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Issue #533 : : October 16, 2007 |
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In this issue: Autodesk Manufacturing Media Summit, Paris
But very few other regular columns this week.
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Autodesk Manufacturing Media Summit, Paris The Mechanical Solutions division of Autodesk likes holding its annual media summit in different cities. Earlier ones were close to home, Portland and San Francisco. This year, a figurative coin toss decided Paris over Munich. Munich I've been to; Paris not. Conference Day 1 The summit invited 80 members of the CAD media from 22 countries, mostly Europe and North America. The emphasis, as before, is on digital prototyping -- Autodesk wanting to move manufacturers from (slower and more costly) physical prototypes to (faster and less costly) digital prototypes. There's two reasons for this: (1) to move cash towards Autodesk, and (2) save the environment. Really. More about this in Day 2. A frustration of Autodesk's is that they don't do cars. They don't have the MCAD software by which a General Motors designs the mechanics of the next Corvette. Body design: yes; mechanical design, no. Hence the oft-repeated statement, "100% of all auto manufacturers use Autodesk software." Since this was an MCAD event, you would think they were speaking of Inventor. Um, no: it was of Alias, their recently-acquired software for conceptual design. Not that that will stop the ambitious Robert Kross, senior vp of Autodesk's Manufacturing Solutions division. "We have the ambition to do all of it," I heard him say. Mr Kross was pleased to announce that his division had made US$99 million last quarter, up 31% from a year ago. And not just 4% more, "as one of our competitors did" -- an oblique reference to SolidWorks. At quarter's end (July 21), there were 722,000 users of Inventor Series software. He listed for us the pressure points that he thought customers might be feeling:
Autodesk wants to be the one supplying the software that handles all those tasks. Not all of it is available now, but perhaps one day.
- - - Tavel Moment: Central Paris is confusing at best, with intersections frequently consisting of 5 or 6 streets, many too short to rate a mention on the advertising-funded map provided free by the concierge. I ask him to point us in the direction of the Eiffel Tower. "But that is far to walk, monsieur," he protests. That's fine, I assure him; we'll head in that direction and see how far we get. "But it is 30 minutes, maybe more." Heh: we're from Canada, and we're used to long distances. According to the GPS, we walk for five hours, covering 10km (6 miles), to the Champs Elise, the Tour de Triumph, the Eiffel Tower, and back. As we drag ourselves and our soaking wet clothes back into the hotel room, I announce to my wife, Heather: "We're done. We can go home now." - - -
Digital Divisions Andrew Anagnost, vp of CAD/CAE Products, spoke on the digital divisions between manufacturers: (1) those who are more likely to be paper-based, (2) those who use the basic capabilities of MCAD software, and (3) those who are more likely to be totally digital, including design, analysis, reuse of existing data, and ability to share models digitally. He listed three levels of customer:
Conceptual and Plastics Design The calm Mr Angonost showed us a form of conceptual design that may well appear in a future release of Inventor. He dragged some rectangular 2D shapes that defined gears – in a manner not unlike Visio or Actrix. He added a boxed M representing the motor. When he hits a command, Inventor generated a 3D model of the gears, sized correctly. When he changed the parameters of M (the motor), the 3D model is updated. He also showed modeling for non-modelers, such as a way for conceptual designers to define plastic parts, like grills, joins, and ribs. When this data is moved to the mold designer, he checks, modifies, and approves it – and then outputs it to the base mold. The dialog box for non-engineers contains simplified options; it's up to the mold designer to confirm that the Inventor-selected and non-engineer-specified parameters work. It seems that software from Autodesk's MCAD division might divide into two subdivisons: design and manufacturing. I asked if such a split was likely to occur. "Perhaps," was the reply. "It is not currently planned." What about the new plastics design, I asked. Would it be part of the core package or an add-on, like piping? "Not sure how it will be packaged," was the response. "Plastics is just one of several new modules being planned."
Future Inventor Platform Richard Jones, vp of Alias Design Products, show us the future structure of Inventor. The Inventor Platform consists of five modules. [Attention competitors: spoiler alert!] Conceptual Design -> Technical Surfacing -> Engineering Design -> Simulation -> Manufacturing
PLM for non-PLM adherents, as it were. I suspect that Mr Jones' low-key presentation may have missed the attention of many journalists in attendance. For, at that evening's dinner reception, Mr Kross remarked on how important this new platform is to his division's future. Perhaps the conference should have led off with The New Platform. It may have held off the undertow grouching by some journalists.
Q&A Marketing people think in terms of "messaging," and Autodesk's message is the Digital Prototype. Skeptical journalists wondered about the concept's feasibility. Some answers were vague, perhaps because of the early state of DP'ing.
Q: Can you give us an estimate of the number of companies that do the full range of digital prototypes? A: Our mission is to move digital prototyping to the small shops. If they are still stuck with physical prototypes in five years, then we will have failed.
Q: Do customers have an idea of when a physical or a digital prototype is better? A: Autodesk understands that physical prototyping won't go to zero, such as physical models required by compliance agencies. But we want to reduce the need by iterating digitally.
Q: Who is this conceptual stuff pitched at? At 2D users (who don't get it) or 3D users (who already use it)? A: At those who use CAD for smart objects or drawing automation. Currently, the drawing is finished when it leaves the engineering department. Autodesk (and other CAD vendors) are trying to expand the market in how drawings are used.
Q: How far has the transition gone from 3D to digital prototyping? A: We don't know, probably single percentage digits. Some 18% of our customers use 3D.
Q: After digital prototyping, what comes next? A: [Initial answer.] We don't know. [Mr Jones quickly speaks up.] Experience the design, in a manner like virtual reality. Automate a lot of this. [Mr Koss adds.] I wish that the multi-CPU processors had occurred earlier than they did, to allow multiple processes to work at the same time, such as simultaneous what-if scenarios.
Q: Is [digital prototyping] just PLM in disguise? A: No. We see that the "L" is missing from other CAD vendors' PLM offerings. PLM is just a way to charger customers huge consulting fees.
Q: Why your anti-PLM stance? A: It is an term invented by Dassault Systemes,
who serve the high end and had a need to unify ERP, CRM, and so
on. It requires a lot of [expensive] consulting services. PLM is
not a problem for Autodesk's customers.
Q: What is the position of MDT [Mechanical Desktop]. It is still mentioned on the Web site. A: Fewer than 5% use MDT anymore.
Q: How long until functional design is shipping? A: Within 18 months.
Q: Will Alias be included in the Inventor package? A: In the long-term, this is in our plans.
Q: Which user interface would the included Alias use -- its own, or Inventor's? A: We have a clear strategy to simply the UI [user interface] across all applications. [Later, on the bus, I overheard that next March's release of Autodesk software will contain elements of the new unified interface.]
Q: When will the 2D conceptual software ship in Inventor? A: Not too long from now.
Q: Is industry further ahead than what you are claiming? A: The factual data says not enough companies [are using 3D and digital prototyping]. Many customers are still using 2D.
Unanswered Questions Mixed in with the Q&A were questions that Autodesk executives did not or could not yet answer. These included:
Q: How much will your solution cost compared to existing solutions? Q: Couldn't this conceptual design fit quite easily into AutoCAD? Q: Where are you along the road map of adoption? Q: Will you talk about the competition?
- - - Tavel Moment: I am used to European cathedrals being ignored. In The Netherlands, they tend to be locked, or else demand an admission fee. I was unprepared for the tourist trap surrounding Sacré Coeur, the Sacred Heart Basilica -- the highest point in Paris. The Anvers subway (metro) station emerges to a gauntlet of souvenir shops and pressing crowds. Past the commercialism of Rue de Steinkerque are the hundreds of steps leading up to the basilica, where it's now the street entertainers who crave cash. In stark contrast, a solemn sacrement service takes place inside the basilica. "Hsst, no camera, no photo!' admonishes the security-guard-like usher. Our daughter insisted we eat at Chez Eugene. She'd been there earlier in the year on a school trip. We end up in the wrong square, and head back the hill. If we'd known earlier, we could've ridden the vermicular free. Parisian transit passes allow transfers for up to an hour following purchase. Instead we repay the e1.50 each for the short ride back up the mountain and quickly find the square. Is Place Tertre stereotyped or what! It is filled with artists cheek on jowl flogging their works, some good, many tacky. Surrounding them are a dozen restaurants, each as inviting as the next -- each with waiters inviting tourists to enter in. The artist who engages my wife in conversation confides that the restaurant over there is the one all the artists eat at. But we have a date with Chez Eugene and its suspender-snapping waiters - - -
Conference Day 2 Autodesk CEO Carl Bass began the second day doing a CAD industry version of the Al Gore spiel. "Companies have to stand for something," he proclaimed as part of his speech on sustainability. [upFront.eZine advocates for the humane user.] To his credit, he mocked silly sustainability efforts, such as the parking garage that covered itself with solar panels. He sees the role of CAD vendors as encouraging designers to create sustainable products. In answer to a later question, he noted that while eight million CAD users is a number small in relation to the world's six billion, designers have an inordinate impact on everything that is produced. A simple example is the designer choosing which materials (and how much material) is used by products.
New Technology When it comes to data management, Autodesk considers ProductStream to be the digital pipeline between its software that those of others. For instance, there will be integration with Sharepoint, which is software for sharing documents and pushed by Microsoft as an extension of its Office suite. We were shown a demo that linked Revit with Inventor. Place an Inventor assembly in Revit, and a two-way association is created. In this particular demo, HTC's new floor cleaner was arrayed on the factory floor drawing to see how many could be assembled at the same time. When the Inventor assembly is updated, the revision shows up automatically in Revit -- but not much more detail was provided us. While a two-way link exists, I don't see how modifying the Revit drawing will have an effect on the Inventor drawing. The reverse setup also doesn't make much sense to me, either: placing Revit drawings in Inventor assemblies. Perhaps the technology is so young that something more will be shown to us in the future. Pity: there wasn't time to ask questions about this.
- - - Travel Moment: We take the TGV [train a grand vitesse, train of great speed] to the Germany border. I am surprised the cramped, airline-like seating; I prefer the expansive roominess of the ICE (inter city express). Not as fast, but much more comfortable. Fllowing our visit with the distant relative living near the French border, we take the train to Lyon via Basel, the Swiss city wedged against Germany and France. We travel three countries in under ten minutes. The Deutsche Bahn (German Railroad) train stops in Basel Bad, the last station in Germany. The train carries on another five minutes to Bassel SBB station (Swiss federal railroad). Here, we disembark and walk through the opaque doors that lead to France Customs & Immigration (fortunately unmanned) and then to the adjoining station operated by SCNF (Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer). There are no signs; look for Voie [track] 30 - Voie 35. - - -
Blog Coverage by the CAD Media CAD Insider: cadinsider.typepad.com
3D CAD News: 3dcadnews.blog.com/
PR, Marketing and the Business of CAD: floatingpoint.typepad.com
Additional Coverage by WorldCAD Access
- - - Travel Moment: Our train from Germany arrives at Part Dieu station, but our hotel is four miles away near Perrache train station. Not to worry; SCNF offers a free shuttle service to anyone holding a valid train ticket: take the next commuter train from Part Dieu to Perrache. Back in France, we stay three nights in Lyon to visit with one of our French exchange students and her family. The hotel my wife spent five hours on the Internet picking out turns out to be delightful. (We paid e72 a night, plus e6 each for breakfast, and e5 for an hour of Internet access.) Hotel du Simplon is on the quiet sidestreet of Rue Dehamel, just one block from Place Carnot -- next to the Perrache train station and major transit center. The 2-star hotel reminds me of a movie set in Paris -- wide, creaking oak staircase, immaculately clean but tiny rooms, and a friendly staff that speaks some English. We have to turn in the key each time we leave the hotel; upon returning, we find it spooky how the frontdesk clerk knows our room number, even clerks we haven't seen yet. While in Lyon, we buy day transit passes (Liberte 1 Jour) for e4.40 each. We use them to visit the enormous mall at Part Dieu, as well as Vieux Lyon (old Lyon) and the Roman ruins on the other side of the river. "Paul" is the name of a chain of Tim-Horton's like fastfood places with excellent baguette sandwiches. We enjoy a wonderful (but expensive) e70 lunch with our exchange student at Le Sud Brasserie at the end of Place a Poncet. When it comes time to return to Canada, I discover I have fallen in love with Lyon. - - -
Next year's event is tentatively planned for a city much further away than Paris is from Portland. [Disclosure: Autodesk provided me with air and ground transportation, hotel, meals, and corporate gifts.] These news items were posted during the last week at the WorldCAD Access blog < worldcadaccess.typepad.com>:
And at the Gizmos Grabowski < worldcadaccess.typepad.com/gizmos/ > Weblog:
Notable Quotable "0.3% of all road accidents in Canada involve a moose. Aren't
you glad you're flying?"
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