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Microsoft has started pitching its Surface range of ‘2 in 1’ computers to engineers, because it’s the first time the portable laptop/tablet hybrid has been powerful enough to be used for CAD on the go.
The US technology giant lumps engineers in with designers and digital artists as ‘creative users’, although not to the extent of running a single press event for both sets of journalists. But from Microsoft’s perspective, the connection between the two groups is clear. They both use resource-intensive graphics applications that the Surface can now run, because of advances in microprocessor technology in both the CPU and the GPU.
A Surface device is both an iPad-like tablet and a laptop. The screen detaches from the keyboard, so it can be used to display and share images – such as CAD models or 2D plans – or a film or game. While attached to the keyboard, the screen can be used as a ‘serious’ business device, or in marketing terms as a ‘productivity’ device.
Microsoft’s main marketing drive to engineers focuses on the additional human-machine interface aspects of the Surface. Alongside a mouse, a pen and touchscreen can be used to control the computer. Andrew Hill, head of mechanical engineering for Microsoft Surface, says the pen input happened as the computer was being developed, when his own engineers were using it to annotate CAD models. “We weren’t expecting it to be as useful as it was,” he says.
This discovery led to the further development of the pen, particularly as its use relates to note-taking. “I’d talked to a sports journalist who used a notepad next to his laptop to take notes. We found that key to using the tablet to take notes was that the removal of the device from the keyboard had to be friction-free. Getting the feel right was important – it had to be as free to pick up as a piece of paper,” says Hill.
So Microsoft engineers have developed the ‘dynamic fulcrum hinge’ which uses a cam lock to click into the keyboard. The hinge allows friction-free removal, and still feels solid when replacing the device. It also extends, to balance the computer.
Use of the touchscreen to manipulate 3D models, pan, zoom and rotate, has also proved popular with engineers, says John Fox, vice-president of marketing at Siemens PLM software. “Solid Edge [design and simulation software] customers are stunned by the ease of use, and it provides full access to your design. It’s not a CAD viewer,” he says.
Although Microsoft won’t reveal how many customers are using Surface computers for CAD, it does say the level of business adoption is beginning to overtake that by consumers. The company is innovating with users in mind, and the latest Surface computers have features that engineers will find useful, while moving closer to eliminating the need for several computers in their professional life.