Autodesk Digital Factory Solutions

Did you know that Autodesk now offers a bunch of solutions around factory planning, design, build and operate? Most of us know about Autodesk Factory Design Utilities, which has been available as part of the Product Design & Manufacturing Collection since the beginning. Autodesk has tools and workflow options to suit any phase of the factory process.

Here is a breakdown of these digital factory phases and some of the products that are available at each stage.

Plan

At the planning stage, we generally aim to keep things high level. Often a plan view of a floorplan can be a good place to start. AutoCAD is a great tool for the initial layouts and if we use Factory Design Utilities with AutoCAD, we get access to the Asset library. Therefore, when it’s time to move to 3D, it only takes a click of a button to open in Inventor.

Point cloud scan data can be used to quickly assess the real-world situation efficiently with the use or Recap. Recap allows users to capture site surveys without the going back and forth between site and design.

Products like Autodesk Forma help us streamline the planning of site layouts and get AI-powered ideas at an early stage. Meanwhile Civil 3D allows for geotechnical planning from an early stage and carries through to the more detail design stage too,

Design

At the design stage, we have out normal CAD design tools that can aid us in 2D/3D design. Tools like Fusion, Inventor, AutoCAD, Revit and Navisworks can all play a role here.. but Autodesk has more to offer these days.

Tools like Autodesk FlexSim can help us design and analyse the flow of materials through out factory process. Users can identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies and make informed decisions to improve processes at the design stage.

Of course, all data needs to be brought together and made available to wider team members, and tools like Vault and Autodesk Construction Cloud are great for the task. Both these data management tools can be use along or side by side, adding value to the design process and tying it all together.

Build

When it comes to building factories, tools within the Autodesk Construction Cloud mentioned earlier, can help keep organisation and track key feedback. Autodesk Docs allows users onsite to get the latest data required, to build or revamp existing projects. Autodesk Build allows users to track and report issues, providing feedback that is all located in one place for ease of collaboration.

Navisworks and ReCap can once again add value at this stage with as built details and project review capability. 4D and 5D simulations can help with scheduling and cost analysis before the building even begins.

Operate

Autodesk digital factory solutions even cover the operate stage of the factory lifecycle. Autodesk Docs allows users to handover factory data to the maintenance teams, and final customer in some cases.

Autodesk Tandem allows the delivery and maintenance of a digital twin populated with relevant assets and BIM data. With a real world digital replication of the site, monitoring and analytics can be stored and reviews giving visual analytics and insights.

Last on the list of mentions is Fusion Operations. Fusion Ops is a capable cloud-based MES system that digitizes and tracks manufacturing processes. Users can schedule, plan and manage operations going out to, and live on, the shop floor. With tools for quality, inventory and maintenance management, Fusion Ops is a great way to move shop floor operations to the digital era.