ON THE TOPIC OF | DIGITAL AMBASSADORS
Having “scratched the surface last
year” with “some positive results”,
this year he says the company is
going to “scale up to the next level”,
placing 50 students in 50 SMEs and
generate some 25 case studies.
One early success has been
at machinery maker Hosakawa
Micron of Runcorn, Cheshire. The
company makes, using standard
building blocks, tailor-made
powder processing equipment,
including metal powder for additive
manufacturing purposes, and has
made use 3D design for many years.
One particular part of the
company’s business is the design
and manufacture of containment
equipment to protect operators,
keeping people and material apart,
with the pharmaceutical industry a
key user. These incorporate openings
for operators’ arms and hands, with
protective gloves then providing the
barrier and allowing them to interact
with physical objects or powders
within the containment enclosure.
Iain Crosley, managing director
of Hosakawa Micron, explains:
“When we are asked to make these,
we are usually asked to undertake
ergonomic assessments, as people
have to be able to reach inside,
touch, feel or move things, or look
at how something works. We also
have to take account of safety and
validation, too.”
Traditionally, having gained
customer approval, a wood and
plastic mock-up is built. “Not only
is that a slow process, you are also
building something that is never
going to be used and which will have
to be disposed of; not brilliant for the
environment,” Crosley expands.
The company started to look at
virtual reality, but because there
was no longer a physical barrier,
for ergonomic assessment, a better
way was required. “Our idea was to
couple the real front of the isolator, the
glass panel, the gloves, structure and
opening, to a virtual model behind.
We also needed to index every
movement that is happening in the
model. But when we started to look at
it, we didn’t know where to start.”
Hosakawa Micron approached
Autodesk and the solution was its
VRED, a 3D visualisation software
that helps designers and engineers
create product presentations, design
reviews, and virtual
prototypes. But the
company didn’t have
the skillset to employ it.
However, Autodesk was
able to place two digital
ambassadors, one located
within the company for
the best part of a summer, to
drive the project on.
The time saving was some
“Students have
a mindset that sees
them apply design
thinking to traditional
problems that allows them
to shake up the status
quo in a positive way.”
four to five weeks out of a 32-week
prototype programme, Crossley says,
while it is now only necessary to ship
the dummy front to customers, rather
than a complete enclosure.
Nicole Pellizzon, a secondyear
aeronautical engineering
undergraduate at Imperial College
London, is a Digital Ambassador.
She got involved with Autodesk last
year via a competition involving
generative design and is now a
Fusion 360 teacher. Via the Digital
Catalyst programme, she has
been working with UK start-up
Etergo based in Holland, which is
developing an electric motorscooter.
She has been supporting the
company from the UK, rather
underlining Autodesk’s message that
includes the potential for distributed
collaborative working
supported by cloud-based
software tools. Says
Pellizon: “I am looking at
how generative design
within Fusion 360
can be used to lighten
components, increasing
range per charge.” She has
some 50 hours’ experience with
generative design and adds: “It’s
a very interesting skillset to have.
It isn’t difficult to physically set up
the model, but it is a very different
way of thinking. There is almost
an advantage as I don’t know the
traditional way of doing it. Hopefully,
when I graduate, generative design
will be a highly sought-after skill.”
As to how Digital Ambassadors are
helping out in the manufacturing end
of matters, Moghal says: “There are,
in fact, some projects in the pipeline
where the Digital Catalysts will be
looking at innovation in the machining
of parts. However, it’s still too early to
discuss in the projects more detail.”
What seems clear is that
Autodesk’s revolutionary design and
manufacturing tools do require a new
perspective from a new generation to
kick-start their wider application. !
ASIF MOGHAL
20 WWW.EUREKAMAGAZINE.CO.UK | SEPTEMBER 2019
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