Autodesk officially opened its UK Technology Centre in Birmingham yesterday, which aims to “help people solve the world’s most advanced high value manufacturing challenges”.
The software company has spent the last 12 months turning the former Delcam site into an Advanced Manufacturing Facility (AMF) which houses a range of tools from subtractive to additive manufacturing (AM) and robotics and is already benefiting customers like BMW and GKN Aerospace.
The ribbon cutting complements Autodesk’s recent manifesto launch which calls on more support for small manufacturers to drive the UK to the forefront of Industry 4.0.
“Autodesk believes in the convergence of design to manufacture,” Steve Hobbs, VP of CAM and Hybrid Manufacturing at Autodesk explained to the group of industry leads, media and engineers inside a rather blustery marquee in Small Heath. However, the winds of change were a welcome force as Autodesk outlined its aspirations to get manufacturers and engineers to look at both design and manufacturing as a whole in order to take full advantage of the advanced technologies available today, such as push-button manufacturing and generative design.
Generative design tools are more commonly thought of as going hand-in-hand with AM but one of the most interesting points raised at the launch was the ability to apply constraints to the technology to make in suitable for subtractive manufacturing. This will be a real “game changer” for manufacturers who are already using traditional machine tools to maximise their potential and reap the benefits of designing for functionality without having to invest in a costly AM machine.
The facility is an engineer’s dream. There were Kuka robotic arms automatically switching toolheads to produce Palace of Westminster and globe models, arc welding technology which was applied in the recent WAAMPeller project, rows of desktop and industrial 3D printers from Formlabs, Markforged and Stratasys, and hybrid systems encompassing additive, machining and inspection to repair metal parts in Inconnel.
During the tour we saw numerous forms of automation which Autodesk’s President and CEO, Andrew Anagnost explained would be “fundamental” in overcoming the lack of funding, resources and people to build everything we need in the world. He believes the three key components driving this will be the rise of multi-functional robots, additive manufacturing and cloud computing. We also saw software solutions including Fusion Production which provides production monitoring for CNC machining and DASHER 360, with no release date just yet, which uses a digital twin to give real-time insight into the factory floor.
Anagnost, commented: “The convergence of automation technologies like robotics and machine learning is shaking up traditional manufacturing and building processes. Coupling these with cloud computing enables more people to access their power at much lower costs. While clearly a challenge to established practices, these technologies offer huge opportunities for existing manufacturers and builders to do more, do it better, and do it with less negative impact on the world. With today’s opening, we hope to fuel excitement and prepare businesses in all industries for the future of making things.”
