the entire production line is not as significant as it can be. However, manufacturers who are recognized as the industry leaders are embracing an integrated approach – creating a digital thread that connects between the workflow portions and functions, results in efficiencies and cost savings by providing a complete set of data, elimination of repetitive tasks, and automation. These innovators are embracing advanced emerging technologies aligned with industry trends such as the Internet of Things (IoT) to improve productivity, lower Total Cost of Operation (TCO) and maintain competitive advantage.

Read the rest of MCADCafe Industry Predictions for 2020 – 3D Systems

In 2020, All Product Development Roads Will Lead to SaaS

In the United States, the majority of K-12 classrooms now rely on Google Chromebooks to give students instant access to their applications and projects online – and to facilitate collaboration with classmates and teachers in real time. These students, who are the next generation of engineers, product designers and manufacturers, are already accustomed to the benefits of cloud-native Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications. In the early 2020s, the professional product development world will quickly play catch up.

I predict that 2020 will mark the tipping point for companies adopting a wide range of SaaS product development tools including CAD, Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), simulation and generative design.

The demand for more product development applications running on cloud-native architectures will be further driven by the continued growth of 5G mobile networks. Making internet browsing and download speeds 10x to 20x faster will create an even greater expectation for instant access to information in every aspect of our personal and professional lives. In this context, the delays and work interruptions resulting from the IT requirements of installed software will become more of a competitive liability.

Read the rest of MCADCafe’s 2020 Industry Predictions -Onshape/PTC

FFF technology & filaments: This will be the year of large-format FFF technology. As leading industrial manufacturers continue to realize the speed, efficiency, flexibility, and precision of large-format AM and its unique compatibility with high performance, industrial-grade filaments for applications in automotive, aerospace, rail and other industries both in and outside of the transportation sector. The growing range of filaments designed for specific applications will offer manufacturers increasingly personalized production by taking advantage of large-format additives flexibility in a serial production setting. Additionally, as environmentally friendly processes like filament recycling to introduce closed-loop supply chains – an opportunity that isn’t readily accessible in metal AM applications – become increasingly necessary companies will move to adopt large-format FFF AM to replace other wasteful processes.

Read the rest of MCADCafe 2020 industry predictions – Bigrep

Xometry, the largest global on-demand manufacturing marketplace, has seen the rate of innovation increase rapidly through our work with industry leaders in defense, aerospace, automotive, and consumer products. Based on trends in 2019, Xometry predicts the manufacturing landscape will continue to change in 2020 with reduced supply chain challenges from increased reliance on additive manufacturing and marketplace manufacturing models.

In 2020, manufacturing marketplaces like Xometry’s manufacturing as a service (MaaS) model and the increase in additive manufacturing services will reduce concerns about capacity and supply chain. Manufacturing marketplaces allow businesses, ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies, to leverage a global network of qualified manufacturers by matching their project needs with the most capable suppliers. This gives companies access to manufacturers beyond their geographical limits.

Read the rest of MCADCafe Industry Predictions for 2020 – Xometry

MCADcafe- Is 2020 the year of Mixed Reality?

There was a significant rise in the recognition and adoption of using XR technologies (Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality) in the engineering and manufacturing industries during 2019. Organisations are beginning to realise the potential of using these technologies to replace existing processes for a wide range of use cases.

Augmented (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are more established within certain areas of engineering, with them already being used for Design Review, Factory Layout and Training use cases, amongst others.

But it is Mixed Reality (MR) that could make the most noise in 2020. According to a recent Research and Markets report, the global MR market is estimated to reach US$3.68 billion by 2025.

Read the rest of MCADcafe Industry Predictions for 2020 – Theorem