Industry Summary Articles

Mentor Graphics Corporation today announced the launch of the Open Manufacturing Language (OML) initiative that directly addresses the longstanding need and urgent calls from the industry for a printed circuit board (PCB) assembly-specific Internet of Manufacturing solution. For the first time, IT teams, solution providers, and equipment providers can easily integrate shop-floor data to create or enhance added-value manufacturing execution solutions based on a single, normalized, vendor-neutral communication interface. This minimizes development and support effort while ensuring optimum data accuracy, timeliness and completeness.

Use of the OML standard supports numerous industry needs and challenges...

The inventor of COBie, Bill East, has been working with Rob Jackson, Associate Director of Bond Bryan Architects, to simulate the early design in ARCHICAD of one of four dormitories on a fictitious site adjacent to the University of Illinois in Champaign, Illinois.  The goal is to create a reference COBie test project. 

As the design developed, the COBie Plugin for BIMserver.org was iteratively applied to resolve identified issues. In some cases, these issues were the result of modeling. Other issues required direct feedback with ARCHICAD programmers. This communication was extremely helpful, efficient, and...

Key takeaways:

• SOLIDWORKS announced Xdesign, a new cloud-based CAD product, and Xdrive, a cloud-based storage solution to be delivered in the future
• Bernard Charles, Dassault Systèmes’ CEO promised a major company push to be #1 in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) market
• SOLIDWORKS and Altium announced a new SOLIDWORKS/PCB application with integration to SOLIDWORKS that provides much needed functionality for developing smart, connected products

Dassault Systèmes recently staged their 18th annual user conference, SOLIDWORKS World 2016, in Dallas, Texas. Over 5,000 users, value-added resellers, solution partners, press, industry analysts, and SOLIDWORKS employees attended the January 31 through...

Radan, the powerful CAD/CAM software for sheetmetal applications, is lighting the way for an engineering subcontractor to carry out small bends as part of the cutting process on their punch press.

V & F Sheetmetal Co. Ltd. manufacture millions of components every year – a number of which involve small bends that can be handled with multi-bend tooling installed on a Trumpf 3000R and programmed with Radan.

They make full use of that facility when manufacturing a fan deck component for air curtains. “It saves time, not having to send them to the press brake,” says Director Ray Frith...

Mentor Graphics Corporation today announced that General Motors is deploying Mentor® Capital® electrical systems design tools for its vehicle development projects.  The tools deliver cycle time reductions and support improved engineering processes, helping General Motors efficiently deliver the new electronic features demanded by the car-buying public.  This is achieved via the Capital suite's powerful design asset re-use and correct-by-construction technology that automatically generates optimized platform-level wiring.

Electrical systems for new General Motors vehicles are now being designed using Capital tools. Furthermore, design data for existing vehicles is being...

Centric Software announces that Wilson will adopt product lifecycle management (PLM) software from Centric, citing communication, efficiency and usability as the criteria driving its choice. From their headquarters in Glasgow, Scotland, and design studios, showrooms and offices around the world, Wilson delivers creative and commercial products to a stable of branded retailers and private label businesses.

Founded as a family business, Wilson offers personalized design, sourcing and supply chain services that cover the full spectrum of casual wear, footwear and accessories. With 200 employees worldwide, including more than 40 dedicated designers, Wilson has secured long-term contracts with...

CD-adapco, the largest privately held CFD-focused provider of Computer Aided Engineering software, announced today that Martin Whitmarsh, the Chief Executive Officer for Land Rover BAR and former CEO of McLaren F1, will be the Keynote Speaker at the STAR Global Conference 2016 to be held March 7-9 in Prague, Czech Republic.

Whitmarsh rose to the position of Managing Director of the McLaren Formula One team in 1997 before eventually becoming the CEO of McLaren Racing and the McLaren Group from 2004-2013. He stepped into his new role as...

3D Systems announced today that it will demonstrate its leading 3D solutions for metalworking at METAV 2016 in Düsseldorf, Germany, February 23 – 27, in Hall 15, booth F35. Visitors to 3D Systems’ booth are invited to explore the company’s portfolio of advanced metal fabrication solutions, ranging from 3D software and 3D printers to on-demand parts production.

Featured solutions in booth F35 will include:

• High precision, high throughput Direct Metal Printing on the ProX™ DMP 320. With preset build parameters developed from the outcome of nearly half-a-million prints, the ProX DMP 320 offers predictable and repeatable print quality at...

MIT is collaborating with Boeing and NASA to develop a four-part online, certificate-based program: “Architecture and Systems Engineering: Models and Methods to Manage Complex Systems.” The program aims to ensure that the engineering workforce has continual training and access to the latest knowledge and methods to design and develop products in a rapidly changing environment. The four courses, which will be delivered by MIT Professional Education via the edX platform, will marry the research and knowledge of MIT’s world-renowned faculty with lessons and case studies in industry and government from Boeing and NASA professionals.

Focused on...

Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. today announced that it has developed deep learning technology (1) that can analyze time-series data with a high degree of accuracy. Demonstrating promise for Internet-of-Things applications, time-series data can also be subject to severe volatility, making it difficult for people to discern patterns in the data.

Deep learning technology, which is attracting attention as a breakthrough in the advance of artificial intelligence, has achieved extremely high recognition accuracy with images and speech, but the types of data to which it can be applied is still limited. In particular, it has been difficult to accurately and automatically classify volatile...