From Ford\u2019s first assembly lines to robots on factory floors, the past century saw the development and refinement of manufacturing systems for mass production. The 21st century is ushering in a wave of equally important innovations that are making manufacturing more flexible and agile, enabling us to prototype more easily and customize products on a mass scale. Today, we\u2019re able to make things in ways and at scales and efficiencies previous generations could never have imagined\u2014from foodstuffs and toys to cars and industrial equipment.<\/p>\n
Check out these 3 short presentations from AU 2017 to see how engineers, designers, and technologists are remaking the factory as we know it and revolutionizing what it means to manufacture.<\/p>\n
Generative Design and Metal Casting Generative design is often associated with additive manufacturing because the geometries it suggests can\u2019t be made any other way, but alternatives are possible. Andres Bastian, principle research scientist at Autodesk, discusses how he and his team have adapted generative approaches to metal casting, a production technique thousands of years old. The result? An airplane seat that is 50% lighter than those currently in use, allowing savings of up to $200 million in fuel over the lifetime of the airplane.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Speaker: Andres Bastian<\/em><\/p>\n