DEVELOP3D April / May 2022 by X3DMEDIA

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GOLDEN DAYS( ) ARE HERE AGAIN

Tradition meets modernity as Alvis Car Company roars back to life

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WELCOME EDITORIAL Editor Stephen Holmes stephen@x3dmedia.com +44 (0)20 3384 5297 Managing Editor Greg Corke greg@x3dmedia.com +44 (0)20 3355 7312 Staff Writer Claudia Schergna claudia@x3dmedia.com Consulting Editor Jessica Twentyman jtwentyman@gmail.com +44 (0)20 7913 0919 Consulting Editor Martyn Day martyn@x3dmedia.com +44 (0)7525 701 542

DESIGN/PRODUCTION Design/Production Greg Corke greg@x3dmedia.com +44 (0)20 3355 7312

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ACCOUNTS Accounts Manager Charlotte Taibi charlotte@x3dmedia.com Financial Controller Samantha Todescato-Rutland sam@chalfen.com

here’s nothing like a pinch at the pumps to remind us of our reliance on road transport. Whether it’s the daily commute, a Sunday jaunt or a Friday night takeaway delivery, those potholed tracks still control the flow of our nations. It’s been this way for over a century now, and there’s nothing like a look at the current state of automotive design and engineering to give you perspective on how it has evolved. If you’re lacking a reminder, then this issue’s cover story should be of interest. Alvis may have fallen out of public consciousness some decades ago, back in the dark ages of British motoring, but it’s well and truly back on the scene now. Resurrected, it has picked up almost exactly where it left off – hand-beaten body panels and all – but with the addition of some digital tools to give those traditional methods a big boost. We also look to the future, as Claudia speaks to designers and engineers who are just starting off in their automotive careers, to find out how they’ve reached the first rungs of a super-competitive ladder and where they hope to take the industry. Claudia also meets with London start-up Yawboard, a company working to bring a little zip to the daily commute with an electric urban scooter-come-skateboard design that can also handle some off-road fun. Elsewhere, we look to motorsport, with F1 as ever showcasing what’s possible. We also look at the reality of day-to-day racing for teams outside that rarefied niche, with a feature about Cupra Racing. The engineering team at Aisin, responsible for components in many Lexus and Toyota cars, give us an insight into the simulations modern electric vehicles components undergo, and how it makes use of all the data. And on the topic of simulation, Laurence Marks has been looking at multiscale analysis, and how it can help with the tricky task of testing materials in areas such as composite structures performance. While we wait for the full shift to electric powertrains, lightweight composite chassis, sustainable recycled-fibre bodyworks and 3D-printed airless tyres, we hope you enjoy this issue, as well as any journeys you’re about to head out on. Just watch out for those potholes.

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SCAN ME

CONTENTS APRIL / MAY 2022 ISSUE NO. 133

NEWS Shapr3D adds visualisation capabilities, Epson brings injection molding to FDM, and a crowded field of brand-new workstations compete for attention

16 19 20 22 30 34 38 40 42 45 46 47 50 52 54

FEATURES Comment: SJ on the real needs of electric vehicle owners Comment: Tom Smith on social media’s role in recruitment Visual Design Guide: Floating design concept Alto COVER STORY Alvis Car Company roars back to life Yawboard dreams of carving a new market Talking heads: The next generation of auto design Interview: Future directions for Autodesk Alias A blend of speed and power at Mercedes F1 Bridging the gap at Thomas Burke & Others New car, old tricks at Cupra Racing Reinventing the wheel with 3D printing at Maxion Optimising power at Toyota-owned Aisin Alpine Cars sets its sights on additive manufacturing Rena Max: Barq’s solution for meals on wheels Multiscale analysis: Laurence Marks casts a critical eye

REVIEWS 57 Scan 3XS GWP-ME A124C workstation 62 Nvidia RTX A4500 GPU THE LAST WORD 66 The development of the automobile has had far-reaching consquences. Can the industry learn from history and avoid the mistakes of the past, asks Stephen Holmes?

2022

1 November 2022 The wood used to produce this magazine comes from Forest Stewardship Council certified well-managed forests, controlled sources and/or recycled material

University of Sheffield, UK

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NEWS NEWS

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT NEWS

NEW VISUALIZATION TOOLSET EXPANDS THE SHAPR3D SOFTWARE ECOSYSTEM WHAT WE THINK

» As Shapr3D continues to flesh out its toolset, visualisation capabilities are the latest addition, bringing drag-and-drop materials and colours to 3D models

hapr3D has further expanded its product offering with the addition of Visualization, its new rendering software that integrates into all current platforms of its 3D CAD programme, including on iPad. On touchscreen user interfaces, two taps on the screen put the user in Visualization mode, giving them a wide range of materials and colours they can apply to their 3D models, and the ability to make changes instantaneously. Shapr3D promises that this is just its first foray into a visualisation, with the toolset set to grow into a more fleshed-out feature within the Shapr3D user interface. Its aim is to make its software a ‘go-to’ product for sketching and concepting, as well as workflows such as pitching clients, team reviews where a range of different options are needed, and for on-the-go inspiration. Visualization is launched with a library of over 70 materials, from woods, metals and plastics, through to glass and leather, and a handful of finishes that transform most materials, whether gloss or matte. Once in Shapr3D Visualization mode,

users simply select a surface, a material, and its colour, and then drag and drop in a highly intuitive workflow. Material scale sliders, a colour picker and Hex numbers make choosing from the current list of materials and colour grading easy. Designs can quickly flip back into ‘CAD mode’, to make an edit or addition, and the result can be rendered instantly to show a client in seconds. If a bigger screen for a presentation is needed, or more power, then users can transfer to another device, with Shapr3D capable of running on all Windows devices as well as Mac OS. Shapr3D CEO Istvan Csanady explained that this is just the beginning of his plans for the rendering tools, as Shapr3D promises more materials, features and tools going forward, including custom lighting and environments. The move into visualisation continues to mark the progress of the software, which expanded its reach from its native iOS on iPad to Windows devices and MacOS in 2021, as well as adding functionality including new text options, dark mode, guided lofting and G2 continuity. www.shapr3d.com

Shapr3D Visualization brings 3D designs to life for team reviews and client pitches

Shapr3D is shaping up to be far more than just a glossy iPad accessory for designers, with the company having spent the past two years extending its capabilities to other operating systems and devices. Visualisation was the obvious next step, adding to Shapr3D’s quick-fire ideation and presentation uses. Few would doubt its appeal for presenting ideas to customers and being able to showcase in 3D exactly what concept has sprung to mind. The toolset, libraries of materials, lighting and camera set-ups may not rival those of KeyShot, 3ds Max, Cinema4D or even Blender, but for simplicity and speed, they're perfectly adequate for getting ideas across. And integrated design and visualisation via such a simple and intuitive interface – simply tapping on the screen – is something that traditional CAD software will struggle to replicate. The big players are already looking to adapt their software to be more accessible for ‘Generation TikTok’, raised on mobile devices and cloud gaming. The move to Windows desktop was a bold step by Shapr3D to get its tech into the hands of more users, and it’s not hard to see how switching over onto a Windows digital whiteboard in the boardroom, or a lightweight iPad for intimate presentations would be popular among business users. The work that Shapr3D developers are doing to grow its professional capabilities, such as adding drawings and advanced surfaces, and the slick switching it allows under a single license, all paint a picture of a product that will continue to grow in value in your toolbox.

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NEWS

EPSON 3D PRINTER BRINGS INJECTION MOULDING TO FDM

pson has developed an industrial 3D printer capable of using common third-party manufacturing materials using an extrusion method evolved from its existing injection moulding technology. The as-yet unnamed Epson 3D printer employs a flat screw – an inline screw with a flattened configuration – much like that already found in Epson’s precision injection moulding machines. This extrusion method enables the printer to be used with a variety of common third-party materials. These include resin or metal pellets, which are generally available at lower cost than many other materials; environmentally friendly biomass pellets; and PEEK materials that are capable of providing high heat resistance. Additionally, the amount of material injected is precisely controlled by regulating the pressure within the head and by regulating the action of a valve in concert with the modelling speed. Epson says that temperature at the surface of the build part must be controlled in order to obtain the required strength, and the new system employs a unique mechanism to deliver this and achieve both strength and accuracy. “The 3D printer is thus engineered to manufacture strong, accurate objects with commonly available materials, facilitating printer use in the production of industrial parts for final products,” said an Epson spokesperson. “It is ideally suited to mass customisation, as it can produce small batches of parts, tailored to customers’

ddifab, creator of a 3D-printed Freeform Injection Moulding (FIM) process that uses dissolvable tooling to mould complex components, has partnered with 3D printing company Nexa3D to broaden the capabilities for industrial injection moulding with ultrafast, large-format 3D printing. Through this collaboration, Nexa3D will supply its NXE 400 system to users of Freeform Injection Moulding, while Addifab will supply its tooling resins and postprocessing kit. The companies plan to set up a demo facility in Palo Alto, California. www.addifab.com | www.nexa3d.com

Altair acquires Powersim

needs, with higher quality, shorter lead times and at a fraction of the cost of traditional manufacturing processes.” The new Epson 3D printer was first showcased at the Epson booth at the International Robot Exhibition 2022, held in March in Tokyo. In addition to industrial 3D printers, Epson is also looking to innovate manufacturing by co-creating flexible, high-throughput production systems that reduce environmental impacts. www.epson.com

Epson's new 3D printer employs a unique mechanism to deliver strength and accuracy

3DExperience gets sustainability features

assault Systèmes has launched Sustainable Innovation Intelligence on its 3DExperience platform, to help proactively measure the sustainability of design and manufacturing decisions by combining digital twin technology and lifecycle assessment (LCA) capabilities. The software company says that its new cloud-based solution integrates the Ecoinvent database on the impacts of more than 18,000 industrial and agricultural processes, into virtual design, product development, manufacturing engineering, operations and logistics. By combining LCA data with virtual twin technology, Dassault says that Sustainable Innovation Intelligence will “empower LCA specialists, industrial designers, product engineers and manufacturing engineers

Addifab and Nexa3D link up

ltair has acquired Powersim, a company that specialises in simulation and design tools for power electronics. The plan is for Powersim’s software tools to be integrated into Altair’s Electronic System Design suite, in connection to Altair Flux and FluxMotor for motor and controller design; Altair Activate and PollEx Spice, used to leverage device circuit and system-level simulations; Altair Embed for embedded code generation; and Altair SimLab for combined cooling and thermal analysis. www.altair.com

New SLA 750 from 3D Systems

T to create circular life cycles by setting up sustainability requirements early on and collaboratively driving them throughout the design, product development and manufacturing engineering phases.” Costing and availability for the solution is yet to be announced. www.3ds.com

Sustainable Innovation Intelligence has the circular economy set in its targets

here's a new option for largeformat and high-production 3D printing applications, with the launch of the SLA 750 by 3D systems. With a synchronous, dual-laser option for increased production, 3D Systems says that the SLA 750 has been optimised for cost-effective SLA batch part production at “up to twice the speed and triple the throughput” of other available stereolithography solutions. Additionally, the entire solution has been readied for factory floor integration with its Oqton Manufacturing software, resulting in a solution capable of delivering large, production resin parts and batch part production. www.3dsystems.com

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X-SERIES RANGE AIMS TO BOOST DESKTOP METAL'S REACH

he triple-headed X-Series line of additive manufacturing solutions from Desktop Metal has been announced, as the company ramps up its plans to aggressively drive AM into mass production, in part through the technology derived from its 2021 acquisition of ExOne. The rebadged ExOne 3D printers – including the InnoventX, mid-sized X25Pro and the world’s largest metal binder jet system, the X160Pro featuring a build area of 800 x 500 x 400mm – will be offered with Desktop Metal vendor support, as well as its build preparation and sintering simulation software applications. The line of binder jet 3D printing systems maintains the focus on production using speciality materials, including ceramics, enabled by its Triple ACT technology, an advanced compaction technology for dispensing, spreading and compacting powders during a build. The open material platform architecture can bind together a wide range of powders with a D50 of 3 to 100 microns. “Desktop Metal’s X-Series printers give customers more choices than ever when it comes to binder jet additive

manufacturing,” said Desktop Metal CEO Ric Fulop. The X-Series printers are targeting repeatable delivery of tight dimensional tolerances and densities of 97% to 99% or greater, putting it in line with or surpassing technologies such as metal injection moulding or gravity castings. Surface roughness values as low as 4 µm (Ra) can reportedly be achieved directly out of the furnace. The InnoventX is the most compact binder jet 3D printer in the portfolio. Launched in 2018, the easy-to-use system features Triple ACT and a piezoelectric printhead and is focussed on education and research into materials, as well as prototyping. The X25Pro is a mid-volume advanced binder jet 3D printer for the production of metal, ceramic and composite parts ramping the technology up towards prototyping needs and rapid short-run production. Finally, the X160Pro is capable of output of up to 3,120 cc/hr and offers four binder resin options, with what Desktop Metal claims is the ability to run 24/7 production. www.desktopmetal.com

Desktop Metal has rebadged three 3D printers from its ExOne acquisition

services for its next-generation digital engineering programme. Sierra Space says that this will include structural, thermal, mechanical, electrical, and software design, along with vehicle manufacture, requirements verification and complete lifecycle maintenance. www.sierraspace.com

nTopology has announced MSL as its first UK reseller, in order to assist and support nTopology customers in this country. With this in mind, engineer Joe Winston has recently joined the expanded MSL team in the role of dedicated nTopology account manager www.ntopology.com

Markforged has acquired Teton Simulation and its SmartSlice technology for automating the validation and optimisation of part performance for 3D printing. It will integrate Teton’s technology as a subscription add-on to its existing 3D printing software solution, Eiger www.markforged.com

BCN3D has announced the launch of Viscous Lithography Manufacturing (VLM), its new resin-based 3D printing technology. This allows resin to be laminated from both sides of the film, speeding up build times and allowing different resins to be combined in order to create multi-material parts and components www.bcn3d.com

Digital twin used for Sierra Space platform he Sierra Space design and engineering team has given some insights into its development of its Dream Chaser space transportation for low Earth orbit (LEO). The space plane is uniquely capable of a smooth 1.5 low-g re-entry for crew and cargo transportation, with the ability to land on compatible existing commercial runways worldwide. NASA has contracted Dream Chaser to perform cargo supply and return missions to the International Space Station (ISS), where it can deliver up to 12,000lbs of cargo in a single trip. Sierra Space is putting digital twin technology at the core of its product development strategy, and is expanding on its long-standing collaboration with Siemens to do so, implementing Siemens’ Xcelerator portfolio of software and

ROUND UP

Digital twin technology from Siemens is powering the development of Dream Chaser

Formlabs has added to its materials line-up with the new Nylon 12 GF powder. This high-performance nylon-based, glass-filled material is ideal for producing stiff functional prototypes and end-use parts where structural rigidity and thermal stability are critical www.formlabs.com

Swatchbook has announced a partnership with Centric, to provide users of the latter's product lifecycle management (PLM) software, especially those from the fashion industry, with cloud-based access to over 100,000 materials, speeding up time to market and reducing waste www.swatchbook.com

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WORKSTATION NEWS

INTEL CORE I9-12900KS DESKTOP CPU LOOKS TO BE FASTEST FOR CAD » With turbo frequencies of up to 5.5 GHz, Intel's new special edition processor should excel in single-threaded workflows like CAD and BIM

he Intel Core i9-12900KS, a special edition of the 12th Gen Intel Core ‘Alder Lake’ family of desktop CPUs, has launched. With frequencies of up to 5.5 GHz on up to two of its Performance cores, Intel executives claim it is ‘the world’s fastest desktop processor’. The new processor features the same underlying silicon configuration as the Core i9-12900K we reviewed last month: eight Performance cores (P-cores) and eight Efficient cores (E-cores), for a total of 16 physical cores and 24 threads. However, at 5.5 GHz, the chip’s peak max turbo frequency is a full 0.3 GHz higher than the Core i9-12900K (5.2 GHz). The lead in other specs, including the base frequency of the P-cores and E-cores is smaller. The use of Intel Adaptive Boost Technology improves performance by opportunistically allowing higher multicore turbo frequencies. Intel is billing the i9-12900KS as the ultimate processor for gamers and content creators. According to the company: “The i9-12900KS processor allows gamers and overclocking enthusiasts to take performance to the next level.” This should also extend to users of CAD software, which is a largely singlethreaded application. But how will it stack up against AMD Ryzen? Based on our testing of the

Core i9-12900K, we expect that the i912900KS will have a lead over the 16-core AMD Ryzen 9 5950X in single-threaded workflows. However, AMD’s chip will probably still win out in highly threaded workflows like ray trace rendering. The Intel Core i9-12900KS will be available this month, with a recommended price that starts at $739. Other features and specifications include

a 150W processor base power, 30MB Intel Smart Cache, support for PCIe Gen 5.0 and 4.0, and support of up to DDR5 4800 MT/s and DDR4 3200 MT/s memory. We expect the CPU to be made available in workstations that come from smaller manufacturers, as opposed to industry giant Tier One OEMs such as HP, Dell, Lenovo and Fujitsu. www.intel.com

Intel is billing the i9-12900KS as the ultimate processor for gamers and content creators

Intel Arc graphics launch in laptops, with workstations to follow

ntel has launched its Intel Arc graphics family for laptops, the first in a series of discrete ‘high-performance’ GPUs that will extend to desktops and workstations later this year. This is a significant move for Intel as it looks to boost its graphics presence and compete more strongly against AMD and Nvidia, which offer a wide range of powerful discrete GPUs. Prior to this launch, Intel’s GPUs were all integrated with its CPUs and only really targeted at entry-level users. Arc is focused on consumers, specifically gamers and ‘creators’, a broad term referring to those who generate video or 3D content. At its launch, Intel referenced Adobe Premiere Pro, Blender (rendering with Cycles) and DaVinci Resolve. However, there was no mention of CAD.

Historically, Intel has focused on directly supporting only the most popular CAD and BIM software. However, Intel graphics driver support for these applications appears to have slipped over the years. Certification of Intel integrated GPUs with

With Intel Arc, Intel is getting serious about GPUs again

the latest CAD products from Autodesk, Solidworks, Siemens and others, are few and far between. However, with a new focus on discrete GPUs, this could change. It will be interesting to see how much attention Intel gives the CAD sector moving forward. The new Intel Arc A-Series GPUs are built on Intel’s Xe High Performance Graphics microarchitecture, or Xe HPG for short. They offer support for DirectX 12 Ultimate, hardware accelerated ray tracing and Xe Super Sampling (XeSS), which uses AI to denoise and upscale images and video. There are three tiers of products: Arc 3, Arc 5 and Arc 7. Arc 3 is available soon in laptops through the A350M and the A370M. The more powerful Arc 5 and Arc 7 graphics products will follow this summer. www.intel.com/arc

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DELL LAUNCHES 12TH GEN INTEL CORE WORKSTATIONS » The Precision 3660 Tower, 3460 SFF and 3260 Compact all support CAD, viz and VR workflows with a range of GPUs

ell has launched three new desktop workstations for 2022 with the latest 12th Gen Intel Core ‘Alder Lake’ processors, DDR5 memory and professional graphics options from Nvidia and AMD. The Precision 3660 Tower stands out for a completely redesigned chassis, with a liquid cooling option that enables it to run heavy workloads with minimal noise and front-accessible bays for convenient and secure removable storage. This includes an M.2 NVMe SSD and a 2.5-inch SATA or 3.5-inch SATA Hard Disk Drive (HDD) with lockable door and key. The 369 x 173 x 420mm tower features a choice of 12th Gen Intel Core CPUs up to the 125W Intel Core i9-12900K, and up to 64 GB of DDR5 4400MHz ECC memory or 128 GB of DDR5 3600MHz ECC memory. A wide range of professional GPUs are offered, from the entry-level CAD-focused Nvidia T400 (2 GB) and AMD Radeon Pro WX3200 (4 GB), all the way up to the high-end Nvidia RTX A6000 (48 GB) and AMD Radeon Pro W6800 (32 GB) for advanced design visualisation and VR workflows. Next up, the Precision 3460 SFF is a small form factor design for spaceconstrained workspaces.

With a compact 290 x 93 x 293mm chassis, the Precision 3460 SFF offers a smaller choice of 12th Gen Intel Core processors, up to the 65W Intel Core i9-12900 vPro. The smaller chassis of this model brings trade-offs in other areas, however, with a maximum of 64 GB of DDR5 4800MHz ECC memory and low-profile graphics options up to the Nvidia RTX A2000 for entry-level viz and VR workflows.

Dell's three new desktop workstations come in Tower, SFF and Compact designs

Finally, the Precision 3260 Compact is Dell’s most compact desktop workstation. While considerably smaller than the Precision 3460 SFF, it offers the same CPU, memory and GPU options. However, it’s more limited in storage, with a choice of M.2 PCIe NVMe SSDs and 2.5-inch SATA HDDs. www.dell.com

Lenovo unveils new thin and light laptops

enovo has introduced two new thin and light mobile workstations built around Intel’s new Alder Lake processors. This includes the 14-inch ThinkPad P14s Gen 3 and the 16-inch ThinkPad P16s Gen 1. Features include a choice of 16:10 aspect ratio displays, an optional Nvidia T550 GPU, FHD 1080p camera, and up to 48 GB of DDR4 memory and 2TB PCIe Gen4 NVMe storage. Lenovo is also branching out in aesthetics. In addition to traditional black, the new machines are available in storm grey with an aluminium ‘A’ cover. The emphasis on reliability and durability continues, however. The ThinkPad 16s Gen 1, for example, passes 26 MIL-SPEC testing procedures.

Other features include, a wider touchpad, blue light reduction, X-Rite factory colour calibration, Intel Wi-Fi 6E and optional 4G. Both machines are notably thin and light. The ThinkPad P16s comes in at 20.5 to 21.1mm and starts at 1.73kg, while the ThinkPad P14s is 17.9mm and starts at 1.39kg. Both machines will be available this month, with prices starting at €1,529. www.lenovo.com

While notably thin and light, both machines are highly durable

Lenovo ThinkStation P360 unveiled

enovo has updated its entry-level desktop workstations offerings with the introduction of the ThinkStation P360 Tower and the ThinkStation P360 Tiny. The ThinkStation P360 Tower features the latest 12th Gen Intel processors, including the Intel Core i9-12900K, and supports a range of Nvidia RTX GPUs including the 24 GB Nvidia RTX A5000. Other features include up to 128 GB of 4,000MHz DDR5 memory, up to seven drives (including up to three M.2 PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSDs, plus 2.5-inch and 3-5-inch SATA HDDs), a 92% efficient 750W power supply, and four PCIe Gen 4 slots. The ThinkStation P360 Tiny is billed as the industry’s smallest desktop workstation. With a volume of less than 1 litre, it’s said to be 96% smaller than a traditional desktop. Powered by the latest 12th Gen Intel Core processors, the P360 Tiny also supports the CAD-focused Nvidia T1000 professional GPU with 8 GB of memory. According to Lenovo, the T1000 offers up to 47% more performance than the previous generation Nvidia P1000 GPU. The smaller chassis comes with some trade-offs, with half the memory capacity of the P360 Tower (up to 64 GB of DDR5 4800 SoDIMM Memory). It only supports up to two 2 TB M.2 NVMe SSDs, although these can be configured in RAID to improve data security. The P360 Tower and Tiny will be available this month, starting at $1,249 and $1,149 respectively. www.lenovo.com

Scan announces new cloud service

can Computers has launched Scan Cloud, a new cloud service that offers customers access to GPU-accelerated workstations and servers. Powered by professional-grade Nvidia RTX GPUs and vGPU technology, Scan says the new service offers all the capabilities of its 3XS Systems from any device, anywhere – on-site or off-site. With Scan Cloud, virtual workstations and servers running Windows 10 Pro or Ubuntu Linux are delivered securely from a centralised server infrastructure. Virtual machines can be specifically tailored to meet customer requirements in terms of number of users and performance profiles. www.scan.co.uk DEVELOP3D.COM APRIL / MAY 2022 13

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NEWS ANALYSIS

AMD UNVEILS RYZEN THREADRIPPER PRO 5000 WX IN LENOVO THINKSTATION P620 » New “Zen 3” workstation processors feature higher performance per core and up to 64 cores and are available exclusively inside Lenovo's tower workstation

n Summer 2020, AMD announced the Threadripper Pro 3000 WXSeries of processors for singlesocket workstations. Based on AMD’s ‘Zen 2’ architecture, the CPUs combined high core counts, high frequencies and high memory bandwidth with pro technologies for security and manageability. Threadripper Pro 3000 WX gave AMD a long-lost seat at the table of the major workstation manufacturers. It marked the launch of the Lenovo ThinkStation P620, the first AMD-based workstation from the big four of Dell, HP, Lenovo and Fujitsu in almost 15 years. Eighteen months on and AMD has now launched its next generation, the Threadripper Pro 5000 WX-Series. The Threadripper Pro 5000 WX-Series offers the same number of cores as its predecessor (12 to 64), but takes advantage of Zen 3’s higher Instructions Per Clock (IPC), as well as higher frequencies. This gives the workstation CPU a performance uplift in both single-threaded workflows, such as CAD, and multithreaded workflows, such as rendering, simulation and reality modelling. Like its predecessor, the Threadripper Pro 5000 WX boasts 8 channels of DDR4 (ECC) memory, giving a significant benefit over consumer Ryzen processors in bandwidth-hungry applications such as computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and finite element analysis (FEA). There are a total of five Threadripper Pro 5000 WX-Series processors. The top-end Threadripper Pro 5995WX has 64 cores, 128 threads, a base frequency of 2.7 GHz and a boost of up to 4.5 GHz. There’s also the 32-core 5975WX, the 16-core 5955WX, the 12-core 5945WX, plus a new 24-core model, the 5965WX. As core counts drop, base frequencies increase, but the 4.5 GHz turbo remains the same. As with first generation Threadripper Pro, the new processor is available initially in the Lenovo ThinkStation P620 workstation. However, AMD has stated that other partners will be introducing workstations using AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro 5000 processors later this year. We wonder if this will include Dell or HP, who continue to rely solely on Intel CPUs for their workstations. For the launch of the new processors, AMD executives were keen to point out that Threadripper Pro is not just about hardware. The team also works closely with software development partners to

2nd Gen AMD Threadripper Pro (above) will be initially available in the Lenovo ThinkStation P620 (below)

help deliver ‘continuous performance enhancements.’ AMD highlighted improvements made to Ansys Mechanical that delivered a significant performance uplift. According to AMD, Ansys Mechanical v2021.R2 with optimised AMD BLIS CPU libraries is up to 2.3x faster than Ansys Mechanical v2021. R1 when run on the same AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro 3995WX workstation. There have also been improvements in rendering engines Autodesk Arnold and Chaos V-Ray, plastic flow simulation software Solidworks Plastics, and AIassisted design

tool PTC Generative Design. We expect more to follow.

THE COMPETITION Threadripper’s biggest competitor is currently the Intel W-3300 series of processors, which feature between 12 and 38 cores. Based on Intel’s ‘Ice Lake’ scalable platform, these single-socket processors launched back in July 2021, but have not been taken up by any of the major workstation manufacturers. According to AMD, this is because they do not offer the enterprise-class features of the Threadripper Pro 5000 WX-Series. In fact, some of the ‘midrange’ workstations on sale at the moment, such as the Dell Precision 5820 and HP Z4 G4, feature ‘Cascade Lake’ Intel processors dating back to 2019. It is only new entrylevel workstations, such as the Dell Precision 3660 Tower and HP Z2 Tower G9, that feature modern Intel CPUs, but these are “Alder Lake” Intel Core and are limited to eight cores. With its ThinkStation P620, this currently puts Lenovo at a huge advantage when coveting customers whose workflows will benefit from a sizable number of cores. However, with the possibility of Dell or HP introducing AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro 5000 workstations later this year, and with the expected launch of Intel’s new “Sapphire Rapid” CPU, it remains to be seen how long this lead lasts. www.amd.com www.lenovo.com/workstations

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06/04/2022 10:22

NVIDIA RTX A5500 PRO GRAPHICS CARD LAUNCHES, ALONG WITH NEW MOBILE GPUS » New high-end desktop GPU will help ease supply issues for pro viz customers, while new mobile GPUs expand reach of RTX into entry-level pro laptops

vidia has launched the Nvidia RTX A5500, a new professional desktop workstation GPU with 24 GB of GDDR6 memory. The company also announced six new ‘Ampere’ RTX GPUs for mobile workstations, including the Nvidia RTX A500, RTX A1000, RTX A2000 8GB, RTX A3000 12GB, RTX A4500 and RTX A5500.

THE NVIDIA RTX A5500 With the launch of the desktop Nvidia RTX A5500, Nvidia now offers a total of five professional workstation GPUs with which to target the mid- to high-end pro viz market. These include the single-slot Nvidia RTX A4000 (16 GB), and the dualslot RTX A4500 (20 GB), A5000 (24 GB), A5500 (24 GB) and A6000 (48 GB). The introduction of the Nvidia RTX A5500 (and the Nvidia RTX A4500 in November 2021, which we review on page 62) is as much about improving supply of product, as it is about providing customers with more choice to hit different performance levels. As with many workstation components, supply of the Nvidia RTX A5000 has been patchy over the last year. According to Nvidia, the RTX A5500 enables it to use components from different products to deliver more pro GPUs to the market, as Bob Pette, VP of Nvidia’s professional

visualisation business unit has explained. “If we struggled with inventory and supply on the [RTX A]5000 we [now] have the [RTX A]5500," he said. “One of the things we could have said is ‘Sorry, just go buy the [RTX A]6000.’ But the 6000 is burdened with cost from a 48 GB frame buffer that maybe not everybody needed. So, it’s really about giving customers choice.” Memory capacity aside, the RTX A5500 has specs that are closer to the RTX A6000 than the RTX A5000 (see chart on page 65). Nvidia says the RTX A5500 offers twice the performance of the previous generation ‘Turing’ Nvidia RTX 5000. The Nvidia RTX A5500 is available now with an estimated street price of $3,600. Workstations from BOXX, Dell, HP Z, Lenovo and Supermicro with the Nvidia RTX A5500 will follow.

MOBILE NVIDIA RTX GPUS The Nvidia RTX A5500 will also appear in mobile workstations with 16 GB of memory and fewer CUDA, RT and Tensor cores. There are also five other new pro laptop GPUs, including the RTX A500 (4 GB), RTX A1000 (4 GB), RTX A2000 (8 GB), RTX A3000 (12 GB) and RTX A4500 (16 GB). The big news here is that RTX technology will now be available in a much broader range of mobile workstations, from entrylevel to the high-end. In particular, the Nvidia RTX A500 and

RTX A1000 will give a much lower cost of entry for those looking to adopt AI and ray-tracing technology in their product development workflows. While the A500 and A1000 will unlikely be powerful enough for those serious about design viz, they should offer full compatibility with next-generation graphics engines for CAD and BIM software, based on the Vulkan and DirectX12 graphics APIs. The new engines will combine rasterisation with ray tracing techniques to deliver a far more realistic viewport. The idea is that CAD users will be able to flip into ‘ray traced’ mode, in much the same way they currently do with shaded, wireframe and realistic. For more information, see Autodesk’s new One Graphics System (www.tinyurl. com/inventor-GPU), which should make its way into Inventor, Revit and other Autodesk applications, and Dassault Systèmes’ Project Romulan for Solidworks (www.tinyurl.com/inventor-GPU). Nvidia has also doubled the memory capacity on its midrange mobile GPUs. The Nvidia RTX A2000 now offers 8 GB instead of 4 GB, and the RTX A3000 offers 12 GB instead of 6 GB. The new mobile GPUs will be available in pro laptops starting Spring 2022. Meanwhile, turn to page 62 for a full review of the Nvidia RTX A4500. www.nvidia.com | www.pny.com

Nvidia RTX hardware ray tracing is now available from entry-level to highend Nvidia mobile workstation GPUs

The Nvidia RTX A5500 is tuned for design viz workflows

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COMMENT

As competition heats up in the electric vehicle market, manufacturers must listen harder to customer feedback and factor it into their designs. As SJ writes, paying closer attention could bring to light a few surprises

t’s not often that the voice of the customer leaves me speechless, but as I lay on the leather-clad table, holding on for dear life, with my esthetician looming over me and rapidly plucking away at my eyebrows, I asked her once again: “Wait – why did you buy a Tesla?” Lately, I’ve been spending a lot of time analysing the ‘voice of the customer’ feedback on their experience with your product or service. We see this reflected often in our everyday lives: our latest Instagram ad recommendations; the Google reviews we religiously scan when comparing the best restaurants; the scarily accurate ‘recommended for you’ products on our Amazon home pages. After the slew of eyebrow raising gas prices recently, I’ve been asking everyone I bump into what their take is on investing in electric vehicles (EVs), in order to get a sense for what customers really think is important for such a major purchase. The first response I normally get is, “I’d love to own one, but they’re so expensive!” It’s a price tag that makes more sense when you consider the tremendous cost for automakers to retool their existing manufacturing production – in the ballpark of $20 billion dollars. It’s not enough to add an electric feature or a single electric option anymore. Manufacturers have to build all of the vehicle subsystems around the new electric power system. That power system is powered primarily by a big battery. This leads me to the second most common reason given for getting an EV: furthering the shift away from fossil fuels to help fight climate change. A noble purpose, but I doubt many of the potential customers I run into are aware of the challenges of recycling batteries and materials from EVs. Nor are they aware of the complex and sometimes harmful practices required to supply rare earth metals – lithium, cobalt, nickel – to make car electric batteries.

WHAT CHOICES DO WE HAVE? For customers for whom price and environmental conscience aren’t big sticking points, what other options are out there to draw them into the EV market? Companies are testing all sorts of new and trendy features, such as the Tesla autopilot feature. If piloting behind the wheel isn’t your thing, there’s also the ability to summon the vehicle with an app or to start the car remotely. Regular software upgrades include things like ‘dog mode’, to help us take care of our pandemic puppies while we run to the grocery store during boring afternoon stand-up meetings. Surprisingly, I found that some market players are heading towards a more bespoke vehicle, tailored to the ‘form, fit, function’ of the individual. For example, the new Ford Maverick comes with an integrated tether system that works with manufacturer accessories, but also those customised by the owner for storage slots in the centre console and under-seat storage bins. Allowing customers to tailor a car to their needs, wants and personalities makes them more likely to hold on to the car for longer and can increase brand loyalty as well as product hype. With all of these new EVs with trendy features coming to market, I have to ask: Is this really what customers want? Or are EVs just another over-hyped product that will die off in the next 10 years to be replaced by something else (like hydrogen)?

HAVE A THINK ABOUT IT As I looked up at my brow goddess, I counted off several counter arguments on my fingers: “First, EVs can be pricey. Second, you can’t travel for as far or for as long as a gas-powered automobile. Third, charging can be a time waster,“ I said. “But, you can probably save more money in the long run, reduce your environmental impact by using renewable energy resources, and take advantage of tax credits in your local area.”



As the electric vehicle market becomes more competitive, it’s not enough to capture survey data from customers.

 She agreed that these were good things to consider, but not part of her overall buying decision. So, then, why did she really buy a Tesla? Her answer: “I got tired of men harassing me for my phone number or social media handles every time I went to the gas station! It’s so nice not having to visit such a hostile environment and I can just recharge in the comfort and safety of my own home.” As I arched my eyebrow in response, and she scolded me for not holding still, I pondered how much of a role the voice of the customer will play in the future of the automotive market. Manufacturers are taking a big risk altering supply chains and building new ones entirely from scratch, but will it be worth it in the end? Is social consciousness here to stay or is it merely a fad? And on that note, how do you build a product that lasts beyond a big hype wave? My secret favorite is the new electric Ford Mustang – an old classic that’s been upgraded for the next generation of drivers, while still maintaining the style and performance for its loyal customer base. As the EV market becomes more competitive, it’s not enough to capture qualitative survey data from customers. The real value is how you translate it to your business in real dollars and cents (or euros, or pounds). Businesses can then use the customer voice to better differentiate themselves in the market, building better user experiences, and creating longer lasting products that are here to stay.

GET IN TOUCH: SJ is a metal additive engineer aka THEE Hot Girl of Metal Printing. She currently works as a metal additive applications engineer providing AM solutions and #3dprinting of metal parts to help create a decarbonised world. Get in touch at @inconelle on twitter

16 APRIL / MAY 2022 DEVELOP3D.COM

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07/04/2022 07:08

COMMENT

Don’t be too quick to dismiss social media, writes Tom Smith. It could be a valuable tool for improving the engineering industry’s image among young people and persuading them to join its global workforce

want to start by telling you about my dad. You see, my dad is a fantastic engineer and a master at anything that involves mechanics. He can strip an engine down and put it back together in 30 minutes flat with his eyes shut. His mathematical skills are fantastic and, after turning to engineering, despite leaving formal education with no qualifications, he’s made an excellent career for himself. Why is that important? Well, because apparently, there aren’t enough people like my dad anymore in the UK. Let’s start with some of the welldocumented facts and statistics: engineering is an ageing profession. In 2021, there was a spotlight shining on the state of engineering, with one report stating that the average age of people within the profession is increasing into the 50s. There is also a substantial skills gap, with a report carried out by Search Consultancy in March 2021 showing that manufacturing and engineering was the worst affected sector for skills shortages, with 85% of businesses currently feeling the strain from a lack of skilled workers. Statistics reported in 2020 by Jonathan Lee also showed that almost one in five engineers in the UK are expected to retire in 2026. Finally, yet crucially, there is nowhere near enough awareness about what an engineer actually does, with EngineeringUK stating that almost half of those between 11 and 19 years old say they know ‘little or nothing’ about what engineers do. What we have known for a long time is that more needs to be done to promote a career in engineering at the school level, something that, in my opinion, is just as essential as subjects like Maths, English and Science.

SIGNS OF PROGRESS Movement in that area is starting to happen. You may have heard of the fantastic #EngineeringKidsFutures initiative, which is being led by a formidable group of more than 150 world-leading

engineers and scientists, including figures like Major Tim Peake, Carol Vorderman MBE and will.i.am. For context, #EngineeringKidsFutures is being led by Professor Danielle George, president of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), and has been built to urge the Government to help tackle the UK’s skills shortage by embedding engineering into current primary school learning. “This focus and support for schools is fundamental if we want to future-proof the next generation of engineers,” George said. Her words could not ring more true. However, there is another strand to this: We cannot dismiss the role that social media is already playing in re-engaging young people in a career in engineering. In fact, it can be argued that it, scarily, is doing a better job than education right now.

ENGINEERING INFLUENCERS It’s impossible to argue with the trends. We live in a world dominated by social media, a world in which billions of short videos are consumed every day on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. With that in mind, I hopped onto both platforms to find out how engineeringrelated hashtags – used as a primary tool to reach specific audiences – are performing. Natural curiosity is the biggest driver of the engagement figures. It’s no secret that video is the most popular form of content right now on social media. The dance phenomenon is a great example of this, constantly reinventing itself and creating trends and sequences for others to replicate and follow. Engineering has gone down a different path, with its creators tapping into consumer curiosity by using video to showcase clever how-to guides and creative experiments. Much of that content is being created by influencers like Mark Rober (767,000 followers) and Colin Furze (446,000 followers), as well as profiles like engineering_everything (198,000



Engineering is a futuristic career. That’s attracting more youngsters into the industry and it’s platforms like social media that are leading the way in raising awareness

 followers), which are leading the way in promoting a career in engineering to a younger audience. It’s my feeling that, actually, engineering is becoming cool again. People are beginning to understand that it’s not a boring job and a large part of that is down to the technological advancements we have seen over recent years. Engineering is a very futuristic career. That is attracting more youngsters into the industry, and it’s platforms like social media that are, right now, leading the way in raising awareness about this. But far more intervention is still required if we are to engage younger audiences and get them excited about a career in engineering. For far too long, education in this area has been neglected and, as a result, we have a generation in which there are more people leaving school with no basic knowledge of DIY than those who do. As a nation, we’re far less hands-on than we used to be and over time, that has created a burden and reliance on those who have worked in engineering for years. In the short term, the engineering industry has some difficult hurdles that it needs to overcome. But by incorporating elements of engineering into education from primary school age onwards and better engaging with tools like social media, we stand a far better chance of engaging Gen Z and bridging the gap over the long term.

GET IN TOUCH: Tom Smith is CEO of Advanced Dynamics, a specialist in the supply of integrated machinery for packaging and labelling and the design of packaging/labelling production lines tom@advanceddynamics.co.uk DEVELOP3D.COM APRIL / MAY 2022 19

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VISUAL DESIGN GUIDE ALTOby Richard Newman Awarded first prize at the Lexus 2040: The Soul of Future Premium design programme for postgraduate students at the RCA’s Intelligent Mobility Design Centre, Alto is a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) concept, aimed at Generation Alpha

stem, and h more frontats

MULTI-MODE TRAVELS Shaped like a pendant with a sphere in the middle, Alto would provide a solution for both long-distance travels and daily commutes, moving horizontally for short journeys and taking off vertically for longer ones

STORAGE SPACE The main fuel storage is located in between the outer and inner layers that make up the centre of the craft

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ROOM WITH A VIEW

LAYERED DESIGN

The interior contains a circular group seating area inspired by the suspended basket of a hot air balloon

Visually inspired by Louis Poulsen’s Artichoke lamp, Alto is composed of layered elements on the exterior that also act as directional vents

COMMON CONNECTIONS Alto is designed to allow for common connections between VTOL vehicles in the sky and for docking onto the side of buildings, using a system of magnetic couplings

HYDROGENPOWERED To address the issue of global resource shortages, the vehicle employs a hydrogen system, drawing in air from the outside and processing it onboard

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COVER STORY

BODY & soul

» Dormant for decades, British carmaker Alvis has recently roared back to life. Stephen Holmes meets the team handbuilding classics from 20,000 original drawings and shelves of original parts, with the help of a stack of new digital technologies

lipping through the specs for current models from British carmaker Alvis, a set of top-speed statistics jump from the page, accompanied by the note: ‘Performance figures recorded at Brooklands in 1938.’ Alvis has, in perhaps the most English way possible, ‘been on a teabreak’. Founded in 1919, the company produced some of the most iconic cars of the pre-, inter- and post-war years, before production finally ceased in 1967. Assets such as design plans and part stocks were transferred to Red Triangle, set up to provide parts and maintenance for existing Alvis cars. In 1994, the company was revived by Alan Stote. And in 2012, it set out on its journey to produce continuation cars using these still-intact design archives, with a few modern touches to meet today’s road-safety requirements.

The models now available capture key moments in automotive history. They range from the stunning Lancefield designed in 1938 which, as a limited run of 25 cars, is built fully from scratch, up to continuation models that include the 1960s-designed Alvis Graber Super Coupe. The cars are produced in much the same way as the originals were at the Alvis plant in Kenilworth, near Coventry. And when people see the cars, the question that Alan Stote is most frequently asked is, “Is it a replica?” No, he tells them, firmly: “It’s not a replica, because it’s made by the Alvis car company.” If a Bugatti Veyron comes off the Volkswagen production line today, he reasons, is that a replica of the one that came of the same line yesterday? “Well of course it isn’t,” he says, his face breaking into a laugh. “It’s just a long time between orders for us!”

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STARTER’S ORDERS Key to continuation is the cost of the operation. Alvis is tiny by comparison to today’s gargantuan global automotive operations. To stay true to its origins, much of the production work is done by hand. This includes the exquisite craftmanship of the body panels, which are hand-rolled and beaten from aluminium over a traditional wooden ash framework. These skills, however, are not conducive to modern mass production. By traditional means, it can take weeks to cut and assemble an ash frame and the necessary jigs, let alone hone the metalwork into shape on top of them. To speed up production, Alvis immediately began to look at new technologies that might fit the bill, with Stote bringing in specialist automotive reverse engineering company A2P2, where the team had already completed some work for him on a personal project.

“We provided his first ever ash frame using CAD as the basis,” explains A2P2 managing director Alistair Pugh, speaking of this previous engagement. “Pretty much before the war, all the body structure was an ash frame – strips of ash glued and screwed together, a skin put over the top of it, and that was always done by hand. It was down to the guy who’s got the skill and the eye to get the body shape right.” Pugh laments that this is a dying art all over the world, but to enable Stote’s car to be repaired, the team 3D-scanned the vehicle, drew up the CAD model and the required ash frame components and had them 5-axis CNC-machined from planks of ash. The resulting parts arrive as a numbered kit and slide together, “a bit like a piece of Ikea furniture,” says Pugh. “We do an awful lot of body jigs for people who either want to repair a car that’s been crashed, or want a digital

Work underway at the Alvis Car Company’s headquarters at Kenilworth, near Coventry

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1 archive of it, just in case they do crash it. And if they want to make a spare body or spare panels, we provide fairly low-cost tooling for them to do that.”

do more than just the occasional model. “Between Alan and me, we investigated whether we could make sort of in-between tooling, without having huge amounts of money spent on it,” he says. THOROUGHLY MODERN PROCESSES “We only really needed local areas for his panel guy to Pugh already had a long track record, working at various get the accurate shape. So it would be a hybrid of ‘eggbox’ marques in the car industry before setting out with his own fixturing and solid tooling.” laser scanning business, but during the 2008 recession, For the solid tooling, Stote had noted that 3D printing when the mainstream automotive industry slowed to a halt, was being used at a large panel company and began A2P2 began to focus on the classic motorsport sector. to research what 3D printers and materials might be “I just hate to say no to people; so all the all the horrible suitable for their budget. He says: “As soon as you jobs that people have never done before, we’ve kind of spend big money on a 3D printer, the running time said yes to them!” he grins, explaining how they’ve gone and the price of the job, the price of the printer’s always from producing parts as simple as laser-cut blanks, amortised into the time.” up to a recent project producing a whole engine for an Following some extensive research, Pugh settled on Edwardian racing car from scratch. buying a Raise 3D Pro2 Plus with its versatile 300 x 300 x “It’s really satisfying seeing your work go around a 600mm build area. racetrack – and I’ve crashed my own cars and other people’s cars (accidentally!) and helped fix them using CAPTURING CLASSICS our methods,” he says, clearly delighted with his day job. First the car had to be scanned, with A2P2 utilising With the Graber, Pugh sensed that Alvis was wanting to its FARO ScanArm, a 7-axis 3D scanner. “It’s not the

1 The Alvis Graber ●

Super Coupe is a continuation model from a 1960s design

‘‘ I just hate to say no to people, so all of the

horrible jobs that people have never done before, we’ve kind of said yes to them!

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COVER STORY perfect bit of kit for bodywork. It’s not the perfect bit of kit for small things, but we can really utilise it in all our applications,” says Pugh, as he describes the varying jobs of one day covering body panels, and the next an intricate oil pump. From the body scan, an eggbox jig was made from 18mm plywood sections that were CNC-cut from sections of the 3D scan point cloud and then assembled to form the 3D shape over which the bodywork would be formed. However, the handmade nature of the original 1964 car posed a quandary. It’s completely asymmetric – and the jig built from the scan data matched this completely. “You’ll probably find that the left-hand door’s half an inch further forward than the right-hand door, which is typical with a hand-built car,” shrugs Pugh. “If we were surfacing something from scratch, we’d obviously ask if they wanted it to be symmetrical,” says Pugh. “And funnily enough, a lot of old car people want to keep the asymmetry because they think – and I quite agree with them – that it makes the car prettier because it’s a bit, not lopsided, but more organic.” For the 3D printing process, the scan data would need to be surfaced in CAD, and maintain the asymmetric nature. The surface was produced in Autodesk Alias by a contact of Pugh who had previously worked in the styling offices of British brands like Bentley and TVR. The CAD

data was thickened, and split into 12 pieces that would fit onto the printbed of the Raise3D Pro2 Plus 3D printer. The CAD design positioned the 12 parts over a grid, with connecting bolt holes and locator dowel holes built in, ready to fit into a machined wooden base. Early experiments with materials – 3D printing a small dome and then whacking it repeatedly with a hammer – had shown that the polycarbonate material stood up best, but A2P2 found it couldn’t process it as easily as ABS. Add to that the costs involved and the slower print speeds, and they decided on the only marginally less strong ABS, which once printed was infilled with a firm rubber. The modular elements of the front panel also added benefits. If a section, such as the sharp angles around the headlight, was to break, then a replacement section could be printed and quickly slotted into the jig. That said, two cars have since been produced using the same tooling, with no faults as yet, and the process was repeated for other elements like the roof. Stote interjects that the term ‘hammer-form’ is a bit of a misnomer in this case. “You need a technician who is rather sympathetic. What we’re trying to do with that hammer form is to speed up the process of the complex parts of the car. If you get somebody who just wants the beat 16-gauge aluminium over the top of it, I doubt whether it would have lasted like it has, but it’s a sort of semi offering up… I don’t think it’s literally that he ‘hammers’ on it. But it’s certainly worked very well.” Alvis’s owner is still amazed by the way digital technologies have worked their way down to companies the size of his. “I mean, I would imagine 15, 10 years ago even, it would have been out of the reach of a small company to think of 3D printing or anything like it,” he reflects. “When I take people around [the factory], the thing that fascinates them is that you’ve got a very skilled fabricator doing something using a technique that’s probably 100 years old. And he’s working on a piece of 3D-printed material. You’ve got that juxtaposition of the 100 year old skill, working on something that is absolutely at the cutting edge of development. And they find that quite fascinating! It’s no exaggeration to say we couldn’t really have made these cars without this sort of technology.”

POWERING FORWARD Alvis still has the original engines for the continuation models like the Graber in stock. Built in the 1960s as replacement parts that were never used, these are brought

2 An original 1964 car is ●

3D-scanned in order to create a shell 3 Within the shell, an ●

‘eggbox’ jig is designed for the bodywork 4 The jig is CNC-machined and ●

slotted together, giving the metal formers a form guide

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COVER STORY

‘‘ At our

factory, you’ll see a very skilled fabricator, using a technique that’s probably 100 years old – but he’s working on a piece of 3D-printed material

’’

down off the shelf and machined with modern digital milling techniques. The increased accuracy allows for much smoother surface finishes than would have been possible originally, and results in considerably more power out of the same engine. For the bodywork and coachbuilding element, Stote maintains this will always be a hands-on job, performed to order. With that in mind, Alvis is helping to train a new generation of apprentices in the skill. This is in part because of the freedom it gives the company, compared to the complex production line set-ups and minimum order quantities typically associated with modern car manufacturing. “We give people the choice in that we don’t carry a body in stock; you just tell us which way you want us to bend the metal!” says Stote, with great enthusiasm. “It’s really the opposite of the modern company. I mean, when we went around Aston Martin, and they showed us the eight models they do… The thing that’s obvious is that each of the body shells is almost identical. They might put a vent in the side of one, and it tells you where the cost is for them,” he says. “That body shell and making the tooling for it is an enormous cost, so they’ve got to make as much as they can. We’re the opposite.” Stote admits that most modern supercar designs resemble “a wedge of cheese” to him, informed as they are by drag coefficients and cooling channels. Instead, he much prefers the individual nature of classic cars, where the educated observer can clearly see that from the craftsmanship that “human beings got involved.” In a world where technology has seen cars masproduced, their forms barely distinguishable from the competition, we’re beginning to see the same technology open doors to a lost world. And that world is populated by vehicles with great character and soul – and thankfully, electric starter motors.

www.thealviscarcompany.co.uk

www.a2p2.co.uk

5 Using a FARO ScanArm, the ●

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6 Captured scan data is then ●

surfaced and thickened ready for 3D printing 7 ● 8 The 3D model is divided ●

into 12 parts, each able to fit on the Raise3D 3D printer, before being joined together 9 Aluminium is ‘hammered’ ●

over the form guide, which retains all the asymmetry of the original 1960s car

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’’

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3 Discovering the benefits and opportunities for 3D printing homes 3D printing the concrete foundation and walls for the Habitat for Humanity project took a cumulative total of 42 hours to print. From there, it was ready for the rest of the traditional construction, including the roof and interior. The expected move-in date for the new residents is late February 2022. The project revealed how the main structural component of a home could be constructed with less time and resources. At the same time, volunteer time could be maximised. PERI 3D Construction estimates if a printer is on-site, a house can be 3D printed and removed within a week for typical projects. “The nice thing is you only need two skilled operators and maybe one other construction helper that doesn’t necessarily know much about 3D printing, but they are there to lend a hand,” Hager says. “With a team of three, you’re able to do the work of an entire team of framers.” “This could be a game-changer for affordable housing—and any housing—if we could significantly reduce the cost and time of construction,” Barlow says. “Where this will become more affordable to us is when we can print five or so two-storey town homes attached in a row at one time.” Learning about 3D printing As 3D printing homes and structures gain momentum with these early proof-of-concept success stories, Hager sees Fusion 360 as an invaluable and integral part of the process. And anyone can start small just to get an idea about this type of fabrication.

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4 “You can pick up Fusion 360 very quickly and get up to speed with all the tutorials,” Hager says. “Start dipping your toes into it. Pick up a $200 printer, download a free license, and try to 3D print something small. It’s a nice introduction to the fabrication side and really understanding how it works.” Ready to start your additive manufacturing journey with Autodesk Fusion 360? Start your free 30-day trial today: autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/overview

1 2 Courtesy of PERI 3D Construction 3 4 Courtesy of Habitat for Humanity Central Arizona

05/04/2022 12:01

FEATURE

WORK/LIFE B Part electric scooter, part skateboard, Yawboard hopes to transform personal transportation. Claudia Schergna meets the start-up’s founder Ray Reynolds to learn more about a fun new way to commute

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E BALANCE ‘‘

We want to recreate the feeling of snowboarding on a practical vehicle that you can use in cities

’’

Yawboard founder Ray Reynolds puts his design through its paces

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‘‘

Our design process went through seven iterations until we arrived at a product that we felt people would enjoy

’’

t’s 8:30 am, public transport is packed, and petrol for your car (if you have one) plus congestion and parking charges will cost you an arm and a leg. On top of this, you feel guilty about your carbon footprint. Yawboard, a team of skateboarders, surfers and engineers, has made it their mission to tackle this common problem and make commuting enjoyable. Neither a scooter nor a skateboard, but more like a combination of the two, Yawboard is designed to be safe, sustainable and, most of all, fun. The riding style can be personalised and it doesn’t require any particular athletic skill. Rather than turning a steering wheel, it turns when you lean on the board. “We want to recreate the feeling of snowboarding on a practical vehicle that you can use in cities,” says Ray Reynolds, founder of Yawboard and himself a former snowboard instructor. The idea behind Yawboard was to combine the riding style of a skateboard with the convenience of an e-scooter: “Yawboard is safer than normal electric scooters, firstly because you’ve got four wheels, [so when] you’re going over bumps you are a lot more stable. So, you’re less likely to fall off,” Reynolds explains. “The second reason is because of the way you’re standing, which is sideways, you are able to look behind to see the traffic behind you.” Yawboard is not just a commuter vehicle, either. As the world’s first ‘carving scooter’, it allows advanced riders to do flips and tricks and can be used without the handle as an electric skateboard, capable of handling both on- and off-road terrains.

1 1 Yawboard’s ●

portability is a key design attribute 2 ‘Carving scooter’ ●

Yawboard gets ready to roll

SUSTAINABLE RIDE

ENTREPRENEURIAL FLAIR The product was developed over the past six years, taking advantage of the Solidworks Entrepreneurs programme, to which Reynolds was introduced via Solidworks reseller Solid Solutions. As Reynolds explains, the programme gave his design team access to the full suite of Solidworks tools and products, as well as technical support, at a time when the start-up could not yet afford it. The

products have provided not only effective design tools, but also visualisation capabilities, which were valuable in making compelling presentations to crowdfunders and investors. “We used Solidworks to create photorealistic renders through Visualize to display what we thought the product was going to look like and to gauge interest,” says Reynolds. “Without that, we wouldn’t have been able to commit to the next stages and put money towards things, but because of this, we had the validation and the confidence that we had a good product.” Once the project reached its final stages, Yawboard was prototyped using a Prusa Mark3 3D printer and a CNC milling machine: “After all the prototypes and testing, the final product didn’t look too similar to the first one. We built it and tested it in as many conditions as possible, and then we changed what we needed to change and repeat. That process went around seven times until we had a product that we thought people would enjoy.”

During manufacturing, sustainability was a priority, says Reynolds. The Yawboard’s deck is made from wood, while most other parts are aluminium, both sustainable materials. Other parts of the board, such as the big battery at the bottom, Reynold admits, are not as easy to recycle, but he’s hopeful: “Recycling is improving for batteries. And they have a long enough life that you’re going to get enough use out of [a battery] before it dies.” The Yawboard’s environmental credentials are also enhanced through its regenerative power system. When the user activates the brakes, the magnetism is reversed in the motor, which puts power back into the battery. The hardest part, Reynolds says, was manufacturing at scale, going from prototype to having to deliver 100 products globally during the pandemic. And that was without being able to visit the factory, he adds. The team is now looking to expand its worldwide network of distributors and develop cheaper and lighter products, expanding its offer to a wider range of boards that makes the daily commute more fun for everyone. www.yawboard.com

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TALKING HEADS

AUTOMOTIVE: THE N We spoke to young professionals working at some of the most prestigious automotive companies based in the UK to find out more about what it means to be in their position, how they got there and what they believe the future holds

ar design and engineering is a notoriously competitive field in which to gain a foothold. Whether new entrants come from a design university, an apprentice degree programme or some other route, they are expected to be highly qualified, have a clear vision for the future and possess a strong creative drive. As jobs in the industry change, so do the requirements and the skill sets that applicants need to demonstrate. Car designers and engineers are today tasked not only with developing new models and technologies, but also ensuring that the industry keeps pace with – or even leads – the massive societal shifts we are seeing. The next few decades will be crucial in terms of the impact that technology development will have on the sector. We regularly hear all kinds of wild speculation about the kinds of cars we will all want to own in two or three decades’ time. But let’s take a look instead at who will be driving us there.

TAYLOR LAWRENCE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT HIGHER APPRENTICE FORD MOTOR COMPANY Being in such a competitive industry, what do you think makes you stand out? How important is it for young designers to find their niche?

What part did education play in your career path? Was it all about which course at university you got on to, or did you undertake an apprenticeship or a different route? Ever since I was young, I have always been interested in Formula 1, so as I grew up, I always envisaged a career being in and around cars. In which way, I did not know at the time, but I always knew that I would end up in this area. This passion, in addition to maths/ science being subjects I did well at in school, it somewhat felt a natural decision to pursue a career in automotive engineering and what better way to do that than with an apprenticeship, especially one with a degree at Ford? I always remember that when I joined sixth form, we were given a university/ apprenticeship assembly, describing the options. The careers advisor started describing degree apprenticeships, and I remember turning to my friend and saying, “This is the best of both worlds. I would really like to do that after I leave.” And that’s where I ended up. If I had never known what they were, I would never have looked into degree apprenticeships.

Finding a niche is relatively important. Becoming an expert in a certain subject area helps you stand out and become the directly responsible individual known not just in your immediate team but also the wider company. On the flip side though, I would suggest that a ‘stand out’ is actually being open to all areas of the business, an eagerness to understand the widest aspect of a process as possible, helping to open your eyes to problems or concepts you may not have found but also compassion and consideration that may not be had with a niche focus. How do you think the automotive industry needs to be reshaped in the next decade, if at all, and what role will designers and engineers from your generation play in this transformation? I think the automotive industry is undergoing its reshaping now, and it can be summed up like this. [Ford CEO] Jim Farley described how the mobile phone started off just as a means to phone one another. Now it is a camera, laptop, notepad, PlayStation and so compact it fits in our pocket. Not to say that cars will go that small, but he described that this is the car’s time to undergo a mobile phone-style transformation. To be a part of that, growing up in the digital world is a benefit not just to us, but also the industry.

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E NEXT GENERATION JESSICA SANDWITH MECHANICAL ENGINEERING DEGREE APPRENTICE FORD MOTOR COMPANY

What part did education play in your career path? Was it all about which course at university you got on to, or did you undertake an apprenticeship or a different route? As my education progressed, it was imperative to finetune and focus on subjects that would propel me towards my engineering ambitions. At the start of sixth form, I was adamant to go straight to university, get my degree, and then try to land a career. The pandemic consequently changed the teaching and therefore my learning, which negatively affected my grades. I began looking into alternative options, with the mindset that my grades wouldn’t get me into the university that I desired. One of the options was an engineering degree apprenticeship; the more research I did, the more attractive this became. I could have a full-time, salaried job whilst getting a degree paid for by the company? With my previous lack of work experience, apprenticeships were increasingly appealing. However, the requirements from the companies providing degree apprenticeships, in terms of grades, were even more selective than those from

universities. Furthermore, I found myself striving to obtain better grades with the sole purpose to get a degree apprenticeship. I applied to numerous companies and went through the hiring processes. Fortunately, I was successful in a few of my applications. After a lot of thought and comparisons, I chose the Mechanical Engineering Degree Apprenticeship with Ford Motor Company. Apprenticeships are somewhat looked down upon and not really mentioned in the academic environment. There is a shortage of skilled workers in my generation and a lot of it is to do with educational priorities and stereotypes. The traditional university route is narrowminded and is sometimes deemed to be the ‘only way’ to become successful. Being such a technical industry, how much room is left for creativity, especially in entrylevel positions? Creativity comes from the individual, but must be harnessed. Working in such a technically involved industry comes with lots of bureaucracy. Although the restrictions can be overwhelming at times, they are implemented for a good reason. A compromise is necessary between new ideas and guidelines which, in turn, calls for even more divergent thinking. The industry is ever-evolving, so there is an abundance of creativity needed. Sharing my ideas and thinking of new solutions, even if they are faulty, provides a different perspective for others. Collaborating creatively will eventually bring about the greatest success.

CHARLOTTE JONES COLOUR, MATERIALS AND FINISHING (CMF) DESIGNER CALLUM to be creative. I can play with patterns, colour and, to a point, materials as well. The automotive industry is moving towards cleaner, greener ways to use materials, resulting in lots of development and new opportunities.

What made you follow this career path and how did you land your first job in the industry? I’ve always enjoyed working in creative roles, whether that be studio work in a screen-printing company or creating my own children’s clothing design business. Fashion and textiles have been my primary areas of experience, but Callum’s diverse range of projects presented an opportunity to work together on the Callum Lounge Chair. While automotive may not be my background, I’m now working on the company’s projects in this sector, which has

Is there something that you have realised since you started working in the industry that you wish you had known when you were starting out? Adaptability is hugely important. Things move fast, especially in smaller businesses, so you need to be able to respond to changes quickly. But I find this really exciting and provides a lot of opportunities to grow and build your skill set. How do you think the automotive industry needs to be reshaped in the next decade, if at all, and what role will designers and engineers from your generation play in this transformation?



There is an opportunity here for designers to reinvigorate car design as our visions of what a ‘car’ is evolves

 been a great learning curve and one I’m thoroughly enjoying.

Sustainability and creating cleaner vehicles are a priority for the future, of course. Being such a technical industry, But this mustn’t come at the how much room is left for cost of great design. creativity, especially in entryThere is an opportunity level positions? here for designers to reinvigorate car design as I’m very lucky in my role, as our visions of what a ‘car’ there’s a huge opportunity is evolves. DEVELOP3D.COM APRIL / MAY 2022 35

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TALKING HEADS

ALECK JONES CREATIVE LEAD CALLUM

KARL DUJARDIN DESIGNER TOYOTA EUROPE DESIGN DEVELOPMENT Callum, myself and the others put forward. We’ve been in the industry for a while, especially Ian, so too often, it’s easy to jump straight to the solution and there might be an overlooked opportunity along the way. What are the benefits of starting out in a small car company as opposed to a major marque?

Being in such a competitive industry, what do you think makes you stand out? How important is it for young designers to find their niche? At Callum, I have a young team of very talented designers and I see it more and more that the skills new graduates come out of education with are exceptional. With all the free powerful tools – Blender, Unreal, etcetera – at their disposal, the standard of work that students can create is amazing. But increasingly this is becoming the norm, so finding a niche has become more important than ever. Ultimately, creativity is what we look for: being able to find interesting solutions to problems, thinking outside the box, or just being bold with design work in general. I’m always keen to see work that continually pushes new ideas.

Having experienced both, working at major marques and small design studios each have their own benefits. At Callum, we are an intentionally small team; this gives us great freedom in terms of the speed we work and the projects we take on. Because of our size, we need ideas from everyone, whether that be for a hypercar or a piece of luggage, and this presents opportunities for all team members. For example, we had an automotive project that needed some focus, so we set our design intern on this, as he’s gaining experience across the business. The theme he put forward was brilliant, so we let him take the lead on the full project, seeing it through all the stages of design. As is the goal with all our design work, it’s now in the process of being built. It’s these opportunities and exposure to the full process that can get diluted once you’re part of a much larger team.

Being such a technical industry, how much room is left for Is there something that you creativity, especially in entryhave realised since you started level positions? working in the industry that you wish you had known when you There are enormous were starting out? opportunities. Creativity is our fuel. We always start our Confidence is key. And things projects by going a little wild to don’t need to be perfect all the find that initial theme. We have time. I have often found myself a process at Callum that we call working late into the night, ‘order out of chaos’. The chaos perfecting a sketch or a render, is that initial creative sprint that, only for it to be shelved. One of ultimately, we apply a little order the things I tell the team here to, which turns that spark of an is to focus on getting ideas idea into something tangible, down quickly and cohesively. with all the relevant feasibility. Sometimes a simple sketch is In terms of creativity in entrymore than enough to sell an level positions, I always look to idea; it’s easy to get caught up younger members of the team in the process and try to perfect to challenge the ideas that Ian things too soon.

I have no regrets concerning my job choice; I feel lucky every day to be able to earn a salary doing what I like and am good at. Nevertheless, as it is one of the most competitive design fields, we obviously face many difficulties. In a way, it forces you to reassess yourself quite often. But those challenges are great, as they force us to continuously escape from our comfort zone. What made you follow this career Also, as we are creative people path, and how did you land your inside colossal industries, we first job in the industry? are naturally exposed to many frustrations. Firstly, I really didn’t expect to We often have to manage join the automotive industry. our creative emotions and In my studies, I was strongly frustrations, yet that’s the role attracted to creativity in general, of industrial and automotive in areas such as fine arts, designers. That’s why it is architecture and design. Then essential to always remain I decided to study applied art. positive. I spent three years studying product design, with the aim of How do you think the automotive learning fundamental design industry needs to be reshaped in aspects: object semantics, the next decade, if at all, and what form and function. While I was role will designers and engineers doing this, I joined the Delsey from your generation play in this luggage company. It was an transformation? amazing experience, where I learned a lot about the design The automotive industry is process, merging both colour, facing big changes, such as material, usability, shape and the energy question (from fuel technical constraints. After this to electric), the autonomous experience, I was determined driving experiment, the to become a designer. I then primordial needs of sustainable joined Dior and experienced design (mainly through two different departments: industry processes), and the visual merchandising and mobility experience. packaging design. Here, I We are probably entering a gained experience in the luxury new era that gives rise to many field with its strong values. I new human needs. As creatives, trained myself to consider the we welcome those changes, tiniest details while I created and designers have the capacity the products. While I was to deep dive into the new way working on packaging, we of designing, taking different had to consider how to make approaches. the fragrance more attractive, Our scope of work has been while taking the Christian Dior widening, we can co-create design legacy into account. It new ideas including business was a really rewarding period models with product planning where I started to build my own teams. Design thinking allows personality as a designer. us to change social issues into new solutions. Is there something that you Our design goal is to rebuild have realised since you started the mobility experience, working in the industry that you taking those new challenges wish you had known when you into account from a different were starting out? perspective.

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CLASSIC STYLINGS

Autodesk Alias has been around for over 36 years and remains the de facto standard for automotive CAD surfacing. Stephen Holmes speaks to Alias product manager Phil Botley about how the product is evolving to support new workflows

Intelligent reuse of surfacing data will help designers better maintain design intent (right) Autodesk wants to encourage Alias users to adopt VRED for exciting product renders (top)

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lias is synonymous with automotive design. While its creator Autodesk has flirted with the consumer goods market, and other CAD programmes have looked to steal onto its turf, this surfacing software is still the de facto choice for carmakers. But Alias product manager Phil Botley happily acknowledges there’s no room for complacency. As he points out, there’s a new generation of car designers currently in training at universities and future designers from Generation TikTok aren’t far behind. With Alias, there’s clearly now an emphasis on delivering a product that doesn’t just produce high-level surfaces, but also can be picked up quickly, with users getting productive in minutes. With this in mind, elements of the toolset are being redesigned, a process Botley describes as a real revolution. It’s not a reaction to new tools in the sector like Blender and Gravity Sketch, he stresses, but an attempt to work alongside them as part of the automotive design ecosystem. He gives the examples of both the Hyundai and Kia Motor Company (HKMC) and BMW. At both carmakers, the Alias team has worked to implement a Blender-Alias workflow. “So the tools can work together simultaneously and symbiotically,” he says. “We’re not trying to be exclusive here and kick other small companies out. We’ll actually make sure the tools that our designers want to use will work seamlessly together.”

RESPONDING TO USER DEMAND The key demand from current Alias users is to really simplify and speed up the styling and surfacing workflow, and to integrate Autodesk’s visualisation software VRED into the mix with a seamless data flow, whether it’s for materials or data. Botley explains that Autodesk has several projects underway to enable this. One of them aims to allow Alias and VRED users to work on data simultaneously: “Instantly, without having to load the file or save the file. Basically, it will save them hours, if not days of data prep and design review time.” Alias users also want help in learning VRED, by making it look more like the Alias user interface. In fact, Botley explains that Autodesk is taking this a step further, taking the rendering engine out of VRED, “basically what we call core separation”, and is in the process of putting it inside of Alias. “So that means that if you’re an Alias user, and you’re a VRED user, and you want the same rendering or material asset library for your design process, then you as an Alias user can stay in your product,” he explains. “You can have the same materials, the same look and feel, because you will actually have VRED inside of Alias – which is really, really exciting for a lot of our users.” And the work doesn’t stop there. Last year, Autodesk released VRED Go, a tool that enables designers to create a single executable file for a VRED experience, greatly streamlining the process of sharing a model with suppliers and customers. Further exciting times are ahead, with Autodesk looking to unlock more of its potential for design collaboration and streaming onto any device. The team is already implementing client projects: streaming from AWS and Varjo Cloud XR, for example, allowing design managers to look at their VRED model on a mobile device anywhere in the world. “And you don’t need the data set,” Botley adds. “That’s really unlocking the potential of VRED and it’s what we call ‘democratising visualisation’.” Further efficiencies have been identified through Autodesk ShotGrid, part of the company’s media &

FEATURE entertainment toolset. It’s a creative project management tool capable of managing digital assets and the review process, streamlining and managing collaboration. Botley explains that this is enabling companies to automate some of the more tedious tasks in automotive design. “The Alias operator can be as lazy as anyone,” he laughs, “and ShotGrid will then take the model, rearrange it, rename it to specific naming conventions, do all the checks that you need, and will then actually release that directly into [Siemens] Teamcenter, or through [Dassault Systèmes] 3DExperience. We’re seeing some really significant process changes, and some really significant time savings for ShotGrid adoption.” New automotive companies without the IT infrastructure of a General Motors or a Volkswagen are notably adopting ShotGrid. “They’re actually skipping forward maybe two or three generations of software and implementing a ShotGrid pipeline as their base design studio modelling workflow from the get-go. And they’re already seeing a lot of benefits and faster production cycles for using ShotGrid and automations,” he says. There’s an interesting divide growing between the legacy car companies and newer, more nimble challengers, which are taking lessons from intensive digital workflows like film and visual effects production to speed up processes and launch cars faster.

A SINGLE SHOT The shift to a single pipeline is one of the biggest changes Botley is observing. Traditionally, surfacing a car manually using Alias, clay modelling, Catia ICEM Surf and more can take months until it is released to the engineering team. This is a huge problem in the modern age, where multiple projects can be underway at any one time. More companies are looking to reuse Alias data as a single unified surfacing pipeline, feeding straight into Dassault 3DExperience, Catia, or Siemens NX. The Alias team has already implemented such a pipeline for PSA Group, the maker of Peugeot, Citroen and DS cars, giving the company a 20% timesaving on surface delivery. “Design is quite small compared to the overall car process. The quicker that we can release this surface data to other departments, the quicker they can do all the homologation checks, and the quicker they can start [building] the factories,” Botley explains. “What we’re seeing is, by saving this 20% in design, it’s literally saving hundreds of millions across the billiondollar car project.” The intelligent reuse of surfacing data means there’s less room for translation errors, and more time to handle pushbacks from engineering, helping better maintain design intent. “One of the reasons you’re seeing the new HKMC Cars and the styling language is because they can really maintain design intent, from the sketch right the way through to surface release, push back against engineering, and keep the cars looking really cool and really sexy.” Botley is full of enthusiasm for the future of Alias and the role it will continue to play in automotive design. There are plans to convert the existing C++ API into Python, so that users can code their own design and rendering tools faster; and aspects like the return of clay modelling, augmented by software and XR, allowing a designer’s tape changes – whether virtual or real – to be recorded in Alias. What’s clear today is that Alias is allowing stylists to simplify workflows, and by automating the nondesign elements, the time saved is feeding back into the creativity of automotive design.

‘‘ Design is

quite small compared to the overall car process. The quicker that we can release this surface data to other departments, the quicker they can do all the homologation checks, and the quicker they can start [building] the factories

’’

www.autodesk.com

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FEATURE

BLEND OF SPEED To celebrate its 2021 partnership with the Mercedes-AMG F1 team, AMD worked with The Pixelary to create an incredible 3D animation of the championshipwinning car, with help from Blender and some AMD Radeon Pro graphics cards

n 2021, Formula One fans witnessed one of the most exciting seasons of racing in history, going right to the wire in the final race. Sponsored by AMD, the championshipwinning car, the Mercedes-AMG F1 W12 E Performance is a piece of highly tuned engineering. To mark the occasion, AMD enlisted The Pixelary to create a stunning visual. However, instead of using its Radeon ProRender rendering engine plug-in with Blender (as used previously in 2020), this time, the animation was created in Blender 3.0, showcasing the high-speed performance of two AMD Radeon Pro W6800 graphics cards with Blender 3.0’s updated Cycles renderer. “Cycles X gave users a big performance uplift,” says The Pixelary head Mike Pan. “At the same time, the old OpenCL back end in Blender 2.9x has been replaced by the AMD HIP API [Heterogeneous-computing Interface for Portability]. In a nutshell, HIP allows Cycles to be developed using a single unified code path for AMD and Nvidia GPUs, and CPUs. Pan explains that, for designers, this means better feature parity between CPU and GPUs from different vendors. Most importantly, AMD HIP has brought even faster rendering speeds for supported AMD Radeon

graphics cards, currently validated on W6800 and RX 6000 series desktop GPUs and enabled on other AMD RDNA and RDNA 2 architecture graphics cards. Having previously created 60 wallpapers of the previous season’s car using Radeon ProRender, The Pixelary had a lot of ideas for how it wanted to bring the car to life in an animation.

CYCLES ADAPTATION The first step was adapting the car asset originally made for Radeon ProRender to Cycles. “Luckily, our Blender Radeon ProRender project already uses Blender’s native shader network, so the materials just work in Cycles. The only change was some ray visibility flags that had to be set for the details on the car,” Pan explains This helped with ensuring that additional surface details such as panel gaps and screws to the bodywork didn’t cast unwanted shadows or reflections that would make them look like they were floating. Adding details this way is a lot more flexible, says Pan, and doesn’t require the car body to be split up into as many pieces. With the assets ready, it was time to get creative achieving the desired results. “We wanted to come up with shots that look great and use as many available features as Cycles has to offer. Volumetrics, large number of lights, and motion blur were the top three picks, as

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ED AND POWER these have been traditionally challenging features for many render engines.” Since the car is predominantly black and very shiny, most of its shape comes from specular reflections. “Blender 3.0’s much-improved viewport rendering performance, combined with the speed of GPU rendering, made experimenting with lighting a joy,” says Pan, adding that the process was further sped up by seeing in real time how different lights fall on the car. “We did the initial pass in Blender’s OpenGL Eevee renderer, then switched over to Cycles once we achieved a look that we liked and continued the refinement process.” For the paddock shot, Pan says Eevee’s output is astonishingly similar to the Cycles render. “For other shots like the track, the lack of real ray tracing in Eevee is evident, but it still gave us a good approximation to set up the shot.”

FINAL RENDERS The final renders were done at 4K with high sample counts to achieve the highest quality possible. Denoising was added to further smooth out the image. “Using AMD HIP, there isn’t even the usual initial delay while the render kernel compiles, because the HIP kernel comes with Blender. This means rendering starts immediately as soon as we hit F12,” says Pan.

The Pixelary boss says that performance gain from Blender 2.93 to Blender 3.0 saw render time almost cut in half simply by switching Blender versions. Using two GPUs at the same time further cut down the render time by half. “Not everyone will have access to top-of-the-line GPUs, so we investigated how we could have further improved our rendering time by using temporal denoising. This was not used for the final animation in the video,” says Pan. “The basic idea behind temporal denoising is to render each frame at a lower sample count, and then merge multiple frames to reduce the noise. This approach works extremely well for low-motion shots, since the frame-toframe difference is small. “Despite this, simply blending the frames together will still result in ghosting, so we used motion vector data to merge the frames in a more intelligent way using a wellknown trick.” As a result, by mixing three frames together and rendering each frame at one-third the sample count, Pan explains that the team was able to effectively reduce the render time by three times with virtually no artefacts. The final video was put together using Blender’s Sequencer, adding to the amazing legacy of the car that will accompany memories of that dramatic season.

‘‘ Using AMD

HIP, there isn’t even the usual initial delay while the render kernel compiles, because the HIP kernel comes with Blender

’’

www.thepixelary.com

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FEATURE

BRIDGING T With a slick new workflow for quickly applying 2D decals and colourways onto 3D KeyShot renders, Thomas Burke & Others (TB&O) looked to make Nvidia RTX technology more accessible to its team via a Lenovo ThinkPad P1 mobile workstation

t begins with the Design Visualizer, a 2D-to-3D workflow developed in-house at product imaging studio Thomas Burke & Others (TB&O), with the help of the designers at Specialized Bicycle. The process allows the teams to toggle between 2D design applications like Adobe Illustrator and realtime 3D visualisation in KeyShot. Designers working on colourways, graphics, and picking material finishes were doing most of their work in a 2D programme like Illustrator – an ecosystem they know and are most comfortable with. Trying to create stunning product finishes in 2D software without the ability to visualise it in 3D can prove a risk, until a finished sample comes back from the factory, which could be weeks or months down the road. “We knew one thing,” says TB&O managing principal Mike James. “If we could build a bridge between Illustrator and KeyShot and we could get highresolution, real-time renders to be real-time, then a designer could jump back and forth between 2D and 3D to dial in their design.” He continues: “They could see how their design interacts with the lines of the product and, they could see how light behaves as they move their product around in a 3D space.” On top of this, designers would be free to run more ‘what-if’ scenarios, discover a wider array of product variations, allowing them to be even more creative. When GPU rendering became available in KeyShot, TB&O started using the Nvidia RTX series of GPU cards in their desktop workstations for Design Visualizer. “Our minds were blown,” says James, adding that now 90% of its renderings are done using RTX series GPUs linked together to give 48GB of GPU memory, more than enough to process its most complex KeyShot materials

and light environments “mind-bendingly fast”. The drastic reduction in wait time for renderings has greatly improved TB&O’s efficiency, allowing the team to do more work in the same amount of time.

GOING MOBILE While the GPUs added the power, the desktop workstation set-ups used by TB&O were cost-prohibitive for its typical graphic designer client, who typically works on a laptop with an auxiliary monitor. “We weren’t deterred by the notion that only people with machines like ours could do what we could do,” says James. “Expensive GPU cards in large, heavy and expensive desktop workstations were going to inhibit the implementation of this revolutionary way of designing products. We knew that, but we knew that technology would get smaller, just as surely as it will get faster.” James says that while there are server and cloud-based alternatives, the commitment, planning and implementation of those act as “a barrier to broad availability throughout a department or across departments.” However, this all changed with the availability of the Nvidia RTX A5000 GPU inside the Lenovo P1 Gen 4 mobile workstation. It was enough to make the Design Visualizer workflow sing. Nvidia and Lenovo lent TB&O a pre-production machine to test and validate the workflow. “When we started demoing the Design Visualizer with the Lenovo P1 Gen 4, even over Zoom, client interest was piqued,” laughs James. In its tests, two RTX A5000 GPU cards linked in a desktop workstation remained considerably faster than a laptop with a single RTX A5000 chip. However, TB&O found that the RTX A5000 chip in a mobile workstation

‘‘ Expensive

GPUs in expensive desktop workstations were going to inhibit the implementation of this revolutionary way of designing products Mike James

’’

TB&O used the Nvidia RTX A5000 GPU running inside the Lenovo P1 Gen 4 mobile workstation

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G THE GAP BREAKING DOWN TB&O’S DESIGN VISUALIZER WORKFLOW

1 Graphics layouts can be worked up in 2D applications such as Adobe Illustrator ●

2 The 2D design comes alive in KeyShot, where graphics and paint are applied to the ●

3 Toggling components on and off with KeyShot Solo Mode allows the ●

4 In KeyShot’s 3D space it is easy to move the product around ●

5 Design reviews are made easy using the KeyShot Configurator and ●

6 Presentation Mode lets a designer show only what they want their audience to ●

and then visualised in real time in KeyShot

designer to see their graphics in the context of the whole product

Presentation Mode

CAD model with realistic light behaviour and accurate colours from the client’s library

ad hoc or by selecting existing cameras

see and is easy to navigate with a mouse or a touch of the screen

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FEATURE

is still plenty fast enough with the added benefit of portability – and its clients agreed. TB&O analysed the real-time, photo-real rendering using the RTX A5000 chip in the ThinkPad P1 in two ways. First, it allowed the screen to res up, noting how long it took to get to an acceptable level of clarity. The bike model is complex, with 26.5 million triangles and 64,000 NURBS. Yet, in most instances, crisp rendering can be achieved in about 10-15 seconds. This astounded the team. Next, the team captured how long it took the scene to reach a certain number of samples with the RTX A5000 chip in the mobile workstation and compared that to the RTX A5000 card in the desktop workstation. Using this same compute-intensive file, the RTX A5000 chip in the ThinkPad P1 took 3:07 minutes to reach 256 samples. A desktop workstation running one RTX A5000 card took 2:13 minutes. Again, this was impressive. On top of this, the relative relationship held true for 512 samples and 1,024 samples. James says when comparing the specs, “the RTX A5000 card [in the desktop workstation] has 24GB of memory available whereas the A5000 chip [in the mobile workstation] only has 16GB. This effectively means that, as materials get more complex and compute-intensive and as challenges such as depth of field are added, the

RTX A5000 card is going to handle the job considerably better. However, what the Lenovo P1 with an RTX A5000 chip does for 2D to 3D design visualisation is gamechanging.” The new hardware and workflow have worked together to make real-time, photo-real product visualisation mobile, collaborative and cost-effective, prompting a drastic change in what TB&O is able to achieve for its clients. “It changes where we can work and how fast we can work,” says James, adding that several clients have already asked TB&O to work with their product design teams to create similar workflows that free them to be more creative. For TB&O, it has a downstream effect, too. What the team gets from the client to produce marketing collateral is going to be a lot closer to the real thing. That saves time and gives the client what it needs, faster. “We essentially sell our time. So, if we can render faster, and we can render more frames for videos and interactive experiences, we can be more creative in what we render,” James explains. “If we can render in an hour what used to take a week, we’re apt to take more creative risks and push the envelope a bit further.”

‘‘ If we can

render in an hour what used to take a week, we’re apt to take more creative risks and push the envelope a bit further

’’

www.thomasburke.com

TB&O’s workflow makes real-time, photo-real product visualisation mobile, collaborative and cost-effective

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NEW CAR, OLD TRICKS Behind the Cupra Racing insignia is over 20 years of racing experience and a vehicle design team that never stops optimising. We speak to that team about how its design evolution and PTC’s software have matched each other lap for lap

he Cupra Racing livery might be a relative newcomer to racetracks around the world, but the motorsport arm of Seat has a 20-year pedigree, battling it out with rivals in some of the most competitive fields. In 2021, Cupra took part in over 70 races in world, continental and national TCR series and championships. At the same time, the brand continues its electrification strategy, taking its engineering to new levels with Extreme E and Pure ETCR. Being competitive on the track requires countless hours of effort and dedication to build a car that’s competitive, with much of that work happening in the early stages of the design of individual vehicle components. “In the competition world, you have to improve the car you made the previous year,” says head of full vehicle design at Cupra Racing, Jaume Tarroja. “There is a need for constant improvement with the aim of reducing manufacturing costs.” From its beginnings under the Seat brand, Cupra Racing has relied on PTC for its 3D CAD software, beginning with Pro/Engineer, and evolving to take full advantage of the latest features of Creo to develop components much faster, as well as to test their performance. “We used to design the components in 2D and then they were sent to be manufactured – with the consequent errors that could occur. Now, we can view the car in 3D, with all the components assembled. In fact, we can visualise the whole car on the computer screen,” says Tarroja. “We can modify the car without changing its design and within a fully stable environment. This has been a huge step forward for us.” Tarroja lists the top-down design – a skeleton model for the engineers to define the general structure of the vehicles – as a key area of improvement. Related to this,

engineers can design and assemble their components with the knowledge that, if a redesign or variation of the skeleton model takes place, these changes are automatically implemented to all components. Since the skeleton model includes a kinematic mechanism, engineers can quickly simulate the actual motion of the vehicle to determine any interference or collision between components. Tarroja says that this, for Cupra, is a fundamental step that saves many errors and hours of design repetitions. When added to tools for FEA analysis, it has helped reduce part development time by around 20%. In parallel with the use of sheet metal modules in Creo, the Cupra team has also decreased the weight of components, saving around 10% without reducing their mechanical properties. For elements like piping and cabling, Creo enables the layout of electrical wiring and cooling to be simulated. This has been a big step forward for Cupra; previously, a prototype was modelled and delivered to the supplier, who then replicated it. Now, the team can simulate the wiring system and piping in Creo, so that when the part is manufactured, everything works well at the first attempt. The team also benefits from parametric surface and freestyle features; these are used in component design, allowing curved parts to be freely designed using a Sub-D moulding feature to provide a higher surface control and finer details, without changing the existing shape. In the future, this is lending itself to other modules in Creo that Cupra is looking to implement, such as generative design for additive manufacturing and behavioural modelling. The faster the parts can be on the car, the faster they can be tested – helping its driver stay competitive, no matter the race series in which they’re competing. www.cupraofficial.com

Cupra Racing battles it out on the racetrack

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PROFILE

REINVENTING THE WHEEL Modern vehicle wheels need to be designed for efficiency, both on the road and during manufacture. Maxion Wheels explains how it is creating a workflow with Castor to find out which existing parts it can 3D print in order to achieve peak performance 1 Maxion operates ●

23 manufacturing plants globally

2 Today’s wheels ●

are designed for clean airflow and aerodynamic efficiency

roducing over 50 million wheels each year, Maxion is a key supplier for a wide range of vehicles, from passenger to commercial to military. Wheels, it transpires, occupy almost 30% of a car’s profile, and are one of the most important configuration decisions that buyers make when purchasing a new car. They’re also a key consideration in the design of electric vehicles. Thin-spoked designs, originally optimised for cooling the brakes, are counterproductive on an electric vehicle, creating unwanted drag. Modern wheel designs instead favour large, smooth surfaces for clean air flow and aerodynamic efficiency. Efficiency is also seen in Maxion’s manufacturing workflow. With all of the machine, material and labour costs associated with prototyping, tooling, mould design and set-up, getting a return on investment depends on achieving high-volume production. Based across 23 manufacturing plants globally, Maxion’s business relies heavily on the use of tooling and moulds, despite it being an early pioneer of additive manufacturing. Initially, the company used 3D printing for product concepts and spare machine parts. But as additive manufacturing technologies advanced, so has the company’s interest and involvement. And yet a major hurdle to broader adoption remains: knowing when to apply the alternative manufacturing process.

DECIDING 3D OR NOT

With numerous 3D printing opportunities in its pipeline, Maxion needed a proven and fast analytical method to evaluate them for their merits in terms of applicability in the company’s demanding industrial working conditions. The search was handed to Maxion Advanced Technologies (MAT), the company’s global innovation hub based in Berlin. A team there undertook an 8-month research project to find a digital solution. “Discovering the most promising components for additive manufacturing is resource-intensive,” says Dr Saul Reichman, head of Maxion Advanced Technologies, and global director of innovation and corporate venturing at Maxion Wheels. “Analysing the numerous assemblies, tools, fixtures and jigs used in our manufacturing

processes – globally – is a ‘needle in a haystack’ challenge. We identified Castor as the right partner to support us on this journey.” Castor is an automated 3D printing software capable of analysing thousands of parts at once and providing technical analysis for a full component design, helping to identify cost reduction opportunities and suggesting geometry changes to the part’s design. It estimates the cost and lead-time for each part and can even connect the manufacturer to a service bureau that can print and supply the part according to requirements. In proof of concept testing conducted by Maxion, the software analysis focused on tooling components, testing adapters, spare parts and complex products. In total, the CAD files of 25 parts were analysed, resulting in a report determining the part’s 3D printability with an estimation of the cost and lead-time for 3D production, and a breakeven point calculation versus traditional manufacturing.

STRENGTH AND DURABILITY From the initial part selection, three parts were chosen for 3D printing. Based on Castor’s material analysis recommendation and assurance that the part’s strength and durability would not be compromised during its lifecycle, maraging steel was selected as the material. Tooling components were found to be the best candidate by Maxion for metal 3D printing technologies. For a certain tooling application investigated, metal 3D printing could provide equivalent mechanical performances to CNC machining, achieving the same values of cycle time performance. The different metal microstructures of additive parts, compared to machining, do require post-processing, making them more suitable for certain applications on the shop floor than others, with Maxion keen to explore the full potential. “In only eight months, we engaged Castor with both Maxion Structural Components and Maxion Wheels, shortlisted potential opportunities, selected the most suitable ones, conducted the analysis, and secured a third-party printer in Brazil,” explains Reichman. “Our fast pace is more proof of the innovation culture embedded within Maxion and its employees.” With expanded use, it’s hoped that this speed and economy in manufacturing will roll on to benefit customers. www.maxionwheels.com

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PROFILE

OPTIMISING POWER Aisin Corporation designs, develops and manufactures nearly all of the components that comprise a modern automobile. We spoke with Manabu Kawaji from its component development group about the shift to electrification, and the role design optimisation software is playing

wned by Toyota, Aisin Corporation develops and produces a huge range of components and systems for the automotive industry. With the industry shifting to improve fuel efficiency and reduce materials that place a burden on the environment, Aisin is at the forefront of developing innovative electric drive units, heat management systems and electronically controlled brake systems. “The powertrain division to which I belong develops a wide range of products including the eAxle, thermal management systems among others, that are essential in electrification vehicles and expand the sales ratio of electrification products to reduce CO2 emissions and promote fuel efficiency,” explains Manabu Kawaji, from the company’s component development group. With demand for EVs rising, Aisin is committed to reducing the product development time. “The classic procedure where drawings are created first, prototypes next, and then finally products, is not feasible anymore,” says Kawaji. “This is why we take advantage of simulation, to speed up the engineering process and virtually prove a design rationale in order to deliver high-quality products to customers within a short period of time.” Aisin is looking to simulation technologies such as electromagnetic analysis, thermal design and optimisation to design electric powertrain units. “Our customers usually provide us with requirement specifications to be used as a product overview, although it happens that we have to modify these specifications. This is the case where Esteco ModeFrontier design optimisation software becomes crucial for us in order to be able to present the optimal motor design to the customer based on the modified specifications.” Through use of ModeFrontier, the team

can perform design exploration and optimisation studies and turn the data from it into valuable insights that help decide why a particular design is better than others. Kawaji explains that ModeFrontier has become Aisin’s standard optimisation tool for motor design. “The software is equipped with many features that facilitate its application to a design process: from an automated workflow that makes it possible to integrate any engineering solvers to advanced post-processing analysis tools that help us to present design rationale, and the capabilities to distribute the computational workload of large-scale optimisation runs through grid computing.” However, managing a wide range of simulation tools to perform various engineering analyses can be cost prohibitive, and not always the easiest to prove the effective use of the software and determine the return on investment, he says. It’s in this scenario that ModeFrontier simulation process integration and automation capabilities help: Aisin integrates third-party tools such as GT-Suite, Simcenter Flotherm, JMAGDesigner, and MATLAB with the aim of performing multidisciplinary design optimisation studies.

ELECTROMAGNETIC ANALYSIS When performing electromagnetic field analysis, required to visualise the invisible physical phenomena of electricity and magnetic field and help clarify the design basis of electrified products such as motors, Kawaji’s team use JMAG-Designer. This is where ModeFrontier comes into play. For example, the team would start with a 2D electromagnetic analysis of a magnet rotor performed by JMAG-Designer, which shows the amount of magnetic flux interlinkage in the permanent magnet. Then it integrates the JMAG simulation model into the ModeFrontier

workflow to perform multiobjective design optimisation. With this, the team can explore options for the inner/outer rotor shape and magnet shape that satisfy no-load rotation speed minimisation, starting torque maximisation and permanent magnet minimisation, keeping or even increasing the magnetic flux interlinkage. “Thanks to ModeFrontier post-processing charts, we could visualise all the optimal designs on the Pareto front and then chose the ones with the lowest permanent magnet area and reduced no-load RPM which met our key requirements for production,” says Kawaji. “In the end, this optimisation methodology allows us to achieve significant cost savings for our electric powertrain unit production.” Kawaji explains that the company’s future plans are increasingly based around using a model-based development process that doesn’t require physical prototypes, although he says that the team is still investigating how to apply this methodology for thermal-related problems when designing and developing motors. On the other side, Aisin is very interested in applying machine learningbased surrogate models to support the exploration of possible good solutions. “There are various approaches such as creating surrogate models by integrating JMAG-Designer and ModeFrontier and using Response Surface Models [RSM] of ModeFrontier at least for the initial investigation phases. Indeed, we are working to reduce the simulation costs – hardware and software – by employing these methods,” says Kawaji. “RSMs accuracy is very important to obtain adequate results. We are in the early stages of usage and now we are investigating how to improve the accuracy of the surrogate models based on our simulation data.” www.aisin.com

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FEATURE

With over two decades of experience, the Alpine F1 team is still finding unique ways to get incredible performance from its cars through additive manufacturing. And its 2022 car is no exception, as Claudia Schergna reports

SMOOTHACCELER W

hen it comes to designing a Formula One (F1) car, speed is the key consideration both on track and during the development process. Restless innovation and ever-evolving standards of peak performance mean that teams need to be as fast as possible to develop a brand-new car each season. As seen in numerous applications across many different industries, speed is one of the biggest advantages of additive manufacturing (AM). It comes as no surprise then that it is widely employed in this sector. Owned by Renault, Alpine Cars was one of the first F1 teams to adopt 3D printing for prototyping new models, with a collaboration with 3D Systems beginning in 1998. As the partnership evolved, the application of 3D printing at Alpine went well beyond just prototyping. The Alpine team started employing AM to improve wind tunnels, produced on-car parts through 3D printing for investment casting and began exploring direct metal printing (DMP).

The 3D Systems machines that Alpine currently uses include six stereolithography (SLA) printers and three selective laser sintering (SLS) machines.

PUSHING THE LIMITS For this year’s model, the blue and pink A522, Alpine F1 Team used AM to produce a titanium hydraulic accumulator with complete functionality that could push the car’s performance and reduce its environmental footprint. To do so, it used 3D Systems’ direct metal printing technology to produce the part as well as its proprietary post-processing cleaning process. The hydraulic accumulator is a long, rigid piece of tubing that stores and releases energy to average out pressure fluctuation and the performance of this dampener system is strongly affected by its internal volume and length. Alpine produced the part using LaserForm Ti Gr23 titanium, with the AM process allowing it to build

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‘‘ We designed

this part to be as volumetrically efficient as possible and to share wall thickness between adjacent tubes

’’

ERATION an internal geometry that makes it strong and light at the same time. By 3D printing the part, the team was able to maximise the length of the dampening coil, while packaging the ultimate functionality within a restricted boundary. “We designed this part to be as volumetrically efficient as possible, and to share wall thickness between adjacent tubes,” says Alpine digital manufacturing manager Pat Warner. “Achieving this volume is only possible with AM.” The selected LaserForm Ti Gr23 material allowed the team to achieve thin walls (0.5mm) while maintaining strength, resulting in an optimised performance while still saving mass through adjacent wall sharing, keeping a limited volume to compress the total length of the part. The titanium dampening coil was produced using 3D System’s DMP Flex 350, a metal AM system featuring oxygen levels under 25 ppm and an inert printing atmosphere. This system ensures high chemical purity and allows for the repeatability required for producing multiple parts needed throughout the race season.

POWDER PROBLEM TACKLED

1 The striking blue ● and pink livery of the While the reduction of weight, functionality and Alpine Motors A522 integration into larger systems were all positive aspects 2 The car’s ● of the use of additive manufacturing in the production titanium hydraulic accumulator of this part, the Alpine F1 team faced a tricky challenge is a 3D-printed when it came to removing powder from its internal component channel. While in use, the dampening coil is filled with fluid that has a specification for cleanliness to avoid contamination, which is why complete material evacuation is key. To achieve that, the team decided to adopt 3D Systems’ own cleaning protocol. Warner explains: “Their proprietary cleaning process has a proven track record in high-performance applications for delivering particle-free components, even on challenging internal channels.” Warner added that the team is looking into expanding the applications of AM in the coming seasons, adding speed to the car build and hopefully on track, too.

www.alpinecars.com

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PROFILE

GOOD ENOUGH T

hallenged with the unique terrain and range requirements of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) market, Dubai-based e-mobility start-up Barq turned to Callum Design to address the rise in demand for last-mile deliveries. MENA regions have seen demand for local delivery of food, products and services soar, while a push for sustainable power and rider comfort meant Barq had a number of requirements in mind for a new delivery scooter. Developed in collaboration with leading MENA restaurant company Americana and delivery platform Jahez, the Rena Max has been designed to meet the region’s needs. The design team at Callum added features to cope with the configuration of cities and the hot weather in MENA regions. For example, the handlebar grips are made in light blue polyurethane and the seat has a diamante textured in vinyl blue, both designed to be cooler to the touch. The tubeless 13-inch and 14-inch tyres are designed to minimise punctures, even on unpaved roads. To improve the level of security for unattended vehicles during drop-offs, Callum introduced an electronically controlled locking system log that tracks all openings of the backbox. The vehicle also features 5.6KwH swappable lithium-ion battery technology, to avoid lengthy charging times and offer a range of up to 150km, powered by a 7KW motor. “Another key aspect was the rider experience,” says Callum head of creative, Aleck Jones. “Barq has done a lot of research into riders’ needs. The brief was to ensure the utmost functionality, comfort and convenience for users.” For example, Barq’s user experience research suggested that, in most typical scooters, there is no room to carry a drinks bottle, which means drivers need to stop more often and can even get dehydrated while working. With that in mind, Callum introduced a large storage area where riders can fit a two-litre bottle and some belongings. The Rena Max features further storage areas, a 79-litre box behind the driver with adjustable shelving and passive insulation with a food-safe lining, plus a 5-litre and a 9-litre box at the front. “Unconstrained, we had the opportunity to create a modern, functional and intelligent design,” says Jones.

THE ROAD AHEAD Another example is the 8-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab Active3 touchscreen: “Riders usually get their route information on a handheld device. That’s neither easy to follow nor glance at. It led

With the rise in demand for last-mile food delivery across MENA countries, mobility start-up Barq and Callum Design developed a new electric scooter that aims to address the region’s specific needs

A Samsung Galaxy touchscreen helps delivery riders navigate with confidence

us to prioritise the touchscreen in the dash layout with a specified mounting angle that minimises glare and reflections,” says Jones. Barq and Callum collaborated in the development of the design all through the process: “We started with dozens of initial 2D themes and then with the Barq team picked two to develop further into 3D,” says Jones. “Then we presented both, and ultimately chose a final theme to begin realising the finished product. This led to further collaborative design stages with the engineering team to help make the vision a reality.” The design team used the Autodesk design suite of tools, including

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H TO EAT ‘‘

Rena Max has a sense of style that is sometimes forgotten with future mobility solutions

’’

Alias and VRED, for the initial 3D design work, creating the visuals for virtual reality design reviews with Barq, before developing the scooter’s surfacing. The design process moved into Catia, which was used to create the 3D CAD model for engineering and manufacturing. To test the seating arrangement, the Callum design team created in-house bucks and had riders and nonriders of all shapes and sizes come in to test them. A MakerBot 3D printer was employed for trialling design ideas, including a full-scale mock-up design model used for the presentation and launch of Rena Max. “Callum is about creating bespoke solutions that are a potent blend of design and engineering expertise,”

says Ian Callum, who oversaw the Barq project with the growing Callum team at its headquarters in Warwick. “Rena Max has a sense of style that is sometimes forgotten with future mobility solutions.” Adds Jones: “I wanted to make sure that the innovations we introduced added something to its value and user experience. I didn’t want anything to be just for the sake of it or just to look good, but to have a function and be an improvement on what else is out there. The feedback suggests that we have achieved this.” The next stage for the start-up is to further test develop the Rena Max using simulation, before manufacturing and final delivery.

Autodesk Alias and VRED, along with Dassault Systèmes’ Catia, were all used in the development of Barq’s Rena Max

www.barqev.com

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FEATURE

DIVING DEEPER INTO STRUCTURE: MULTISCALE ANALYSIS To exploit all the benefits of new and composite materials, multiscale analysis is being employed. Laurence Marks takes a look at how this enabling technology will facilitate step changes in how components are designed, used and disposed of

veryone doing simulation is doing multiscale analysis, but possibly without thinking in those terms. All the big stuff is boundary conditions and the small stuff comes from Matweb. Anything in between is our model, and therefore the only bit we are really interested in. That’s probably a tiny bit unfair, but is actually a reasonable summary of where most of us are at. But – and there was always a ‘but’ coming – as we look for increasing levels of performance, especially by using advanced materials, and combinations of materials, this simplified approach may not take us far enough. Old new materials (I once heard aluminium described as the world’s oldest new material) and ‘properly’ new materials present many simulation challenges if we are going to exploit their potential to reduce weight, cost and environmental impact, and do it in a manner that we at least wish for with modern manufacturing processes like additive manufacturing. Simulation is possibly our best bet for avoiding what I heard a pioneering F1 composites engineer describe as the “black metal” phase. That’s where we use a new

material in the same way as the one it replaces, thereby failing to exploit many of the advantages which are there to be taken. In fact, if we stick with the composites theme, we can see the starting point of what is generally known as multiscale analysis. ‘Traditional’ elements generally assume that they are made of a single material, and that material doesn’t vary across the element. That, honestly, is good enough for the vast majority of simulation challenges. Yet composite systems have a variation of material on a scale smaller than any mesh that you could solve. That’s how they achieve their levels of performance. So, code developers were forced to create elements which could handle many layers of different materials; materials that are often stiffer and stronger in one direction than the others. More advanced and creative material systems, and external drivers such as lightweighting and recyclability, forcing their adoption, have driven the simulation world to explore this process further. Representative volume elements (RVEs) are now quite widely employed to do this. In this approach, the material

Laurence Marks built his first FEA model in the mid-1980s and his first CFD model in the early 1990s. Since then, he’s worked in the simulation industry, in technical, support and management roles. He is currently a visiting research fellow at Oxford Brookes University, involved in a wide range of simulation projects, some of which are focused on his two main areas of interest: life sciences and motorsports

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‘‘ Composite systems have a variation

of material on a scale smaller than any mesh you could solve. That’s how they achieve their levels of performance

’’

properties for the finite element model are replaced by another finite element model. However, this one is of a much smaller scale than the part being modelled – it represents the material structure and critically can include not just multiple materials but also interactions between them. In this ‘FE2’ process, we find a two-way street: how the material properties vary as the stresses build on each element are calculated by the RVE, yet the RVE can also be used to determine how the material is responding locally to the stresses. The multiscale approach bridges the gap between the length scales – but, it must be said, at something of a computation cost. How this computational cost is reduced and controlled, and how the data is reused, is what separates an effective commercial code from an academic prototype. Currently, commercial codes include Multimechanics from Siemens, e-Xstream/Digimat from Hexagon and Altair Multiscale Designer, amongst numerous others. Potential applications of this technology go way beyond the classical composites that seem to form the majority of use cases at the moment. Building an understanding

of the material structures that result from the many additive manufacturing processes being developed and exploited must be an application area that is set to grow. And the fuzzy boundary between material and structure that is developing as a result is only set to drive the technology further. It’s fair to say that the average CAD user involved in basic integrated FEA is unlikely to embark on multiscale simulations any time soon, yet in many high-performance scenarios, it’s an enabling technology that will facilitate step changes in how components are designed, used and disposed of. I’m thinking here about replacing metals with short-fibre reinforced injection moulded parts to eke out the last few percentages of composite structural performance where that is critical. It’s not for nothing that the automotive world is at the forefront of multiscale modelling and its application.

1 Materials in ●

composite systems are often stiffer and stronger in one direction than in others 2 Commercial ●

codes for multiscale analysis include those from Siemens, Hexagon and Altair

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HARDWARE REVIEW

Scan 3XS GWP-ME A124C (Intel Core i9-12900K) » With unrivalled single-threaded performance from the Intel Core i9-12900K and impressive GPU acceleration from the Nvidia RTX A4500, this desktop workstation delivers on all fronts, writes Greg Corke

» Intel Core i9 12900K CPU (8 P-cores, 8 E-cores, 24 threads (3.20 GHz / 2.40 GHz, 5.20 GHz / 3.90 GHz Turbo) » Nvidia RTX A4500 GPU (20 GB GDDR6 memory) » 128 GB (4x 32GB) Corsair Vengeance DDR4 3200MHz memory » 2 TB Samsung 980 Pro NVMe SSD » Microsoft Windows 11 Pro 64-bit » 3 year warranty (1st Year on-site, 2nd and 3rd Year RTB (Parts and Labour) £3,333 (64 GB memory) £3,583 (128 GB memory) (all prices Ex VAT) www.scan.co.uk/3xs.com

he Scan 3XS GWP-ME A124C is the first review system to arrive at DEVELOP3D with the new ‘Alder Lake’ 12th Gen Intel Core processor. And, from what we’ve seen, it certainly won’t be the last. Having spent the last 18 months playing catch up with AMD and its impressive Ryzen 5000 Series, Intel now has plenty to shout about when it comes to mainstream PC/workstation CPUs. 12th Gen Intel Core is different to all Intel processors that have come before. It is the first to have a hybrid architecture with two different types of cores: Performance (P) cores for primary tasks and slower Efficient (E) cores, which are heavily focused on maximising performance per watt. Intel calls this its biggest architectural shift in a decade. The approach is similar to that taken by computer chipmaker ARM, whose technology forms the backbone to Apple’s M1 processor. The idea behind Intel’s hybrid architecture is that critical software, including your current active application, runs on the P-cores, while tasks that are not so urgent run on the E-cores. This could be background operations such as Windows updates, anti-virus scans, or hidden tabs on a web browser. P-cores also support hyperthreading, Intel’s virtual core technology. This means every P-core can run two threads, which can help boost performance in certain multi-threaded workflows, such as ray trace rendering. Our review machine’s Intel Core i9-12900K, for example, features 8 P-cores and 8 E-cores, for a total of 16 physical cores and 24 threads.

To help assign tasks to the appropriate cores, ‘Alder Lake’ includes a hardwarebased ‘Thread Director’. This is said to work best with Windows 11, which was released at the tail end of 2021. However, it is also compatible with Windows 10. Splitting out the CPU into P-cores and E-cores doesn’t mean that highly multithreaded processes simply run on the P-cores, leaving the E-cores idle. In ray trace rendering software Luxion KeyShot 11, for example, we observed the Intel Core i9-12900K maxing out 24 threads. There are some caveats to this. As with all the workstation testing we do at DEVELOP3D, we turn the Windows Power Plan to ‘high performance’. However, technology website AnandTech has reported that when the Power Plan is set to ‘balanced’, any app that’s not in the active window automatically goes over to the E-cores. This is an important consideration if you often run computeintensive processes in the background, such as rendering, simulation, point cloud

processing, and others. By pushing those processes over to the E-cores, they will likely take much longer. We plan to test this out in the future.

MEMORY: DDR4 VS DDR5 12th Gen Intel Core supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory, although not at the same time and not on the same motherboard. For the 3XS GWP-ME A124C, Scan has chosen DDR4, matched with the Asus TUF Gaming Z690-Plus WiFi D4 motherboard. There are two reasons why. First, DDR5 modules are currently very expensive. According to Scan, 128 GB of DDR5 memory currently costs double that of DDR4 (£1,024 versus £578). Second, DDR5 won’t necessarily give you a performance benefit. In developing the system, Scan tested 128 GB of 3,200MHz DDR4 versus 128 GB of 4,400MHz DDR5, the fastest speed supported in a four DIMM configuration. While the DDR5 system was a massive 47% faster in synthetic test application AIDA, Scan found the performance benefit in real-world applications to be significantly lower. In the ray trace renderer V-Ray, for example, it was less than 1% faster. We would expect similar in CAD applications. There are some viz-focused workflows that might benefit from faster memory. AMD, for example, has previously highlighted shader compilation in Unreal Engine as one that would. However, while Scan can offer DDR5-based workstations, we imagine most users will stick with DDR4 until prices come down. The machine was fitted with 128 GB (4x 32GB) of Corsair Vengeance DDR4 3200MHz memory, mostly at our request, so as to allow us to properly test the machine in our demanding Leica Cyclone DEVELOP3D.COM APRIL / MAY 2022 57

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HARDWARE REVIEW

point cloud processing benchmark (more on this later). For less demanding workflows, going down to 64 GB will shave £250 (Ex VAT) off the system price of £3,583 (Ex VAT).

NVIDIA QUADRO RTX A4500 The CPU isn’t the only new processor in the Scan workstation. The Nvidia RTX A4500 GPU is also a first for DEVELOP3D and forms an important part of this ‘graphics workstation’. When Nvidia launched this dual slot 20 GB professional GPU late last year, we were a little surprised. We didn’t really see a need for a product to sit between the Nvidia RTX A4000 (16 GB) and Nvidia RTX A5000 (24 GB). It seems the launch of the RTX A4500 was governed largely by chip availability. Nvidia, like most computing firms, has been hit by the ongoing global semiconductor shortage. According to Scan, the Nvidia RTX A4000 and A5000 have been hard to come by over the last

year, something we’ve also observed ourselves. However, Scan says it now has a plentiful supply of Nvidia RTX A4500s. The RTX A4500 is essentially a cut-down version of the RTX A5000. It uses the same GA102 graphics processor, but with slightly fewer cores, a slightly lower clock speed and a slightly lower power draw. Two RTX A4500s can also be connected with Nvidia NVLink to scale memory and performance, but this is not possible due to Scan’s choice of motherboard.

THE SYSTEM The 3XS GWP-ME A124C is built around Scan’s custom 3XS workstation case, which is available with both solid and tempered glass side panels. It’s a nice sturdy chassis with a 3XS branded vented front that helps ensure cool air runs freely from front to back. A dual fan Corsair H100i Pro XT liquid cooler helps keep the system processor running fast and stable. In fact, it can maintain high clock speeds over long periods. In KeyShot 11,

for example, we observed an all-core frequency of 4.49GHz when rendering for over two hours, although fan noise did rise over time. To feed all the components, the system drive is a 2 TB Samsung 980 Pro NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD, which is rated at up to 7 GB/ sec sequential read and up to 5 GB/sec sequential write. There’s plenty of scope for storage expansion. The Asus TUF Gaming Z690Plus WiFi D4 motherboard has a total of four M.2 sockets and four SATA ports for additional NVMe/SATA SSDs or SATA Hard Disk Drives (HDDs). At the rear, it’s got eight USB ports, including two Type C. The front panel has three USB ports including one Type C. A 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port and integrated Wi-Fi 6 round out the specifications.

CPU PERFORMANCE With the Intel Core i9-12900K, the Scan 3XS workstation delivered impressive CPU performance across the board, but DEVELOP3D.COM APRIL / MAY 2022 59

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HARDWARE REVIEW

particularly stood out in single-threaded workflows. In BIM authoring tool Revit 2021, for example, we saw a 9% to 11% performance gain over 11th Gen Intel Core i9-11900 (8 cores), and a 21% to 24% performance gain over AMD Ryzen 9 5950X (16 cores). In mechanical CAD software Solidworks 2021, this lead extended to 19% to 20%, and 22% to 27%, respectively. There were also big leaps in multithreaded performance. With higher instructions per clock (IPC) and an additional eight cores, albeit E-cores, the Intel Core i9-12900K has significantly more clout than the 8-core Intel Core i9-11900. In rendering benchmarks V-Ray 5.0 and KeyShot 10, we saw a massive boost of 56% and 71% respectively. Despite the big advances within Intel, AMD still has a rendering lead with the Ryzen 9 5950X and its 16 highperformance cores. It was 10% faster in KeyShot and 11% faster in V-Ray. In more lightly threaded applications, however, where processes are distributed across fewer than eight threads and therefore handled entirely by the P-cores, Intel has the lead. In point cloud processing software Leica Cyclone, for example, the Scan machine was 22% faster than the Intel Core i911900 and 17% faster than the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X. Intel’s generational leap doesn’t extend to all multi-threaded workflows, however. In two simulation tests (Solidworks 2021 SPECapc (Simulate) and Invmark for Inventor 2022 (FEA), the lead over 11th Gen Intel went down to 2% and 5% respectively.



The combination of Core i9-12900K CPU and RTX A4500 GPU offers users the best of both worlds: exceptional performance in single and lightly threaded workloads with an enviable level of GPU acceleration with capacity for large datasets



GRAPHICS PERFORMANCE Billed as a ‘graphics’ workstation, it’s hardly surprising that the Scan 3XS GWPME A124C also delivers in GPU-centric workflows. The Nvidia RTX A4500 is an excellent choice for those who take visualisation seriously, being well-matched to GPU rendering, VR, real-time viz and real-time ray tracing. In Enscape 3.0, for example, we got a smooth 35 frames per second (FPS) at 4K resolution with our 9.5 GB office complex test model. The results in Unreal Engine 4.26 were similarly impressive. The Automotive Configurator Audi A5 rendered at 16.75 FPS at 4K with ray tracing enabled (DirectX Ray tracing – DXR) and 31.20 FPS at 4K without (DirectX 12 rasterisation). As you’d expect from its model number, performance of the RTX A4500 sits somewhere between the RTX A4000 and RTX A5000, but is much closer to the RTX A5000. Roughly speaking, we found it to be around 20% to 25% faster than the RTX A4000 and 2% to 12% slower than the

RTX A5000. We explore this in more detail on page 62.

FINAL THOUGHTS Workstations are currently in a big state of transition. New CPUs, new GPUs, new memory and the new Windows 11 operating system deliver a bewildering array of options. Scan brings together these advances in a considered way, in a well-built desktop workstation for professional users. Newer isn’t always better, certainly when it comes to price/performance, and Scan’s choice of DDR4 memory helps bring down costs without negatively impacting performance for most users. The combination of Core i9-12900K CPU and RTX A4500 GPU offers users the best of both worlds: exceptional performance in single and lightly threaded workloads, with an enviable level of GPU acceleration with capacity for large datasets. At £3,583 (Ex VAT), however, Scan’s workstation is a serious investment.

Configuring with a lower spec GPU would save significant money and still leave you with an excellent all-round machine for CAD and other single-threaded or lightly threaded workflows. For those focused less on visualisation, the Nvidia RTX A2000 (6 GB) would be an obvious downgrade. However, as with so many technology purchases these days, that config might not be available, due to limited availability of the entry-level Nvidia RTX GPU. As a closing comment, it’s genuinely exciting to see such intense competition in CPUs that was absent for so many years. At the tail end of 2020, AMD took the lead with its excellent Ryzen 5000 Series. Now, 12th Gen Intel Core appears to be the processor of choice for single and lightly threaded workloads, including CAD. But Intel certainly won’t rest on its laurels. With AMD set to launch its next gen Ryzen processor (Zen 4) in the second half of 2022, we’re excited to see what happens next.

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Nvidia RTX A4500 » To help boost supply of its high-end professional workstation GPUs, Nvidia recently released a derivative of the RTX A5000 with slightly lower specs. Greg Corke looks at how the RTX A4500 stacks up in real-time viz, GPU rendering and VR workflows » Product: Nvidia RTX A4500 » Supplier: Nvidia / PNY £1,699 (Ex VAT) (price from Scan) www.nvidia.com www.pny.com

hen Nvidia launched the 20 GB Nvidia RTX A4500 professional workstation GPU in November 2021, it took us a bit by surprise. We didn’t really see a need for a product to sit between the RTX A4000 (16 GB) and RTX A5000 (24 GB). The gap simply wasn’t that big. But these are no ordinary times. The ongoing global semiconductor shortage has meant supply of the RTX A4000 and RTX A5000 has been patchy to say the least. Since these ‘Ampere’ GPUs launched in Spring 2021, they have been very hard to get hold of. And some of the inflated prices we have seen online have been quite eye watering. The RTX A4500 is a cut-down version of the RTX A5000. Its launch appears to have been driven largely by the silicon and components that Nvidia had at its disposal. In fact, at Nvidia’s GTC event at the end of March, the company launched another new GPU, the Nvidia RTX A5500, a cut-down version of the RTX A6000. Nvidia told DEVELOP3D that the

A5500 not only gives customers a bit of a performance boost over the A5000, but improves the ‘overall availability of supply’. The company admits that it would have been limited if it was only producing the RTX A5000 all year long.

WHAT IS THE RTX A4500? With a dual-slot PCIe form factor, the RTX A4500 looks identical to the RTX A5000 and it is much closer in specs than it is to the single-slot RTX A4000. Compared to the RTX A5000, it has 4 GB less memory, but features the same GA102 graphics processor, albeit with some cores disabled, a slightly lower clock speed and a slightly lower power draw (200 Watts vs 230 Watts via a single 8-pin PCIe power connector). The feature set of the RTX A4500 and A5000 is virtually identical – four DisplayPort 1.4a connectors, 3D stereo, and NVLink — so two A4500 GPUs can be physically connected to scale performance and double the memory to 40 GB in supported applications. This could be to boost 3D frame rates in pro

viz applications like Autodesk VRED Professional, or to render large scenes, faster in GPU renderers like Chaos V-Ray. The one main difference between the GPUs is that the RTX A4500 does not support Nvidia virtual GPU (vGPU) software. So, if you want to virtualise the graphics card to serve multiple users in a virtual workstation, you’ll need the RTX A5000, A5500 or A6000.

ON TEST We put the RTX A4500 through a series of real-world application benchmarks, for GPU rendering and real-time visualisation. All tests were carried out using the Intel Core i9-12900K-based Scan 3XS GWP-ME A124C workstation at 4K (3,840 x 2,160) resolution using the latest 511.09 Nvidia driver. You can read our full review of the workstation on page 57. See below for a summary of the specs. • • • •

Intel Core i9 12900K CPU 128 GB memory 2 TB Samsung 980 Pro NVMe SSD Microsoft Windows 11 Pro 64-bit

EXPLAINER: WHAT ARE NVIDIA RTX GPUS?

Nvidia RTX GPUs are professional graphics cards designed specifically for workstations. They are standard in most Dell

Precision, HP Z, Fujitsu Celsius and Lenovo ThinkStation workstations, and are also offered in workstations from

smaller manufacturers such as BOXX, Scan and Workstation Specialists. Nvidia RTX GPUs tend to have more memory than

their consumer ‘GeForce RTX’ counterparts, so they can handle larger datasets, both in terms of geometry and textures. For example, the topend Nvidia RTX A6000 features 48 GB of memory, while the mainstream Nvidia RTX A2000 comes in 6 GB and 12 GB variants. In the higher-end models, the memory includes Error Correcting Code (ECC) support to protect against crashes. There’s also a difference in software. With special professional graphics drivers, Nvidia RTX GPUs are certified for a range of pro applications and are tested by independent software vendors (ISVs) and the major workstation manufacturers. Nvidia RTX graphics

cards include three types of processing cores: • Nvidia ‘Ampere’ CUDA cores for general purpose processing; • 3rd Gen Nvidia Tensor cores for AI and machine learning; • 2nd Gen Nvidia RT cores that are dedicated to ray tracing. Different applications support these cores in different ways. Most CAD and BIM applications, for example, simply use the CUDA cores for rasterisation, to turn vector data into pixels (a raster image). On the other hand, an increasing number of visualisation tools can use all three types of cores. Real-time arch viz

software Enscape, for example, can use CUDA for rasterisation, RT cores to accelerate ray tracing calculations and Tensor cores for Nvidia Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS). DLSS allows scenes to be rendered in real time at lower resolutions and then deep learning-based upscaling techniques are used to output ‘a clean and sharp high-resolution image’. The aim is to boost 3D performance or cut render times. Other applications that can be accelerated by Nvidia’s RT and Tensor cores include Chaos V-Ray, Chaos Vantage, Solidworks Visualize, Luxion KeyShot, Unity, Nvidia Omniverse, Unreal Engine, Autodesk VRED and others.

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HARDWARE REVIEW

 If you’re looking for a powerful pro viz focused GPU with lots of memory, then the RTX A4500 and RTX A5000 both pack a real punch



The Nvidia RTX A4500 supports NVLink, so two GPUs can be physically connected to scale performance and double the memory to 40 GB in supported applications

Autodesk VRED Professional 2022 (OpenGL)

Unreal Engine 4.26 (DirectX 12 - rasterisation)

VRMark - Blue Room

Automotive model (No Anti Aliasing)

Audi car configurator model (ray tracing disabled)

DirectX 11

4K (3,840 x 2,160 resolution)

1.23

Frames Per Second (FPS) (bigger is better)

Nvidia RTX A4000 1

51.5 61.4

Nvidia RTX A5000 2 0

30 2

25.1 31.2

Nvidia RTX A5000 2

AMD Ryzen 5950X (Win 10 Pro, 462.59 driver)

33.0 0

Intel Core i9-12900K (Win 11 Pro, 511.09 driver)

15 2

1.23

Frames Per Second (FPS) (bigger is better)

Nvidia RTX A4000 1

Nvidia RTX A4500 1

63.3

Intel Core i9-12900K (Win 11 Pro, 511.09 driver)

1.23

Nvidia RTX A4000 1

Nvidia RTX A4500 1

4K (3,840 x 2,160 resolution)

Frames Per Second (FPS) (bigger is better)

75.33

Nvidia RTX A4500 1

91.89

Nvidia RTX A5000 2

98.25 0

AMD Ryzen 5950X (Win 10 Pro, 462.59 driver)

Intel Core i9-12900K (Win 11 Pro, 511.09 driver)

Autodesk VRED Professional 2022 (OpenGL)

Unreal Engine 4.26 (DirectX 12 - DXR)

VRMark - Cyan Room

Automotive model (Anti Aliasing - Ultra-high)

Audi car configurator model (ray tracing enabled)

DirectX 12

4K (3,840 x 2,160 resolution)

1.23

Nvidia RTX A4000 1

Frames Per Second (FPS) (bigger is better)

12.9 15.7

Nvidia RTX A5000 2

16.0 0

Intel Core i9-12900K (Win 11 Pro, 511.09 driver)

10 2

1.23

Nvidia RTX A4000 1

Nvidia RTX A4500 1

4K (3,840 x 2,160 resolution)

13.35

Nvidia RTX A4500 1

Intel Core i9-12900K (Win 11 Pro, 511.09 driver)

10 2

237.48 289.91

Nvidia RTX A5000 2

AMD Ryzen 5950X (Win 10 Pro, 462.59 driver)

100

Frames Per Second (FPS) (bigger is better)

Nvidia RTX A4500 1 19.02

0 1

1.23

AMD Ryzen 5950X (Win 10 Pro, 462.59 driver)

Nvidia RTX A4000 1 16.75

Nvidia RTX A5000 2

AMD Ryzen 5950X (Win 10 Pro, 462.59 driver)

Frames Per Second (FPS) (bigger is better)

323.43 0

100

Intel Core i9-12900K (Win 11 Pro, 511.09 driver)

150 2

200

250

300

350

AMD Ryzen 5950X (Win 10 Pro, 462.59 driver)

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HARDWARE REVIEW

the GPU is the bottleneck, rather than the CPU, we wouldn’t expect the CPU to influence the results that much. In our GPU rendering tests, as the role of the CPU is minimal, the comparison should be very precise.

Unreal Engine Audi car configurator

REAL-TIME PERFORMANCE There wasn’t a huge performance difference between the RTX A4500 and RTX A5000 in our real-time 3D tests. With our automotive test model in Autodesk VRED Professional, for example, the RTX A5000 was between 1.75% and 3.10% faster than the RTX A4500, depending on the level of anti-aliasing applied. We experienced similar in arch viz tool Enscape, with a difference of 2.85% when testing our large office scene. The RTX A5000 pulled ahead more in Unreal Engine, especially when real-time ray tracing was enabled on the Audi automotive model. The gap between the RTX A4000 and RTX A4500 was much bigger. This isn’t entirely surprising, as the RTX A4000 is a single-slot card, draws up to 140 W of power and features the lower spec GA104 processor. The RTX A4500 was around 20% to 25% faster than the RTX A4000 across the board.

For comparison, we tested an Nvidia RTX A4000 GPU in the same workstation. We did not have an Nvidia RTX A5000 in our possession, so took results from our June 2021 review (www.tinyurl.com/RTXA5000D3D). Back then, our test machine was different, a Scan 3XS GWP-ME A132R with an AMD Ryzen 5950X CPU, running Windows 10 Professional. With the AMD Ryzen 5950X having a different architecture and lower instructions per clock (IPC), and the workstation running a different OS, there’s a hint of an apples and pears comparison here. However, the results should still give a pretty good indication of relative performance. One might expect the AMD CPU to bring down scores slightly in some of our realtime 3D tests. However, as most of these benchmarks are very GPU-limited, where

GPU RENDERING In our GPU rendering benchmarks, the lead of the RTX A5000 over the RTX A4500 was much bigger.

Solidworks Visualize 2021 SP3 (Iray)

Chaos Group V-Ray 5.0 benchmark

1969 Camaro car model (denoising enabled)

V-Ray GPU RTX

100 passes, accurate quality 4K (3,840 x 1,080 resolution)

Render time (secs) (smaller is better)

1.23

Nvidia RTX A4000 1 Nvidia RTX A4500 1

Intel Core i9-12900K (Win 11 Pro, 511.09 driver)

10 2

Nvidia RTX A4000 1 1,944

Nvidia RTX A5000 2

14 15

500

Intel Core i9-12900K (Win 11 Pro, 511.09 driver)

1000 2

1500

2000

51.72

Nvidia RTX A4500 1

2,128 0

AMD Ryzen 5950X (Win 10 Pro, 462.59 driver)

It’s a very interesting time for professional workstation GPUs, and GPUs in general. While you might have your eye on a specific model in terms of features and price/performance, what you end up buying might be dictated more by what’s available in the channel. UK workstation manufacturer Scan, for example, currently has a ‘significant quantity’ of RTX A4500s available for workstation builds, while the RTX A5000 remains in short supply. The introduction of the RTX A4500 (and, last month, the RTX A5500) certainly gives customers options. If you’re looking for a powerful viz-focused GPU with lots of memory, then the RTX A4500 and RTX A5000 both pack a real punch. The price differential isn’t huge. And, with a little bit of luck, you may find one that fits your budget and workflows precisely.

1.23 Relative performance to reference system (bigger is better)

1,588

Nvidia RTX A4500 1

Nvidia RTX A5000 2

Nvidia RTX A4000 1

CONCLUSION

Luxion KeyShot 10 benchmark (GPU)

1.23 vrays (calculations per minute) (bigger is better)

In the Chaos V-Ray RTX benchmark, for example, it was 9.5% faster, rising to 26% in KeyShot 10. This may be because these benchmarks use all three types of processing cores – CUDA, Tensor and RT (see box below). The RTX A4500 was consistently faster than the RTX A4000, between 20% and 26% in most of our tests. You can read more about our testing process in our June 2021 review of the Nvidia RTX A4000 and RTX A5000 (www.tinyurl.com/RTXA5000-D3D).

Nvidia RTX A5000 2

2500

AMD Ryzen 5950X (Win 10 Pro, 462.59 driver)

65.52 82.60 0

Intel Core i9-12900K (Win 11 Pro, 511.09 driver)

40 2

100

AMD Ryzen 5950X (Win 10 Pro, 462.59 driver)

Solidworks Visualize 2021 SP3 (Iray) 1969 Camaro car model (denoising disabled) 1,000 passes, accurate quality 4K (3,840 x 1,080 resolution)

1.23

Render time (secs) (smaller is better)

Nvidia RTX A4000 1

208

Nvidia RTX A4500 1

158

Nvidia RTX A5000 2

140 0

Intel Core i9-12900K (Win 11 Pro, 511.09 driver)

100 2

150

200

250

AMD Ryzen 5950X (Win 10 Pro, 462.59 driver)

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NEW

Nvidia RTX A4000

Nvidia RTX A4500

Nvidia RTX A5000

Nvidia RTX A5500

Nvidia RTX A6000

Architecture

Ampere

GPU memory

16 GB GDDR6

20 GB GDDR6

24 GB GDDR6

48 GB GDDR6

ECC memory

Yes

CUDA cores

6,144

7,168

8,192

10,240

10,752

Tensor Cores

192

224

256

320

336

RT Cores

SP perf

19.2 TFLOPS

23.7 TFLOPS

27.8 TFLOPS

34.1 TFLOPS

38.7 TFLOPS

RT Core perf

37.4 TFLOPS

46.2 TFLOPS

54.2 TFLOPS

66.6 TFLOPS

75.6 TFLOPS

Tensor perf

153.4 TFLOPS

189.2 TFLOPS

222.2 TFLOPS

272.8 TFLOPS

309.7 TFLOPS

Max Power

140W

200W

230W

300W

Graphic bus

PCI-E 4.0 x16

Connectors

DP 1.4 (4)

Form Factor

Single slot

Dual Slot

vGPU Software

NVIDIA RTX vWS

Nvlink

N/A

2x RTX A4500

2x RTX A5000

2x RTX A5500

2x RTX A6000

Power Connector

1 x 6-pin PCIe

1 x 8-pin PCIe

1 x 8-pin CPU

Estimated street price (Ex VAT)

€1,519

€2,809

€3,379

€5,479

€6,349

Lumion 11.5 (DirectX 12 - rendering)

Enscape 3.0 (OpenGL)

Architectural house

Large building complex

8K (7,680 x 3,840 resolution)

1.23

Render time (secs) (smaller is better)

Nvidia RTX A4000 1 219

Nvidia RTX A5000 2 50

Intel Core i9-12900K (Win 11 Pro, 511.09 driver)

100 2

150

200

1.23

Frames Per Second (FPS) (bigger is better)

Nvidia RTX A4000 1

Nvidia RTX A4500 1

212 0

Roundabout model

4K (3,840 x 2,160 resolution)

272

Nvidia RTX A4500 1

LumenRT (DirectX)

Nvidia RTX A4000 1 35

Nvidia RTX A5000 2 250

AMD Ryzen 5950X (Win 10 Pro, 462.59 driver)

36 0

300 1

Intel Core i9-12900K (Win 11 Pro, 511.09 driver)

15 2

4K (3,840 x 2,160 resolution)

Nvidia RTX A4500 1 Nvidia RTX A5000 2

AMD Ryzen 5950X (Win 10 Pro, 462.59 driver)

0 1

Intel Core i9-12900K (Win 11 Pro, 511.09 driver)

15 2

AMD Ryzen 5950X (Win 10 Pro, 462.59 driver)

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LAST WORD

Cars have changed the world we live in, but last century’s automobile boom had consequences that designers and engineers never anticipated. Let’s not repeat the mistakes of the past, writes Stephen Holmes

am a self-confessed lover of cars and have always been one. From well before an age where I could actually reach the pedals, I was already enamoured by how cars looked, the speed at which they travelled and the sounds they made. Cars are deeply ingrained in my memories of growing up, such as sitting on my grandad’s lap and gripping the steering wheel while he worked the pedals; changing gear on command for my dad from the passenger seat when he dipped the clutch (cheaper than buying an automatic, I suppose); and having to freewheel my first car for two miles downhill with my friends in the back after breaking down – like a VW-badged bobsled, willing it to climb any rises in the road, so that nobody would have to get out and push. Despite my deep-rooted positivity towards the automobile, in recent times, I’ve become more aware of its impact as a global product, especially given there are few that have been as impactful and divisive. Living in a village in the arse-end of nowhere makes a car an everyday necessity. Which is not to say, of course, that users like me aren’t aware of the environmental damage they cause and don’t hope for a better solution. Everything about a car involves energy and waste. Mining metals (increasingly the rare earth variety), generating polymers and glasses, and that’s before you even fill one up with dead dinosaur juice. They’re also the vehicle of choice of empires and despots, transporting mobilised land warfare to far-flung

corners, helping chase native populations off their lands, and have been a lynchpin of segregation for generations. On the other hand, cars have helped the expansion of nations and enabled great expeditions to take place. They’re responsible for great moments in our culture, creating household names like Fangio, Schumacher and Hamilton. They have enabled countless households to experience a better quality of life, putting food on the table and allowing them to travel. In short, automotive design and engineering has had a deep impact on society, and few places have been as impacted as deeply as America.

LESSONS FROM HISTORY I’ve recently finished reading Another Fine Mess by the author Tim Moore, a book about an Englishman wanting to get an idea of the American psyche after the election of Donald Trump in 2016. Having zero mechanical experience, he buys a Model T Ford, and with the help of owners clubs across the US, he crosses the nation, breaking down frequently along the way. On his journey, Moore encounters a wide stretch of places and people, and their histories – all of them impacted by Henry Ford’s vision in one way or another. Few people, through a single product, have had such an enormous and widespread impact on the world, and while the Model T was only in production from 1908 to 1927, the effects of that car and its creators are so ingrained in American culture that the nation is still living with the consequences today. Reliance on road infrastructure; the



We’ve lived with mass-market automotive products for over one hundred years, but generations later, we’re left picking up the pieces



neglect of public transport systems; racial segregation – and that’s before you get to the downturn of American automotive manufacturing and the broken communities it has left behind in the ‘Rust Belt’. Then there’s the issue around mass manufacturing and how Ford’s production line set-up has impacted everything we consume. If you look at every problem in America today, you can link most of them back to its part in the gargantuan adoption of the Tin Lizzie. While looking at swathes of new vehicle designs for this issue, I’ve been questioning how much of what they offer to the user is beneficial, and how much of it is there to fix what has gone before. The feeling of driving an electric car is much the same as the very first car I ever drove. They still need a complex infrastructure, and the only benefit is the potential to run on a fuel that can eventually be sustainably harvested and produces no direct emissions. Going out and buying a Tesla won’t change the world to anything like the same extent as buying a Model T once did, as much as Musk and Co would have you believe. As a product, the car is no longer seen as a solution to problems. Instead, other products and solutions are now required to fix the problems caused by cars. We’ve lived with mass-market automotive products for a little over a hundred years, and they have transformed the world we live in, but generations later, we’re left picking up the pieces and trying to put things right. As a result, it’s probably worth considering, the next time you launch a product and your marketing department rushes to describe it as ‘game changing’, exactly what that change will look like a little further down the road. GET IN TOUCH: For anyone doubting the emotional impact of cars, Stephen still gets misty-eyed thinking about the old family Nissan Bluebird. And he can regularly be found pausing to stare at one that he’s discovered on the daily dog walk. On Twitter, he’s: @swearstoomuch

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