Stephen Hooper, Krystian Kogut, Dawid Dąbal, Filip Polit
stephen.hooper@autodesk.com, krystian.kogut@intermarium.com.pl, dawid.dabal@intermarium.com.pl, filip.polit@intermarium.com.pl
Autodesk gets into process simulation.
A new opening for FlexSim!
At the end of 2023, FlexSim Software Products, Inc. was acquired by Autodesk. In the last issue of our magazine, we interviewed the co-founders and co-owners (at the time) of FlexSim for you.
In this issue, we speak with Stephen Hooper, Vice President of Product Design and Manufacturing at Autodesk, so that our readers can hear firsthand what was behind the acquisition, what its goals are, what lies ahead for FlexSim and its users, and what Stephen thinks about the role of simulation in industry or AI. Enjoy!
Krystian: Autodesk has multiple software tools in the portfolio, including those for digital prototyping, like Inventor, for example. Why did Autodesk enter the world of discrete event simulation? Because this seems to me like a bit of a new area for Autodesk.
Stephen: Autodesk operates across three main industry domains. The first is architecture, engineering and construction, or AEC in short. The second is around product design and manufacturing, specifically with an emphasis on manufacturing. Our third industry domain is what we call entertainment and media, including films, games and TV. Most AAA games and numerous mainstream films use our technology (from the editor: Avatar, Avengers: Endgame, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, just to name a few).
Factory operations utilize a mix of our technologies. For example, Rivian, an automotive company, uses our full technology range. If a factory is built on a greenfield site, land development is required, for which we have Civil 3D, a leading technology for civil engineering. Revit enables you to create a complete building information model of a factory shell. Our manufacturing portfolio includes the Product Design and Manufacturing Collection (PDMC), comprising AutoCAD for factory layout, and tools for asset modeling, and Factory Design Utilities for building assets, 2D layout and 3D conversion for collision detection. Merging Building Information Modeling technologies with Factory Design Utilities creates a full 3D representation of the building and its equipment. The static model aids in documentation and collision detection between architectural elements. However, what we wanted to be able to do was to turn that factory on. That led us to the acquisition of FlexSim, allowing us to model discrete event simulation within the factory. We also have PLM technologies Fusion Manage and Fusion Operations for factory operations methods.
We ‘ve developed technologies for immersive AR and VR applications, and Autodesk Construction Cloud is widely used for coordinating manufacturing layouts with construction projects. Tandem, another technology, allows for a digital twin of the operation. By integrating these technologies, many of our major customers can create a full digital representation of their entire manufacturing process, including behavioral characteristics. This digital twin can also manage operations, beneficial especially in regions like Europe with high energy consumption and emission standards. Having a digital twin of the building, with discrete event simulation, helps in calculating energy consumption, heat emissions and compliance with standards. It also helps manage operational costs, predict performance, and monitor power consumption throughout the building’s lifecycle.
The first step for us was to basically augment that entire portfolio with discrete event simulation. For us, that was a missing component. It forms part of a much larger strategy to help serve customers in this space with integrated factory modeling. Our ultimate goal there is to connect the machines, people and manufacturing execution, and then model the flow of product and inventory through that factory with discrete event simulations. Ultimately, we’ll bring these technologies together as part of Autodesk’s industry cloud, which we refer to as Autodesk Fusion, our industry cloud for manufacturing. FlexSim fits perfectly into the Autodesk ecosystem, and our digital transformation journey, supporting customers like Rivian.
Krystian: I think that’s pretty clear. And it’s really impressive what Autodesk is able to provide for modern manufacturing.
Stephen: One thing I’d like to emphasize is that we continue to manage and develop the existing Autodesk portfolio, including all the different tools and technologies. Today, many customers only want a piece of that overall digital thread from Autodesk. We continue to develop and support those independent desktop applications. In tandem with that, we are creating an industry cloud that integrates these technologies. If you do want to start modeling a factory from scratch, you have a single platform on which you can do it.