There are a number of developments shaping the way forward for manufacturing in 2025, together with provide chain resilience, workforce improvement and administration, sustainability, and the adoption of cutting-edge applied sciences like AI, automation, and additive manufacturing. Ultimately month’s Hexagon Dwell in Las Vegas, I spoke with Jason Walker, Basic Manufacturing Apply Lead for Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence, about a number of of those developments.
Picture courtesy of Sarah Saunders
Manufacturing Tariffs
We began our dialog by speaking about tariffs—a subject that’s almost unattainable to keep away from nowadays. Through the occasion, Hexagon shared the outcomes of its “Americas State of Manufacturing 2025 Report,” which surveyed 500 professionals from the manufacturing trade. Walker informed me that the U.S.-based respondents did discover tariffs regarding, since they don’t know for certain how their companies shall be impacted. However, he additionally stated that “the general sentiment continues to be optimistic.”
Jason Walker, VP Basic Manufacturing Apply Lead, Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence
“Greater than 50% of producers are nonetheless optimistic for his or her futures and their alternatives within the manufacturing area,” he stated.
Walker stated that tariffs being applied on elements and manufacturing coming into the U.S. ought to drive extra of an onshoring initiative, which is an effective factor. However, he additionally famous that “most producers understand as nicely that the ramp-up part is for much longer than might be going to be wanted” to unravel any provide chain points ensuing from tariffs. So there are loads of combined emotions, which is fairly in keeping with each different dialog I’ve had about tariffs within the manufacturing trade.
“I don’t assume anyone’s sure on what that is going to imply for the trade going ahead. There’s no conclusive solutions there,” Walker stated, calling it a “wait and see” state of affairs.
Picture courtesy of Sarah Saunders
Expertise and the Expertise Hole
What does maintain developing as extra of a priority, from bigger OEMs right down to the smaller provide chain producers, is the abilities hole.
“In terms of bridging the abilities hole, producers are realizing that to draw new expertise within the workforce, and new expertise, they should improve the instruments and know-how they use as nicely,” Walker stated. “Usually, the trade continues to be seen as this boring, soiled, harmful place, with loads of guide operations and an absence of know-how adoption. That’s one thing that we’ve heard from our clients, and producers on the whole: they understand they should improve the sorts of know-how that they’ve, which has a twofold impact.”
The primary on this twofold impact is utilizing new applied sciences to bridge the abilities hole and scale back the burden on the present workforce. As an illustration, automation can take over a number of the extra tedious guide duties, so employees can as an alternative give attention to larger challenges. Secondly, new applied sciences might help optimize how manufacturing operations are run. Walker talked about “tribal information,” which has been constructed up by the expert workforce over a few years and is targeted on the guide, on a regular basis duties. Bringing in options like AI, automation, and additive manufacturing can streamline operations.
Picture courtesy of Sarah Saunders
I introduced up AEON, the humanoid robotic Hexagon launched on the occasion that’s meant to enrich the workforce, working alongside people to tackle these tedious duties. Walker stated options like that “positively have an element to play.”
“If we take a look at our conventional applied sciences as nicely, and the way we’re enhancing them with the likes of AI know-how, it truly is to cut back the burden on current operations.”
He cited ProPlanAI, a programming device launched final 12 months by Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence. This AI functionality inside CAD/CAM manufacturing software program makes it a lot faster to take an element’s design and make it production-ready. It’s additionally been utilized to Hexagon’s different manufacturing options, reminiscent of Metrology Mentor software program, the place it makes machine preparation simpler and “reduces the necessity for CAM and metrology operators to simply sit in entrance of a PC programming elements and inspection routines.”
Hexagon’s Additive Manufacturing Suite
I requested how AM suits into Hexagon’s plan to cut back the burden on the workforce, and Walker introduced up the corporate’s Additive Manufacturing Suite, which facilitates the complete AM course of from preliminary quote to supply. Customers can handle the design and every part else in a single interface.
“Like I simply talked about for ProPlanAI, the place you’re getting ready an element for a machining course of on a CNC machine, likewise with additive, we will see that software being utilized to make it faster and simpler to generate the packages for 3D printing purposes as nicely,” he defined.
Mathieu Perennou, Director World Technique & Enterprise Growth, Additive Manufacturing, Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence
In a separate dialog, I used to be fortunate sufficient to get a rundown of Hexagon’s AM Suite from Mathieu Perennou, Director of World Technique & Enterprise Growth, Additive Manufacturing.
“When speaking about AM Suite, or our additive manufacturing capabilities, or actually any manufacturing course of, consider the workflow you’re protecting,” he stated. “What you begin with is it’s important to design your product. Then you could determine the way you’re going to truly manufacture the product, after which you’ll in truth manufacture it. After which you could test whether or not your product is assembly the standard necessities. You’re gonna examine the elements, and that if the method parameters change, then the fabric you make is totally different. So it’s essential in additive manufacturing, the standard inspection, as a result of there may be nonetheless a relative lack of maturity in additive manufacturing.”
Perennou defined that whereas AM does make good elements, our expertise with the know-how is way lower than with standard manufacturing strategies which have been round for tons of of years. However, for individuals who need to “fast-track issues,” synthetic intelligence and machine studying then come into play, particularly within the high quality inspection facet of issues.
“How do you capitalize and leverage the info that you just collect in high quality inspection with the intention to assess sooner, faster, and earlier the standard of the elements you make? Hexagon has options all alongside that workflow.”
So Hexagon’s AM Suite connects all these totally different items of the workflow. MSC Apex Generative Design, for instance, is the place you can also make advanced shapes, putting materials precisely the place it’s wanted for one thing like a difficult aerospace software.
“You outline and create the forces, you give a goal, and say, this half wants to have the ability to take that degree of stress,” Perennou defined. “So that you give a stress goal, after which, when you’ve finished that, now that you’ve all of the boundary circumstances and the targets, the software program will routinely calculate a form that can meet these necessities. You begin the optimization, and it takes the unique design area, and it’ll take away materials, and each form the software program creates, it calculates whether or not it meets your necessities. And finally we’ll suggest an final form based mostly on all the standards for the optimization that you just gave.”
Simufact Additive
Similar to its identify recommend, Simufact Additive is the place you may go to simulate your print job. Perennou stated that this product takes “the geometry with the orientation, with the helps, plus the method parameters, and say, okay, if I put all of that along with a cloth, am I making a superb half or not?” AM STUDIO is construct preparation software program, and at last there’s the AI-driven ESPRIT EDGE. Every thing is linked collectively by Nexus, an agnostic platform that permits you to use third-party options if you’d like.
Alternatives
Though, as Walker stated, AM was as soon as hyped so much, Hexagon sees many real-world purposes for the know-how, particularly in supporting the manufacturing of distinctive one-off elements that can be utilized in mass manufacturing, reminiscent of jigs and fixtures and different workholding.
“If you could manufacture a thousand elements and also you want a selected workholding for a novel geometry or one thing like that, then additive is one of the simplest ways to attain that in a brief area of time and create that one-off workholding,” he stated.
In late 2024, Hexagon additionally finalized the acquisition of Geomagic software program from 3D Methods, and sees a giant alternative right here to increase its reverse engineering capabilities, like Geomagic’s Design X resolution, for producers centered on additive, and combine this software program into Additive Manufacturing Suite.
“So it’s creating extra of a novel, or holistic, suite of options,” Walker defined.
I requested if Hexagon has any extra acquisitions deliberate, and he says the corporate is “at all times taking a look at extra complementary applied sciences,” although he’s unsure of any “imminently on the radar.” However the firm clearly has groups particularly devoted to these varieties of selections.
“We now have each our product groups engaged on what else we want when it comes to know-how and capabilities, after which a full M&A workforce who’s centered on going and searching for a few of these,” he stated. “I’ve little question there shall be extra.”
Walker stated general, Hexagon may be very optimistic in regards to the state of issues.
“The manufacturing trade nonetheless has a lot alternative to be enhanced, and develop into extra environment friendly and productive by the usage of a number of the superior applied sciences we’ve got to offer,” he concluded. “We’re actively specializing in how we will improve all of those options with the likes of AI, automation, robotics, et cetera.”
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