Manufacturers mimic evolution to create better parts at Autodesk technology centre

Engineers at a “first of its kind” facility will chase the inherent efficiencies of natural evolution with advanced design tools and manufacturing technologies.

Serving customers including BMW and GKN Additive, the Autodesk Technology Centre officially opened in Birmingham in February. Companies will use the software and automation firm’s experts and machines to realise ambitious ideas and solve complex problems, using techniques such as generative design. 

The creation process mimics nature’s evolutionary approach to design, said Autodesk. Engineers input design goals into software, along with parameters such as materials, manufacturing methods and cost constraints. The program then uses cloud computing to create thousands of potential solutions, letting engineers pick the best fit. The process often cuts the weight of components, turning geometric shapes into more organic-looking structures, and it can also optimise strength and other mechanical aspects. 

Workers highlighted the technique’s capabilities at the opening, handing guests two similar car uprights, also known as spindles: one manufactured without generative design had hard corners and thick beams, sitting heavier in the hand; the other, designed using the software, had more natural-looking lines and softer edges, and was lighter. 

Generative design is one of a variety of techniques that companies will explore at the Birmingham centre; others include additive manufacturing and digitalisation. 

Rob Sharman, head of additive manufacturing at GKN Aerospace, said: “When you look around at the way we manufacture today, the way we design things, that doesn’t represent nature. Nature usually gets it right – it’s had a bit more practice than us – so it shows a gulf between where we are and where we can be. And I think the combination of digitalisation and additive manufacturing allows us to do more and more.”

Work at the centre will aim to improve generative design, said Autodesk’s effusive president Andrew Anagnost. “The extreme of the highly organic-looking generative shapes is highly optimised, but it also takes a little longer to machine,” he said. 

“If we can start finding a middle ground between the old way of doing things, we’re going to get an even more practical solution that can be deployed in more places. Because what you don’t want is something that is so efficient that it takes 10 times more machining – what if you could get 90% of that efficiency but only slightly more machining time? That is what we are aiming for.”

With the efficiency, environmental and cost benefits that generative design can bring, the centre will aim to make the technique accessible to manufacturers. Autodesk wants to offer a “gentle on-ramp,” said the company’s vice-president Steve Hobbs. “What we are looking for are ways of making that technology more accessible for people who are wanting to work with more conventional technologies – not everybody is ready to switch.”