DEVELOP3D February 2021 by X3DMEDIA

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WELCOME EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief Al Dean al@x3dmedia.com +44 (0)7525 701 541 Managing Editor Greg Corke greg@x3dmedia.com +44 (0)20 3355 7312 Digital Media Editor Stephen Holmes stephen@x3dmedia.com +44 (0)20 3384 5297 Consulting Editor Jessica Twentyman jtwentyman@gmail.com +44 (0)20 7913 0919 Consulting Editor Martyn Day martyn@x3dmedia.com +44 (0)7525 701 542

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think, like many people, I expected the first few months of 2021 to be a lot less like 2020 than they have turned out to be. Checking my notes, we’ve so far had a US President refusing to leave the White House; an armed insurrection at the US Capitol; a range of vaccine supply issues and arguments; and more Covid-related deaths in the UK than at any other point in the last 12 months. I was also going to bring up Brexit on this list, but according to some critics, politics (and swearing) are not a good look for a professional magazine like this. Either way, the reality is that there’s so much to be vexed at, it does tend to seep into the mental cracks a lot, right? But onwards. This month, we have a belter of an issue for you. Stephen talks to the team at Momentum Vans in the US about how it uses a mix of tools (including Solid Edge and Fusion 360) to plan and execute its van conversions. Elsewhere, the folks at Added Scientific address a topic that I find endlessly fascinating; namely, when and how to use lattices and which ones to use. OPPO Design writes on how it approaches human-centred design and we talk to founder of Cosi Care and winner of the Rapid Challenge, Lauren Bell, about how she went from graduate to founder of her own start-up. To round things out, Greg takes a looks at a Threadripper Pro-based mobile workstation, as well as a compact but wide-format printer from Epson, while I review a new, intriguing mobile product from Acer. We’ll be back with another issue in March and it’s already looking like it’s going to be another cracker. Until then, stay safe out there, folks.

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

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© 2020 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. All rights reserved. AMD, the AMD Arrow logo, Radeon, and combinations thereof are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. PTC and Creo are trademarks or registered trademarks of PTC Inc. or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and in other countries. Siemens and NX are trademarks or registered trademarks of Siemens Industry Software Inc., or its subsidiaries or affiliates, in the United States and in other countries. Other product names used in this publication are for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective companies. 1

RPW-252: Testing as of May 30, 2019 by AMD Performance Labs on a test system comprising of an Intel® Xeon® 4-core W-2125, 32GB RAM, Windows® 10 Fall Creators Update Professional 64-bit, AMD Radeon™ Pro WX 3200, AMD Radeon™ Pro Software Enterprise Edition 19.Q2 and Nvidia Quadro P620, 430.39. The SPECviewperf® 13 benchmark measures graphics performance with a variety of applications. The performance presented in Radeon™ Pro WX 3200 graphics workstation is greater in comparison to the Nvidia Quadro P620 graphics workstation as follows: - creo-02 scored 73.65 on the Radeon™ Pro WX 3200 graphics system while the Nvidia Quadro P620 system scored 58.32 for a comparison of 73.65/58.32=1.26 - snx-03 scored 110.53 on the Radeon™ Pro WX 3200 graphics system while the Nvidia Quadro P620 system scored a 92.59 for a comparison of 110.53/92.59=1.19. PC manufacturers may vary configurations yielding different results. Performance may vary based on use of latest drivers. SPEC® and SPECviewperf® are registered trademarks of Standard Performance Testing Corporation. Additional information about the SPEC® benchmarks can be found at www.spec.org/gwpg RPW-252

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CONTENTS FEBRUARY 2021 ISSUE NO. 124

NEWS Formlabs launches long-awaited Fuse 1 laser sintering machine; Desktop Metal snaps up EnvisionTEC to expand its polymer-based offerings; Protolabs acquires 3D Hubs, plus lots more...

12 15 16 18 26 30 33 36

FEATURES Comment: Erin McDermott introduces OddEngineer.com Comment: Akshay Thayman on post-Brexit IP issues Visual Design Guide: Amazon Zoox autonomous robotaxi COVER STORY: Happy trails at Momentum Vans Switch blade: Developing PAL-V’s flying car Opinion: OPPO Design on human-centric design Cosi Care and the RAPID Challenge Applied Scientific: Topology optimisation or lattice work?

REVIEWS 40 Lenovo Thinkstation P620 [AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro] 47 Acer ConceptD 7 Ezel 48 Epson SureColor T3100M THE LAST WORD 50 Al Dean ponders the much-hyped idea of the ‘digital twin’ and the real-world benefits it might actually deliver 51 DEVELOP3D SERVICES

2021

8 September 2021 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

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NEWS

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT TECHNOLOGY NEWS

FORMLABS LAUNCHES LONG-AWAITED FUSE 1 LASER SINTERING MACHINE » Four years after Formlabs first announced it was working on the project, the company has unveiled its roadmap for revolutionising laser sintering

ormlabs has finally launched its long-awaited Fuse 1 selective laser sintering (SLS) machine, a device first announced in 2017. The benchtop-focused Fuse 1 and its companion Fuse Sift depowdering device are now generally available and ready for ordering. This is the first time that Formlabs has stepped away from its traditional stereolithography (SLA) machines. And while it’s certainly not the first attempt to build a benchtop laser sinterer, it’s certainly the first from an established machine builder. “The Form 1 redefined SLA printing for the additive manufacturing industry ten years ago, and now the Fuse 1 is bringing the same reliability and accessibility standards that Formlabs customers expect of industrial 3D printing,” said Max Lobovsky, CEO and co-founder of Formlabs. SLS 3D printing shouldn’t just be for those companies with big budgets, he

added. “It needs to be accessible, so that all companies — from start-ups to big manufacturers — can benefit from the design freedom and high productivity that SLS 3D printing provides.” The Fuse 1 launched with a nylon 12 material that promises a 70% refresh rate. (In other words, you need to add 30% fresh powder to that which has already been used – a pretty solid improvement on the industry standard 50%.) The build chamber is 165 x 165 x 320 mm and modular in nature, meaning that a new build can be removed and cooled/ broken out, while a new one is inserted, heated and built. The Fuse Sift depowdering machine also looks interesting. It neatly combines a break-out station, material recovery and powder recycling station (including an integrated mixing capability), all in one device. The Fuse 1 is available for order now for $18,499, with the additional post processing device available for $8,999. formlabs.com

Top: The Formlabs Fuse 1 is intended for workshop use, as is the Fuse Sift for depowdering and recycling

Above: Laser sintered nylon has proven useful for many jobs, from creating jigs and fixtures to final, end-use parts

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NEWS

PROTOLABS ACQUIRES 3D HUBS TO EXPAND SERVICE OFFERING

Polestar to use Catia for EV engineering

assault Systèmes has announced that Swedish electric performance car brand Polestar has selected Catia to support the design and development of all its future electric car models. Launched in 2017, Polestar prides itself on being a sustainable brand in the automotive industry, which has faced increased scrutiny of its environmental credentials in recent years. The automotive brand is owned by Volvo Cars (itself a long-term Catia user) and, by extension, parent company Geely. 3ds.com | polestar.com

rotolabs is set to acquire 3D Hubs, providing it with a network of manufacturing partners to fulfil a breadth of capabilities outside of its current offering, as well as provide a wider range of pricing and lead time options. The transaction creates one of the world’s most comprehensive digital manufacturing offerings for custom parts, evolving the Protolabs service model. The deal totals $280 million, to be funded with cash and equity, and up to an additional $50 million of ‘contingent consideration’. Protolabs’ incoming president and CEO Rob Bodor said: “Our combined organisations will provide the market with an industry-leading digital manufacturing solution to serve their needs from idea to prototype to full end-use part production. Together we can fulfil nearly every custom manufacturing need across the product lifecycle.”

Founded in 2013, 3D Hubs has facilitated the production of over six million custom parts and products through its digital platform. It provides customers with instant pricing and design feedback, and orders are fulfilled through thoroughly vetted premium manufacturing partners in over 20 countries worldwide, offering a wide range of manufacturing capacity and capabilities at a variety of pricing levels. “The entire 3D Hubs team is thrilled to join Protolabs and continue to revolutionise the manufacturing industry through innovation,” said 3D Hubs CEO Bram de Zwart. “At 3D Hubs, our goal is to empower companies to create revolutionary products through supply chain efficiency and reliability. We are confident that partnering with Protolabs will help us advance that mission.” protolabs.com | 3dhubs.com

Oqton raises $40m Series A funding from backers including Sandvik

qton has raised over $40M in Series A funding, including investment from engineering group Sandvik, which continues to make bold moves into digital manufacturing technology. The company has already established partnerships with EOS, Sisma, Trumpf, Prodways and Sandvik, but it is the final company on that list that has turned investor as part of a strategic agenda to broaden its offering in the sector. In recent times, Sandvik has acquired CGTech, maker of CNC simulation software Vericut; bought a stake in metals 3D printing expert BeamIT; and joined AM partner projects with industry powerhouses including GE Additive. “We are looking forward to working with Oqton and finding ways to expand our offering for increased customer productivity, by creating new products that take advantage of Sandvik’s extensive know-how about manufacturing processes and Oqton’s AI-

Siemens certifies NX to run on Azure NVv4

iemens NX can now run on cloud workstations using the GPU-accelerated Microsoft Azure NVv4 family of virtual machines. Powered by AMD Epyc CPUs and AMD Radeon Instinct GPUs, companies can choose from a range of Microsoft Azure performance options, from four to 32 CPU cores, up to 112 GB RAM, and 2GB to 16GB GPU memory. With hardware-based GPU-partitioning, virtual machines can be tailored to customers’ precise needs. microsoft.com | siemens.com

AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro available March

A powered manufacturing solutions,” said Sandvik CEO Stefan Widing. Oqton claims that its platform is capable of combining several software capabilities into a single platform, including CAD, PLM, CAM, IOT, MES and QMS, allowing for an “unprecedented degree” of AIpowered automation and optimisation. oqton.com

MD is to make its Ryzen Threadripper Pro processor available to consumers starting March 2021. Currently, the only way to get hold of a Threadripper Pro is inside a Lenovo ThinkStation P620 workstation, due to an exclusive agreement between the two companies. By opening up access to the powerful desktop CPU, we expect to see other companies launch their own Threadripper Pro workstations soon. See page 40 for our review of the Lenovo ThinkStation P620 with the 64-core Threadripper Pro. amd.com/threadripper

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DESKTOP METAL MAKES MOVE FOR ENVISIONTEC & PLASTICS

esktop Metal has acquired EnvisionTEC, throwing the newly public additive manufacturing company into the fresh, deep waters of photopolymer 3D printing. The deal, valued at $300m, sees Desktop Metal enter EnvisionTEC’s world of tried-andtested DLP 3D printing, and gain access to its research in biofabrication and digital casting. The $300 million transaction combines cash and newly issued Desktop Metal stock and is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2021. As a pioneer of digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing technology, EnvisionTEC has a strong position when it comes to intellectual property, with over 140 issued and pending patents. Desktop Metal CEO Ric Fulop, said: “EnvisionTEC is a true pioneer and responsible for many of the leading technologies widely used today to produce end-use photopolymer parts through additive manufacturing. Together, Desktop Metal and EnvisionTEC have an opportunity to shape the future of Additive Manufacturing 2.0 and transform how parts are made around the world.” Covering a broad range of industries, including medical devices, jewellery, automotive, aerospace, and biofabrication, the company has a strong base in the dental market, where it has seen increasing competition in recent years from the likes of Formlabs and Carbon. Key to the future, however,

might be Desktop Metal’s access to digital casting capabilities via EnvisionTEC’s Robotic Additive Manufacturing (RAM) product platform, which targets industrialscale production. EnvisionTEC’s RAM systems, which the company claims are available for as little as one-quarter of the price of “slower legacy alternatives”, use patented technology to produce mould cores and investment casting patterns for foundry applications, using either Polymethyl Methacrylate (PMMA) or silica sand. Desktop Metal plans to significantly advance the performance of this platform with its proprietary and patent-pending Single Pass Jetting technology, originally developed for its own production system. This, it claims, offers improved part economy in builds as large as 1.8 x 0.9 x. 0.9 metres. desktopmetal.com envisiontec.com

With the acquisition of Envisiontec, Desktop Metal significantly expands its range of polymer-based offerings

OpenBOM has updated its plug-in for Fusion 360 to bring advanced data management, bill of materials and purchasing functions. Bi-directional data exchange with Fusion 360 supports advanced calculations for a variety of roll-ups, such as cost, mass and to provide a simple way to plan autodesk.com

Swatchbook is to tap into OTOY’s cloud-based render network for material and large-batch product rendering. Swatchbook has used OTOY’s render technology since it started and has produced over 100,000 renderings of realworld, supplier-provided materials in less than three years, all of which can be viewed in the Swatchbook marketplace swatchbook.com | otoy.com

Formlabs has added Castable Wax 40 Resin to its growing materials portfolio, allowing for professional quality jewellery casting. The target for Castable Wax 40 Resin is productionoriented jewellery, with Castable Wax 40 Resin providing results similar to blue carving wax formlabs.com

Dell launches new Dell Precision 3560 laptop designed for 2D and 3D CAD work

he Dell Precision 3560 is a new, entry-level 15-inch mobile workstation – a refresh of the Dell Precision 3550 that launched last May. The main improvements come from new processors, including Intel’s Tiger Lake-U 11th Gen CPUs and the Nvidia Quadro T500 GPU with 2GB GDDR6. The 1.59kg laptop supports up to 64 GB of memory. Dell says that the Precision 3560 is about 6% smaller than the 3550, but boasts advanced thermal designs that help keep the system running cool. There’s a choice of four Tiger Lake-U CPUs, including the top-end Intel Core i7-1185G7. The 15W processor’s 4.80 GHz Turbo makes it well-suited to singlethreaded applications like CAD, but with

ROUND UP

four cores and a base clock of 1.9 GHz, architects and engineers shouldn’t expect great multi-threaded performance in applications such as ray trace rendering. dell.com/workstations

The Dell Precision 3560 is a new, entry-level 15-inch mobile featuring Intel’s Tiger Lake-U 11th Gen CPUs

SkyReal has signed up to HP’s ISV programme, taking its place as a key virtual reality (VR) partner. The company will support the roll-out of the HP Reverb G2 VR headset, which is now being bundled with SkyReal's software skyreal.com

The glTF standard has added new physically based rendering (PBR) extensions for clear coat, transmission and sheen. It is run by industry consortium Khronos Group, which creates advanced standards for 3D graphics, AR/VR and machine learning khronos.org

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COMMENT

When in-person meetings are impossible, how can hardware engineers make the personal connections that fuel opportunities? Erin McDermott talks us through the idea behind OddEngineer.com

n 2020, I wrote about the negative impacts of losing face-to-face interactions involved in physical product development. Not long ago, shared coffees and beers led to strengthened personal connections, which in turn, fuelled all sorts of deals. Also, these meetings often involved important third parties: the widgets themselves. What a blow it’s been to be separated from our fellow nerds and all those sprockets! Luckily, we humans have got at least one good thing going for us: we sure know how to adapt. Let’s talk about the workarounds we’re creating. The most obvious new method of connecting is probably all the online conferences to spring up. Where in-person gatherings used to be, video screens replete with comments along the lines of “You’re muted!”, and “Can you hear me?”, and “Your video isn’t on” can sometimes fill in. They don’t patch the hole completely, however. There aren’t replacements for all the gatherings I used to attend. Turnout tends to be lower. Also, there aren’t always opportunities to mingle. While these limitations put a damper on things, online meetings can still help groups survive. For example, Silicon Valley Robotics MeetUp successfully brought its long standing ‘Bots and Beers’ event online. On the other side of the United States, the NY Hardware Start-up Meetup is expanding by including members and speakers from outside of New York.

JOB HUNTING CHALLENGES For job seekers working on physical products, more acute help is needed. Your best shot at getting your foot in a company’s door has always been through a referral by someone ‘in the club’. It’s way better than trying to jam keywords from a job posting into your CV, so that Nancy in HR selects you when she plays her word-matching game. So, how can job seekers connect with hiring entities today, while also earning an insider stamp of approval? To address this need, Silicon Valley Robotics again stepped up with its monthly Online Robotics Job Fair. The Prepared newsletter is another place to find job listings, and has been for a while, but with other ways to connect with hiring managers lost, its importance is growing. With both niche organisations, just knowing about them earns you an ‘in the know’ stamp.



For job seekers working on physical products, more acute help is needed. Your best shot at getting your foot in a company’s door has always been through a referral by someone ‘in the club’. It’s way better than trying to jam keywords from a job posting into your CV, so that Nancy in HR selects you when she plays her word-matching game

 Others are putting effort into digital marketing and branding for the first time. Some small business owners are rethinking their offerings. They’re finding ways to apply their skills in new industries, expanding their potential client bases.

INTRODUCING ODDENGINEER.COM On my own journey, “How do I connect with more paying clients?” turned into, “Looks like I’m building a second business.” Last summer, I realised the return on investment from promotional efforts isn’t high enough if they don’t include in-person meetings. Also, the ways I leveraged my network weren’t paying off, because many I worked with needed more business guidance. So, I brought everything to a halt in order to research other avenues. I seriously considered shuttering my business. The conclusions I came to were: 1. Hang on, there is still great value in my network. Tangible benefits can still be derived from us working together; 2. Freelance engineers and small businesses need more guidance than I can offer in a book; 3. A marketplace platform, designed to elevate engineers instead of forcing their wages down, could offer a solution. Over the following months, I researched existing marketplace platforms and interviewed tech pros needing a leg-up. The grander vision I came up with is a multifaceted network where hardware engineers can get the support they need most. However, the minimum viable product I’m testing first is much smaller. It focuses on bringing engineers publicity. It simply includes a bunch of profiles of niche physical product development

experts, and the opportunity to immediately book a one-hour, paid appointment with any of them. I built OddEngineer.com to try this idea out. One of the hardest parts was teasing out the niche specialty of each pro. Unlike a CV or LinkedIn profile, the framing is more like what you’d say to another tech pro when you refer someone to them: “I know a thermals/injection molding/ lighting/IR sensor/IoT/wireless power/etcetera guy you should talk to for that.” Specialisation makes us special! You can book one of the specialists on Odd Engineer yourself. Or, you can sign up on the waitlist to become one of the featured pros (pilot spaces are limited). After the four-month pilot finishes, I plan to shut it all down. If it doesn’t show promise, it stays shut down. If it yields metrics that validate the idea, I’ll rebuild it from scratch, so that Version 2 can scale bigger and faster. Of course, I’m hoping it’s the latter! If you have ideas for what you’d like to see in Version 2, you can submit them to me in a survey on OddEngineer.com. Your input would be most valuable! After all, I’m building this thing not just for me, but to help all of us.

GET IN TOUCH: Erin M McDermott directs optical engineering at Spire Starter, helping hardware engineers who don’t know that things using light (cameras, LED illumination, laser processes, and so on) need competent design, optimisation, and tolerancing like the rest of their widget. She also runs OddEngineer.com, connecting manufacturers and start-ups with niche hardware engineering experts. Get in touch at spirestarter.com or @erinmmcdermott

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COMMENT

In the post-Brexit UK, we need to reassess how we navigate new rules around intellectual property, trade marks and design rights protection, writes Akshay Thaman, an IP analyst at GovGrant

ith the Brexit transition period now over, businesses are beginning to navigate the new challenges and hurdles that a post-Brexit landscape presents. Most of the media coverage around the deadline has focused upon companies trading in Europe and delays faced at the border. However, for businesses operating in the intellectual property sphere, there are a number of changes and new rules to be aware of, some of which you might not yet have encountered.

the UKIPO to confirm this. If you need to locate the certification, you can do so online, via the UK registers for design and trade marks at gov.uk. If your EUTM/RCD was due for renewal before 31 December 2020, the renewal may not automatically apply to your new UK right if the renewal is not paid within six months of the expiry date. Furthermore, for applications that were pending on 31 December 2020, there is now a 9-month window in which to file the equivalent application in the UK, in order to maintain the same filing and priority dates.

WHAT ARE THE CHANGES TO TRADE MARKS AND DESIGN RIGHTS?

If you are currently considering applying for a trade mark or design right, it is crucial to note that the EUTM now does not cover the UK. You will need to apply via the UKIPO in order to have protection in place in the UK. Likewise, for international applications, the UK will have to be designated separately from the EU in order to obtain specific protection. Patent applications, however, can still be filed via the European Patent Office (EPO) for protection in the UK, as this is a completely separate entity from the EU and is therefore unaffected by the UK’s departure. Prior to the Brexit transition date, the UK was part of the Unregistered Community Designs (UCDs) system, where if a design was published in either the UK or the EU, the designer automatically received protection in both. However, this no longer applies – so the UKIPO has introduced its own version of the unregistered design right known as the Supplementary Unregistered Design (SUD) right, which serves the same purpose but applies

GETTING ONTO THE TRADE MARK/ DESIGN LADDER

If you own an EU Trade Mark (EUTM) or a Registered Community Design (RCD) right, or both – or if you are currently in the process of trying to obtain one – there are a number of changes you should be aware of now that the UK has left the EU.

WHAT TO DO AS A EUTM/RCD OWNER The UK designation of your EUTM or RCD is no longer valid as of January 2021. However, the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) will automatically give you an equivalent registered trade mark or design right in the UK without the need for additional examination or for any fees to be paid. If you own an international trade mark or design right that designates the EU, then the same will apply. In addition, the priority dates, legal status and remaining lifetime of your EUTM or RCD are all preserved under the new UK-registered version, but you will not receive a new certification from

only in the UK and not across the EU. For SUD protection to apply, the first disclosure must take place in the UK and not anywhere else.

ASPECTS OF IP THAT NEED YOUR ATTENTION NOW If you have a trade mark or design right, it is vital to undertake an IP review as soon as possible in order to determine whether any of these changes affect you. Any EU or international trade mark or design applications which are still pending should be extended to the UK to account for the separation of the two IP protection systems. In addition, if you routinely take part in parallel trade (cross-border sale of physical goods that have already entered the market), it is worth understanding the changes to the rules around IP. If you are still parallel exporting IP-protected goods into the European Economic Area (EEA) as of January 2021, you may need the permission of the rights holder to do so (as where previously the IP rights attached to the goods would have been exhausted after the first sale, this rule no longer applies). Parallel imports into the UK from the EEA, however, remain unaffected as the aforementioned rule is still in place here.

GET IN TOUCH: Akshay Thaman’s role is to help UK businesses become centres of innovation. He works closely with GovGrant clients to uncover IP that may be hidden in their businesses. Starting with the R&D tax claim, he can analyse and identify the potential for a patent that will unlock further tax savings by utilising the UK’s Patent Box scheme. Get in touch at govgrant.co.uk/ip-services



If you have a trade mark or design right, it is vital to undertake an IP review as soon as possible in order to determine whether any of these changes affect you. Any EU or international trade mark or design applications which are still pending should be extended to the UK to account for the separation of the two IP protection systems

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VISUAL DESIGN GUIDE ZOOX L5 AUTONOMOUS ROBOTAXI Now a wholly owned subsidiary of Amazon, Zoox has unveiled its L5 autonomous-capable robotaxi, which it claims brings comfort and safety to the idea of driverless taxi transportation

SAFETY IS PARAMOUNT Rather than working around traditional airbags, the Zoox team started from scratch, enabling them to rethink the airbag to better protect passengers’ heads, necks and chests. Most cars only target a 5-star crash rating for people in the front seat. Zoox think all riders deserve the same level of protection.“Safety is the foundation of everything we do. Building a vehicle from the ground up has given us the opportunity to reimagine passenger safety, shifting from reactive to proactive measures,” says Jesse Levinson, Zoox Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder

COMPACT SIZE & BI- DIRECTIONAL TRAVEL With no driver, space is freed up inside, while the vehicle stays small enough to navigate busy streets nimbly. The bidirectional nature of the vehicle, which has no front or back, combined with four-wheel steering, means that it can travel forwards or backwards as needed, so pick-ups and drop-offs become seamless

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LUXURIOUS INTERIOR The vehicle features a four-seat, face-toface symmetrical seating configuration that eliminates the steering wheel, with bench seating seen in conventional car designs. Says the company: “Set your coffee down, or top up your phone with wireless charging. Travel in comfort, with everything you need and nothing you don’t. Check your ETA, location and route any time — and set the music and air exactly the way you want them.”

SENSOR CENTRAL Cameras, radar and LIDAR sensors provide an overlapping field of view and 270° coverage. This enables the vehicle to detect its surroundings in all directions equally safely. In fact, it can ‘see’ objects over 150m away, even around corners. That means it knows what’s coming up, way in advance

INSPIRED BY NATURE The name Zoox is inspired by Zooxanthellae: mobile, algae-like organisms, powered by photosynthesis. Zooxanthellae thrive in mutually beneficial relationships with coral, providing an essential source of energy that supports biodiverse coral reef ecosystems

SMALL FOOTPRINT & LONG RANGE At 3.63m long, the vehicle has one of the smallest footprints in the automotive industry. The vehicle also features a 133 kWh battery, one of the largest available in electric vehicles today, allowing it to operate for up to 16 continuous hours on a single charge

NEXT STEPS

Zoox is currently testing in Las Vegas, San Francisco and Foster City and develops its products with Dassault Systèmes 3Dexperience, Catia and Solidworks zoox.com

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After a busy day of outdoor pursuits, owners of a Momentum van can relax in comfort

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COVER STORY

OUTWARD BOUND » A family-owned company is transforming humble cargo vans into custom-made adventure camping vehicles. Stephen Holmes speaks to Momentum Vans, where ingenious design means wanderlust comes with a touch of luxury

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hrowing your things into the back of a van and driving off to explore the great outdoors is something many of us can only dream of right now. That kind of Instagram-friendly freedom is a far cry from our current cold winter lockdown. Yet for a lucky few, and perhaps many more in future, a luxury base from which to bike, ski or simply work remotely is now a possibility. And it comes with the bonus of filling your window with whatever spectacular scenery your chosen destination has to offer. Momentum Vans make this possible for customers. It transforms the reliable Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van, a workhorse for thousands of tradesmen and businesses, into a luxury cabin on wheels, containing everything you could need for your bespoke escapades. The recreational vehicle (RV) sector is booming right now and Momentum Vans operates at the top end of the market. Pushing the limits of what can be achieved in a tailored product, its designs are built to a level of quality and finish that wouldn’t look out of place on a luxury yacht. In fact, the lavish nature of the cabins, complete with tightly packed cubbies and ingenious folding mechanisms, harks back to a heritage in the marine sector.

1 1 Skillful interior ● A third-generation family business, CEO Brian Wright’s design means plenty great-grandfather and grandfather started a boat building of space to host business in the US Pacific Northwest in 1955. multiple occupants They built sporty fibreglass vessels, “the type that you could throw on top of the Griswold family station wagon and take off to the lake to go fishing,” laughs Wright, speaking from Momentum Vans’ headquarters just outside of Seattle. The boat business grew and transitioned into designs honed for outdoor sport, developing a cult following in that corner of America for its well-built and functional products. This ethos has persisted with Brian Wright who, having qualified as a mechanical engineer, joined his wife Brianna and his father Dave in setting up Momentum Vans in 2018. The transferrable skills and know-how passed down from designing boat cabins have provided the perfect fit for the new company, and all without the extra work of having to worry about building a boat hull or the intricacies of marine power systems. “We specifically targeted the custom, high-end, niche build from the beginning,” says Wright. “We really enjoy the custom projects and being challenged by our customers.” The company’s customer rollcall includes extreme sports fanatics looking to reach farflung, outlying tracks, to photographers aiming to capture the perfect viewpoint.

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COVER STORY We have ‘‘ definitely

lived this lifestyle ourselves. We’re doing a lot of outdoor activities, so that relates well to our customers

’’

“We have definitely lived this lifestyle,” says Wright. “With my wife, we ski, mountain bike, paraglide and skydive. We’re doing a lot of outdoor activities, so that relates well to our customers.” With this first-hand experience, the team at Momentum Vans is always finding clever new ways to accommodate different sporting goods and equipment for outdoor activities, as well as luxuries for winding down afterwards. “It’s such an interesting market that we’re a part of, and it’s constantly surprising us what people are trying to do in these spaces,” says Wright. “It’s really fun, because I think a lot of ideas come from us being the experts in [using] space. My wife and I lived in a sailboat for three years, and we’ve spent a lot of time in vans ourselves.” While they have a lot of information to share with customers on how best to use limited space, he adds, they’re constantly being challenged and pushed by customers to do things that at first seem impossible – right until they try them and manage to make them work.

QUALITY CONTENT There’s no such thing as a typical van layout, but each product is remarkable for just how much can be squeezed, slid and folded into the vehicle. Full kitchens, multiple beds, entertainment systems and stand-up shower cubicles are all possible, as well as specialist fixings for securing sports equipment.

Almost all of the builds get off-road-specific gear added to them, upgrading suspension, wheels and tyres to aid traction. Large battery banks, compressors and even winches can be mounted. In a van design named Lumen, for example, Momentum was challenged to fit a family of five into the shortwheelbase variant of the Mercedes Sprinter, while still creating space for a functioning shower. On top of this, the father also wanted the space available for the van to double as a mobile office when he wasn’t camping with the family on the weekends. To make this happen, a ‘conference room’ set-up was created, including desk space and a flip-down screen for conference calls. “What sets us apart is our design aesthetic: we’re very conscious of how the space feels and flows,” says Wright. “I know that can sound like a kind of ‘woo-woo’ subjective term, but we’re really intentional not to build full-height cabinets on both sides of the van, making things feel really claustrophobic. We’re trying to make these vans feel as open and spacious as possible, because they are fairly small spaces.” Cramming everything in is not good enough if elements clash when moved or impact other spaces when used. Another factor is being able to stand up to life on the road. As well as looking and feeling luxurious, the interiors need to fit perfectly and maintain this fit, however bumpy the journey gets. “I have not seen anyone else with as clean and as tight a fit and finish as we have,” says Wright. “So when we’re talking about gaps between wall and ceiling panels, and the way our cabinetry interacts with the vehicle, everything is just designed intentionally and perfectly.” Getting the design right begins with a customer consultation, carried out either by inviting them in to the design studio or via a web call. Initial concepts take note of how the customer envisages using their van, and the capacity and equipment they’ll need inside. Pencil sketches of a general layout are produced from this description, and from there, the design moves into a quick CAD model. Once the customer brings in the van to be converted, it can take the team anywhere from a day to several months to build in all the different elements.

DIGITAL DILIGENCE In a previous job, Wright spent a lot of time in a sheet metal environment. “I started off going in that direction, but it just seemed that the software for the solid model environment is a bit easier and cleaner than worrying about accidentally putting a flange where we can’t bend a piece of plywood,” he says. He discovered the Solid Edge for Startups programme, and from there, used the Siemens Digital Industries software for more complicated assemblies; for example, managing parts libraries and components that are used

A family affair: Momentum Vans was founded by husband2 ) and and-wife team Brian (● 3 ) along with Brianna Wright (● 4 ) Brian’s father Dave (●

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consistently, including the 3D shells for each size of Mercedes Sprinter van. “Then, for on-the-fly manufacturing, we use Autodesk Fusion 360 for quick parts from the shop that maybe our woodworker has sketched up and needs ‘that hour’. We can react really quickly that way. But it’s also how we programme our CNC router,” he explains. Both software products serve specific purposes at Momentum Vans, he says. “I use Solid Edge for the global design and layout of the space and any parts that we’re going to be using repeatedly. I feel like I have a better grasp on revision control and that global library with Solid Edge. But then for the quick-and-dirty stuff, our woodworker has a CAD station where he can just draw a simple part and CNC it from Fusion.” Momentum Vans keeps as much of its production as possible in-house. Its nine employees tackle everything: cabinetry, upholstery and electrical or mechanical upgrades, such as audio-visual and suspension kits. “Sometimes that may be to our detriment. It’s probably cheaper to pay a job shop for some things,” Wright says – but it pays off, he insists, in terms of faster responses to customer requests.

I use Solid ‘‘ Edge for the global design and layout of space and for any parts that we use repeatedly. Then, for on-thefly work, we use Autodesk Fusion 360

’’

9 5 6

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COVER STORY

5 Bespoke cabinetry ●

is a feature of all Momentum Vans vehicles 6 ● 7 Ingenious ●

storage is key to setting off for an adventure fully equipped 8 Each van ●

is designed to accommodate its owners’ specialist sports equipment 9 Fully serviced ●

galley kitchen with dining space 10 A full-height ●

shower to wash away the grime of the day 11 The Wright ●

family’s own enthusiasm for the great outdoors informs their designs for customers

“Especially with Covid, I’m so thankful that we made the decision to be pretty self-sufficient. In the last year, our biggest headaches have been outside vendors and supplychain issues,” he says. Because of its marine background, Momentum Vans uses stainless steel fasteners in all its vehicles, and wiring rated by the ABYC (American Boat and Yacht Council). “We’re using high-end components wherever we possibly can,” highlights Wright, noting that the rest of the RV industry is heading in the other direction, in order to compete on price. “We offer the ability to customise every bit of cabinetry and material in the vehicle, down to the colour of the screws.” Showcasing high levels of detail to potential clients is the next stage in the process, and the team is looking to grow its photorealistic rendering abilities. Currently, they demo vans and use physical colour swatches to help new customers decide on the customisations they want. However, with the pandemic unrelenting and Momentum’s reputation fast extending beyond the state of Washington, more digital approaches are needed. A recent project for a client 3,000 miles away in Florida proved to be Momentum’s most high-end project yet, and was achieved using a lot of web meetings, screen-sharing of CAD models, and by mailing out physical colour swatches and material samples. A physical mood board, featuring upholstery for the ceiling and wall panels and materials for the cabinetry and countertops, was sent out to the client, demonstrating how well all the chosen colours and textures would work together and would flow from the ceiling to the floor of the vehicle.

Wright admits that digital limitations make things trickier with a customer that’s not local: “We don’t make any decisions without the customer’s approval, so there’s a lot of logistical back and forth – but everyone’s been extremely pleased with the end product, and ultimately it’s been exactly what they’re looking for.”

NEW JOURNEYS AHEAD With Covid-19 restricting people’s travel by more traditional transportation methods, Momentum Vans has seen a considerable uptick in interest in its products over the least year. People are still looking to explore the vast American outdoors, but also to maintain their social distance, all from the safety of a private mobile base. The company’s strong presence on social media helps a great deal, in ways that Wright describes (positively) as “absolutely crazy”. In other words, some people scroll through Instagram, see a Momentum van, and then call up and place an order in the region of $150,000. It’s testament not just to how much shopping habits have changed, but also to how people find desirable new products to buy in the first place. Happy customers then share their own Momentum-based adventures on social media, boosting exposure and often drawing interest from further afield. The craziest request that the team has turned down was for a bathtub to be installed – but most suggestions have been realised in some form or other and squeezed onboard. That means there are few limitations to the home comforts customers can experience, wherever their sense of adventure takes them. momentumvans.com

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02/02/2021 08:57

PROFILE

SWITCH BLADE The PAL-V smartly combines car and gyroplane

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The design and configuration of Dutch company PAL-V’s flying car was built on a solid foundation of PLM and cloud, using technology from PTC

hen it comes to technology, the Dutch have always been pioneers. Pendulum clocks, metronomes, microscopes and yachts can all be attributed to brilliant minds from the Netherlands. PAL-V continues the long tradition of Dutch ingenuity, adding yet another potentially world-changing invention to the list: the flying car. PAL-V (Personal Air and Land Vehicle) is an innovative company founded in 2008 that is aiming to bring together the best thinking from the aviation and automobile industries. The idea behind the company was born when one of its co-founders began flying in 1999. He faced a hassle experienced by many pilots. He would drive to the hangar in order to depart by plane, only to arrive at his destination in need of a car. Unpredictable weather conditions can add further complications, if pilots are unable to fly back safely to their original point of departure. More than 20 years on, PAL-V offers customers a new way to ‘fly/drive’, with the goal of making aviation more practical for everyday use. Says PAL-V CEO and co-founder Robert Dingemanse: “Everyone has been a child and stood looking at the sky, thinking, ‘I want to fly. I want to be as free as a bird.’ The flying car today is made up of existing and

proven technologies. It can be certified within existing regulations. When we started, we were just building a flying car. Now we’re recognised as the leader in the future of flying mobility.”

RAPID PROGRESS, ADVANCED TECH Within the first few years following its founding, PAL-V progressed its flying car prototype by combining the structures of a three-wheeled car and a gyroplane – a type of rotorcraft that uses an unpowered top rotor to deliver lift, with thrust provided independently by an engine-driven propeller. As this prototype work unfolded, the team realised that its needs were outgrowing its technology capabilities. The earliest work was performed entirely on-site by a small team of 10 people. By 2014, the team had grown to 15, but its systems and methods hadn’t changed. Version control and configuration management of products and designs were still performed by individuals, using a manual naming and numbering system. Fast-forward to today, and the team numbers over 40 people and is continuing to grow rapidly. In addition, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) lays down strict regulations for rotorcraft design and operation. Moving from an experimental prototype to actual production would require PAL-V to ensure its data was traceable and complied with strict rules. PAL-V recognised that, in order to grow the company, continue daily operations at scale, and abide by aerospace regulations, it would need a stronger technology foundation to manage complete design specifications in a controlled manner.

UP IN THE CLOUDS

This led PAL-V on a hunt for a product lifecycle management (PLM) system that could provide firm foundations for good data governance and compliance. PTC’s Windchill SaaS and PTC Cloud proved natural fits for its product development needs. Windchill provides an authoritative ‘single source of truth’ for data and its open architecture supports integration with other enterprise systems. That makes it a good cornerstone for a productdriven digital thread. The SaaS offering, meanwhile,

1 The PAL-V flying ●

car offers a new type of fly/drive experience 2 The vehicle’s ●

design is based on existing and proven technologies

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PROFILE With the PLM platform, PAL-V can focus on what matters most: driving value and growing its business, he adds: “We’ve grown quite fast, and we expect to involve a lot of partners in the future, whether it’s maintenance partners or flight schools. We need a solid system to grow on, and Windchill provides that.”

COLLABORATION HUB

3 Production ●

of the Liberty Pioneer edition will commence in 2022

PAL-V knew that continued growth would create the need for more data storage and advanced sharing capabilities – but its IT systems couldn’t scale to meet these needs without imposing a significant burden on the company’s IT team. That led to the decision to invest in the PTC Cloud to manage and store data. The flexibility of this was crucial 3 to PAL-V’s mission, and it worked with the PTC Cloud team, as well as an integration partner, to customise and makes it easier for customers to configure, scale and configure its platform with all the functionality needed. secure its PLM instance. It also supports collaboration and Furthermore, PTC Cloud offered the high degree of agility across distributed teams, including remote work security that PAL-V needed to keep its proprietary design environments. specifications safe. Plus, a key factor in PAL-V’s decision to use Windchill In its production process, PAL-V is now able to involve was that it was the only out-of-the-box implementation suppliers through the PTC platform. ThingWorx Navigate they found that closely aligned with the CM2 methodology, for PLM data allows not just members of its own team, a global enterprise standard for change and configuration but also third-party collaborators, such as outside design management. firms, to securely access data whenever needed and When product changes are required, Windchill enables without having to change any infrastructure. users to capture issues or enhancements, document and Close collaboration with PTC’s service managers has implement related updates, and send out a prioritised helped when it comes to solving issues and adding new change notice to all stakeholders. And because it connects functionality to the system. For example, when a caching with other systems, all affected items are automatically issue wasn’t resolved in the testing environment, PTC updated across the organisation. service managers helped PAL-V identify and quickly Using the PTC Cloud, meanwhile, PAL-V gets peak correct it. Even post-implementation, PAL-V engineers performance, functionality and security, as well as the stay in regular contact with the PTC Cloud team. opportunity to focus on high-value business opportunities, because the administrative burden and hardware costs FOUNDATIONS FOR FUTURE GROWTH associated with on-site systems are avoided. With its new PLM platform in place, bolstered by the convenience of PTC Cloud, PAL-V is on target to continue REGULATIONS IN MIND its 20% annual growth rate. More importantly, its first PAL-V designed its flying car with the regulations product launch is just around the corner. with which it would need to comply firmly in mind. In 2022, PAL-V will commence production of about Before implementing Windchill SaaS and PTC Cloud, 90 PAL-V Liberty Pioneer editions of its flying car. The maintaining compliance and making design changes company already has pre-orders from 11 countries and required manual processes and paperwork. Now, around 30 orders from the Netherlands alone. After processes are digitised and change management stands at the initial run of the Pioneer edition, it will continue the forefront of driving compliance. production with the PAL-V Liberty Sport, the standard “Compliance requires a lot of paperwork, which is now version of the vehicle. digital,” says Jeroen Klein Lankhorst, IT manager and PLM Technology capabilities are expanding at the company, implementer at PAL-V. “Aviation is all about making sure too, with PAL-V planning to incorporate PTC’s ThingWorx everything is safe and can be traced back to who supplied IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) capabilities. These and designed it, to improve it and make it safer. That’s might enable, for example, flight data tracking systems in what Windchill SaaS and PTC Cloud enable us to do.” PAL-V machines, predictive maintenance for customers, In fact, PAL-V established a foundation for compliance and the use of data collected from Pioneers to make safety across the entire company. By having just one system and performance improvements. implemented in the right way, it can successfully Says Klein Lankhorst: “The cloud component – the fact comply with the majority of regulations all at once. that we have a compliant foundation for our data – gives us “The PTC system does 80% to 90% of everything we a lot of options down the road.” need for complying with product definition With new breakthroughs in product design and requirements,” says Klein Lankhorst. “In that way, it lays engineering sure to follow, it looks like the sky’s the limit a foundation for compliance across the whole company – for PAL-V. and that’s really important.” pal-v.com | ptc.com

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OPINION

HUMAN CENTRIC DESIGN D Design demands a globally focused, human-centric approach, says Roberto Ruffoni, design research manager at OPPO Design Centre. He explains how it partnered with the RCA to instill this in the next generation of designers esign is all around us. From the way our cities are planned to the mobile phones in our hands, the mission of designers is to explore and envision a better world by carefully crafting products that respond to user needs to provide the best experience possible. This last year, therefore, has presented a significant challenge to the design community: How can you still deliver the same message and value, when so much of the experience has to move to the virtual space? There is no one answer to this, and we’re still learning how to approach design in a pandemic. However, the level of innovation that we have seen at this time has been outstanding. The design industry is adapting to a new world and technology is at the centre of this process. At OPPO, design is also an integral aspect of everything we do, and we are having to adapt as the world changes, which is why the OPPO London Design Centre is so important.

The OPPO London Design Centre acts as a pathfinder and a pioneer in the design field. It observes the changes happening in lifestyles and creative industries, in order to envision the next generation of personal technology. By conducting trend research across multiple fields, and by collaborating with world-class experts, we distill trends into products through a multi-disciplinary approach that encompasses aesthetics, materials, technology, user experience and manufacturing. As part of our mission to connect OPPO and world renowned institutions of global design and education, we have partnered with The Royal College of Arts (RCA) in London on a project called Humanising Technology. This programme is based on the creative exchange between design teams at OPPO and students of RCA and explores how technology products can be made more human through a people-centric approach.

THE GLOBAL MARKET OF DESIGN On average, we spend three hours and 15 minutes on our mobile phones each day. Therefore, this experience needs to be a premium one and to feel personal. In a global market, designers need to be able to achieve this by

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‘‘ My team

looks globally at research and inspiration: while we may start in Europe, as a global design trendsetter, we will always cast wider to establish a global perspective

’’

balancing universal appeal with local requirements and cultural sensibilities. As technology continues to develop, the world around us is getting smaller as we collaborate and communicate from anywhere, with anyone. This significantly impacts the design world, as designers look at both global and local markets and the differences between them. However, the beauty of design is that it can bring communities and individuals together from across the globe. The possibility of this connection across different markets and areas means that designers can approach global trends and ideas in order to touch as many different people as possible. My team looks globally at research and inspiration: while we may start in Europe, as a global design trendsetter, we will always cast wider to establish a global perspective. London was chosen as the location for the design centre because it is a global city that sits at the centre of many creative industries and a melting pot for innovation. Our team is exposed to all sorts of cultures and ideas from around the world, which is essential for a global brand. One thing that unites many of us across the globe is our reliance on technology; and so part of our mission has been to find exciting ways to develop this relationship between humans and machines.

1 Oppo’s London ●

Design Centre is headed up by Jintong Zhu, pictured left, with architect, Kengo Kuma, pictured during London Design Week 2019

2 Toolform by Jiarui ●

Liu aims to humanise technology by enriching interaction, combining the tangible and digital parts 3 Matthieu Muller’s ●

methodology booklet for his Animate project, designed to help children develop their creative potential without constraints

HUMANISING TECHNOLOGY As technology blends into our everyday life, it should be a designer’s prerogative to create products that infuse it with human sensibility, so that we can provide the best possible experience for future users. Bridging this gap between technology and humans through design has been a focus for our design centre and an exciting journey that we are still on. Humanising technology was chosen as a brief for the partnership between the OPPO London Design Centre and the Royal College of Art because we wanted to learn from, as well as teach, young talent about how our increasingly connected lives can remain balanced and become more efficient in an effortless and natural way. This can be showcased in well-designed technology that flows seamlessly into one’s life and so adapts to human life, not the other way around. We challenged students to look at how technology and the arts can weave together to be integrated further into everyday life. One key message that came out of this partnership was that empathy and human behaviour should be driving design principles for a vision of technology that empowers human values, instead than overriding them. Understanding human behaviour is essential for OPPO Design and allows it to resonate with both global and local users. Students were given the opportunity to think deeply about how to integrate these behaviours in their projects to deliver humanised technology. For example, in his project Animate, Matthieu Muller envisioned a kit of cardboard parts and electronic components that children can playfully assemble to make interactive and personalised toys. In her project ToolForm, Jiarui Liao looked at how users might be directly involved in the production process of fashion accessories, such as glasses, by integrating intuitive customisation technology into the manufacturing process. The students were also challenged by the need to work remotely in this partnership, as projects were finalised after a series of remote reviews with our design team. Not only did lockdown set the backdrop to these projects, but it also meant that, for the first time, the RCA’s graduate show was going to be virtual. For many of our designers whose projects relied on physical touch and experience, creating this experience online was always going to be a challenging task. However, the benefits of holding an online event were quickly realised. An online show meant that a far wider audience could view and participate, without the need for them to travel or to navigate time zones. The power of technology to bring people together was fully realised and the brief of humanising technology came to life virtually.

THE FUTURE OF DESIGN Every industry is currently undergoing significant change and we are still learning how to navigate this. One thing that has become clear, however, is that the role of technology in our lives is becoming ever stronger and will continue to do so. Looking ahead, it will be up to design to bridge the gap between humans and technology in order to respond to the needs of a more globalised and connected market while making sure that our users and the quality of their lives remain at the center of our creative process. oppo.com | rca.ac.uk

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From BIM to digital fabrication Building Information Modelling (BIM) for Architecture, Engineering and Construction

Building Information Modelling technology for Architecture, Engineering & Construction

aecmag.com/subscriptions AEC 3.indd 34

06/06/2019 15:25

PROFILE

COMFORT Lauren Bell, winner of The Rapid Challenge 2020, has been able to turn her graduate project into a promising brand with an innovative product. Stephen Holmes spoke to the founder of Cosi Care about her journey so far

he pastel-blue plastic starfish that inventor Lauren Bell is demonstrating to the RAPID Challenge judging panel has been in development for over three years. Its smoothly moulded back is made to be easily grasped by large and small fingers alike. Its face is a cold metal plate, with raised bumps providing texture. Its purpose? To offer instant, cooling relief to children suffering from eczema. Having watched her younger brother battle the condition and her parents desperate to help him, Bell knew there was an urgent need for instant itch relief. Without it, scratching can lead to scarring that remains visible even into adulthood. To understand how Bell got to this point, we have to go back to her final-year project for her product design degree from Brunel University. The original idea was a piece of play equipment, a large turtle called Cosi. This was

covered in cooling metal balls, designed to cool the skin of the agitated child who clambered on it, and thus ease their eczema symptoms. At her graduate show, Bell was introduced to representatives from Central Research Laboratory (CRL), a product design accelerator. They loved the concept of Cosi, but felt the design was unrealistic for a massmanufactured product, especially one from a start-up. After all, the product comprised 300 different parts and five different materials, Bell explains. “They advised me to scale it down, to start small and then work from there,” she says. This could provide a more viable path to launching a larger product further down the road, they told her.

AT A CROSSROADS As is the case for many university leavers, Bell hit a crossroads upon graduation. She needed to decide whether to get a job, start a business, begin a postgraduate course, or head off on a gap year to ‘find herself’. But as she explains: “I wasn’t the lucky one with rich parents to send me off to Bali for a year, so I set out to focus on starting my own business. I never thought I’d have a product-based business, but when I learned more about manufacturing and how I could really scale this, refine it and turn it into a brand, I got really excited about it and decided to go for it.” Her encounter with CRL team members saw Bell sign up to the organisation’s six-month start-up programme. Her initial designs for Cosi were stripped back to the turtle’s starfish-shaped cheeks and two variants were developed: one designed for cooling in a domestic freezer; and another for electronic cooling. Most importantly, the course taught her more about the business world. She learnt how to pitch her product and how to prepare it for manufacture. She even got to visit China, to see first-hand the manufacturing process. At CRL, various investors, retailers and creatives are regularly invited to speak to course members, who then have the chance to pitch their products to these experts. In turn, the experts’ critiques help further shape their ideas. DEVELOP3D.COM FEBRUARY 2021 33

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PROFILE

‘‘ The money

“I’d say that it was at CRL that my entrepreneurial side came out more, and those sorts of skillsets started to be a lot more refined when it came to pitching and communicating my idea,” says Bell.

is great because you can get stuff done, but when it comes to contacts and guidance, that is the most valuable part

AND THE WINNER IS...

’’

With both her business idea and product refined, Bell set about applying for numerous awards targeting graduate and start-up businesses. Her brand, Cosi Care, took some of the most prestigious prizes available: The Mayor of London Entrepreneur Award; the Santander Entrepreneur of the Year; and the NACUE Pitch Award sponsored by Tata. Success has already netted Cosi Care around £90,000 in equity-free funding. And Bell’s most recent award submission saw her pitch to the RAPID Challenge judging panel at the end of 2020 – and emerge victorious. Founded by Prodrive Ventures, RAPID Challenge partners include tax credit specialist TBAT Innovation; equity crowdfunding platform Crowdcube; patent attorneys IPasset Partnership; law firm Clayden Law; and, of course, DEVELOP3D magazine. In addition to a cash prize, Bell also received services and advice valued at close to £50,000 from the award partners. “It was incredible,” she says. “It came at the perfect time, because we were having some challenges with the electronic product, and to have someone like Prodrive now support the development of that is going to be so valuable.” Any student considering starting a business should definitely be applying for awards and competitions, she says. “I think it actually made my business, and really allowed me to do the things that I would never have been able to afford to do just by myself. When you’re a new business, you just think about the product. And when you actually set up your business, you’re hit with three hundred other things to think about; so just to have support with those things, like IP and legal – it’s more valuable than the money.” That said, the money is great, she adds, because it allows her to get stuff done, “but when it comes to contacts and guidance, that is the most valuable part.” Cosi Care’s first product launch is scheduled for Spring 2021, with another following closely behind. cosicare.co.uk | therapidchallenge.com

1 &● 2 Cosi Care’s ●

cooling textured starfish makes it a safe way to ease the itchiness of eczema, even in the smallest of hands 3 The design began ●

as a final-year university project, but was honed into a viable product at accelerator Central Research Laboratory 4 Cosi Care founder ●

Lauren Bell at the Mayor of London Entrepreneur Awards in 2019

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Design processes, not just parts. Lattice structures • Generate unique designs in seconds • Control every point in space Topology optimization • Run unlimited iterations • Automatically reconstruct the results • Connect to CAD & simulation workflows Surface textures • Create procedural patterns • Evaluate more concepts faster ...and more • • • • •

Lightweighting Heat exchanger design Patient-specific implants Design automation Additive manufacturing

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nTopology Inc., 101 Avenue of the Americas, 12 Fl., New York, NY 10013 | info@ntopology.com | (917) 983 9257

Image courtesy of Carlos Calvo Cristóbal | Follow on instagram at @carlos.calvo

Next-Gen Design & Engineering Software

TECHNICAL OVERVIEW

LATTICE VS.

TOPOLOGY

OPTIMISATION There’s a lot of talk about lattices and topology optimisation, but few have a clear view of why, when and how to use each approach. Toby Wilkinson of Added Scientific explains how to consider them for your own project

opology optimisation and lattice integration are two methods that are becoming increasingly popular in additive manufacturing (AM), in order to improve the performance of components across many sectors. This can be in terms of component weight, mechanical, thermal, and even electromagnetic performance - but when and why should you use each technique? Topology optimisation is a process that aims to provide the optimal distribution of material in a given volume, minimising a chosen objective (such as the compliance of the structure), subject to constraints. This process relies on a simulation of the loading conditions to determine where material should be distributed. As such, the accuracy of this simulation is key for a useful result. The optimisation algorithm cannot consider factors external to the simulation, such as unexpected loads or environmental conditions, which means the result is highly specialised to the numerical model used.

For many engineers, the prospect of using mathematics and numerical theory to automate component design is appealing, but in using this approach, the invaluable experience and intuition of the designer is lost.

A SINGULAR OUTPUT As the geometry outputted is only optimised for the particular use case that is loaded into the model, when these loading conditions change, the solution can no longer be considered optimal and a replacement solution must be calculated. For this reason, topology optimisation should simply be considered as another tool in the design workflow, and not a quick route to a perfect design. This being said, the benefits of using this technology in design remain numerous; for example, many finite element analysis (FEA) solvers not only model structural mechanics, but can also extend to thermal and electromagnetic studies. All of these can be used by a multi-objective topology optimisation algorithm to create optimised component designs that are specific to the defined loading. With many CAD software vendors including some support for

Lattices do not have to simply fill a cube. Depending on the use case, they can be morphed to fit on a variety of surfaces and structures, such as a 3D-printed midsole, conforming to the shape of a foot. This image shows a Gyroid lattice, mapped to follow the surface of a sphere, a cube and a wheel

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topology optimisation in their workflows today, this technology is clearly maturing and there are many examples of real structures such as light-weighting of support structures for space applications, brake callipers for automotive and even prosthetic limbs that have been designed using this methodology.

be robust under unpredictable loading and therefore appropriate for challenging applications such aerospace, where turbulence and vibration are random. So which method should you use for your application? If you want a component for a very specific use case with well-defined loads, topology optimisation will give you the best result. AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH Lattices, however, are not so simple to use. They can be used as a An alternative approach to performance enhancement using homogenised material to bring bespoke mechanical properties topology optimisation is to integrate lattices into component designs. and to reduce weight, to control fluid flow and specific filtration, In AM, lattices are traditionally thought of as scaffold structures that as excellent heat exchange surfaces, and any combination of these. are made using individual struts, but can also be generated using There is even ongoing research into how lattices may be used in bespoke unit cells and surfaces. These structures are regularly seen electromagnetic applications. in AM applications across a range of industries, being used as infill To add an extra degree of complexity, research is ongoing patterns to remove unneeded material, heat exchange surfaces with to combine the two approaches, using topology optimisation increased surface area and even as purely aesthetic features. to functionally grade lattice structures, varying the density The highly complex nature of lattices means that engineers according to structural requirements. The human femur bone require access to specialised design tools to generate and demonstrates a fantastic example of nature expertly combining incorporate these structures. As well as being difficult to design, both approaches. The shape of the harder, outer shell of cortical the complex nature of lattices makes them computationally bone has been optimised, based on the structural loading from intensive to analyse using traditional methods, such as FEA. the person, to withstand the forces of walking and running. The Driven by consumer internal trabecular bone demand, many software lattice is aligned with tools have emerged the direction of stress, To add an extra degree of complexity, research is for lattice design and, to provide structural ongoing to combine the two approaches, using topology rigidity, while allowing as a result, lattices optimisation to functionally grade lattice structures, have been successfully blood flow, reduced integrated into real-world varying the density according to structural requirements weight and improved components to enable robustness of the bone. lightweighting and heat In summary, I believe management of drive train components in automotive and bespoke both methods have a key role to play in enhanced engineering and tailoring of stiffness for conformal wearables. design. While topology optimisation is best used for macro-scale Conformal wearables use a designer’s ability to tailor the unit design changes, lattices can be integrated for their meso-scale cell of an integrated lattice to create ‘meta-materials’ with highly material properties. Thanks to AM, engineers have the freedom customisable behaviour. For example, certain lattices possess a to use either or both techniques to create high-performance negative Poisson’s Ratio, meaning they contract laterally when components, far beyond those which can be manufactured loaded; these structure are termed ‘auxetic’ and have high shock conventionally. absorption properties. 3D-printed meta-materials like this have addedscientific.com been used to fabricate bespoke shoe soles and bicycle saddles with a specific pattern driven by pressure data. Unlike topology Biography: Toby Wilkinson is a computational design engineer at Added Scientific. optimisation, these lattice structures are not usually designed for He specialises in bringing bespoke topology optimisation solutions to customers a specific purpose. Instead, their complex structures are found to and has developed innovative ways to design using lattice structures.

‘‘ ’’

LATTICES: COMMON FORMS AND THEIR USE CASES

VORONOI LATTICE

DELAUNAY LATTICE

SURFACE-BASED GYROID LATTICE

HILBERT SPACE-FILLING CURVE

The Voronoi lattice pattern is found frequently in natural structures. It is controlled by the underlying point set and, by having more points in a certain region, the lattice can be locally denser. This technique can be useful for applications such as footwear, where measured foot pressure data can control the density of the points to increase lattice strength, where needed.

The Delaunay lattice utilises Delaunay Triangulation to efficiently connect a set of points in space. Again, by controlling the density of the point set, the density of the lattice can be varied. It’s used as a method of lightweighting an object using strong tetrahedral cells. Unlike structured unit cells, it is simple to conform to any arbitrary shape. This also the starting point for the Voronoi lattice.

Surface-based lattices are commonly used in additive manufacturing for the principal reason that they are mostly self-supporting. In the case of the Gyroid lattice, the complex surface separates two independent regions that can be utilised in heat exchangers, for example, where they might be used to channel two different fluids that never meet and mix together.

The Hilbert space-filling curve is a fantastic example of using a coded approach to fill a 3D space but emphasises the need to include an engineer’s intuition in the design process. This type of structure is notoriously difficult to manufacture! As a structural component, it performs poorly but the algorithm could be used to generate paths for fluid pipes in a heat exchanger.

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Lenovo ThinkStation P620 [AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro] » For AMD, the tide is turning and the launch of the Lenovo ThinkStation P620 feels like a pivotal moment in the workstation market. Greg Corke puts the exciting new 64-core AMD Threadripper Pro workstation through its paces

» Product: ThinkStation P620 » Supplier: Lenovo Price: £8,073 Ex VAT (as reviewed) lenovo.com amd.com

ver the last 12 months, AMD has emerged as a serious competitor to Intel. We’ve seen great price/performance from the consumer-focused 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen, but it’s with 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen Threadripper that AMD has really turned up the heat. When Lenovo unveiled its ThinkStation P620 in July 2020, it caused some serious ripples in the workstation market. Powered by the AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro CPU, it made Lenovo the first major workstation manufacturer in nearly 15 years to launch a workstation with an AMD processor. And, with an exclusive agreement with AMD, it’s currently the only way you can get Threadripper Pro, though this will change soon. Ryzen Threadripper, as the name suggests, is a family of desktop CPUs with lots of cores (and threads) to rip through multi-threaded applications like ray trace

rendering, point cloud processing and simulation. With up to 64 cores, more than any other desktop/workstation CPU, it offers something that Intel simply can’t. As a brand, Threadripper is no stranger to the workstation market. Specialist manufacturers including Armari, BOXX, Scan, Workstation Specialists, Puget Systems, Boston, Velocity Micro and InterPro have been offering workstations with the ‘consumer’ Threadripper CPU for some time. We use the word ‘consumer’ loosely here, as one can’t imagine many consumers having a need for a 64-core CPU. Semantics aside, there is no doubt these are insanely powerful processors. When third-generation consumer Threadripper launched just over a year ago, it made a huge statement. In multi-threaded workflows that make maximum use of every single CPU core, like ray trace rendering, it not only left all

Intel CPUs for dust, but its single-threaded performance was better than Intel’s best 28-core Xeon CPUs. What’s more, to get anywhere close to Threadripper’s 64 cores, you needed two Intel Xeons in a desktop workstation, and a much larger budget. The performance argument for consumer Threadripper is extremely compelling, but for major OEMs this was not enough. In order for the likes of Dell, HP, Lenovo and Fujitsu to take Threadripper seriously, AMD needed to develop a professional version.

WHAT IS THREADRIPPER PRO? In short, AMD Ryzen Threadripper is to AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro, as Intel Core is to Intel Xeon. Both AMD CPUs share the same core silicon, but there are several features that set the workstation CPU apart from its ‘consumer’ sibling. These include more memory channels (eight versus four),

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HARDWARE REVIEW

higher memory capacity (2TB versus 256GB) and additional PCIe Gen4 lanes (128 versus 64). Memory is arguably the biggest differentiator, and this will be especially important in memory intensive applications like computational fluid dynamics (CFD) or finite element analysis (FEA), which are both used heavily in the automotive and aerospace industries. Some of the more complex fluid flow or multi-physics simulations can literally eat up memory. Offering more capacity and the ability to feed data into the CPU much quicker via eight channels should have a big impact on performance. In addition, those looking to use their workstation for multi-tasking, perhaps to run several different compute-intensive tasks in parallel, should also see benefits. The increase in memory capacity has been enabled through support for RDIMM and LRDIMM modules — DDR4-3200. Error Correcting Code (ECC) is also supported, which is important for those wanting to minimise the risk of crashes when running simulations over several hours or even days. Consumer Threadripper does support ECC memory, but not on all motherboards. Threadripper Pro also covers a wider range of cores and 12, 16, 32 and 64core models are all available as options in the ThinkStation P620. In comparison, consumer Threadripper comes in 24, 32 or 64-core variants, while consumer CPUs with 16 cores or fewer come under the AMD Ryzen brand. Clock speeds for the 32-core Threadripper Pro 3975WX (3.5GHz to 4.2GHz Turbo) and 64-core 3995WX (2.7GHz to 4.2GHz Turbo) are slightly lower than consumer Threadripper CPUs with equivalent core counts, both in terms of base and boost frequency. According to AMD, this is because Threadripper Pro offers more functionality within the same power budget — specifically referring to memory bandwidth, capacity and the number of PCIe Gen4 lanes. While the slightly lower frequency will have an impact on performance in most applications, the benefits from increased memory bandwidth and capacity in memory intensive workflows could outweigh the loss



The performance of this machine is incredible and even though Intel can compete in some highend workflows with its dual Xeon CPUs, AMD wins hands down on price/performance



of a couple of hundred MHz. Consumer doesn’t mean faster frequencies across the board. The 12-core Threadripper Pro 3945WX (4.0GHz to 4.3GHz Turbo) and 16-core Threadripper Pro 3955WX (3.9GHz to 4.3GHz Turbo) actually have higher base clocks than the equivalent Ryzen CPUs, even though the boost speed is lower, so should deliver better multi-threaded performance. This is because these CPUs have a much higher thermal design power (TDP) (280W) than the equivalent Ryzens (105W), so more watts can be pumped in. At this point, it’s important to note that AMD Threadripper Pro is based on AMD’s ‘Zen 2’ architecture, the same architecture used in the consumer AMD Ryzen 3000 Series, which was introduced in 2019. This is not the same as the new ‘Zen 3’ AMD Ryzen 5000 series, which launched

at the tail end of 2020 with 6, 8, 12 and 16-core models. With high frequencies and impressive instructions per cycle (IPC) rates, it looks to be the processor to finally take Intel’s performance crown in single-threaded applications like CAD.

THE COST As Threadripper Pro is presently a dedicated OEM chip, and the only place you can currently buy one is inside a Lenovo ThinkStation P620, there is no retail price. At time of writing, on Lenovo’s UK website, the ThinkStation P620 starts at £1,189 Ex VAT for a base model with a 12-core Threadripper Pro 3945WX (4.0GHz to 4.3GHz Turbo), 16GB RAM, a DEVELOP3D.COM FEBRUARY 2021 41

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256GB M.2 SSD and no GPU. The exact same spec, but with a 64-core Threadripper Pro 3995WX instead, will set you back £4,917 Ex VAT. With this in mind, we can say with some certainty that Threadripper Pro does cost more than its consumer equivalents, but no one would be surprised to hear that. Impressively, the ThinkStation P620 is significantly cheaper than ‘equivalent’ Intel-based workstations. The ThinkStation P520, for example, which shares an almost identical chassis, costs £1,902 Ex VAT for a base model with a 10-core Intel Xeon W-2155 CPU (3.3GHz to 4.5GHz Turbo), 16GB RAM, a 256GB SATA SSD and no GPU. And then to get anywhere near the same level of cores as the top-end, 64-core Threadripper Pro 3995WX, you’ll need a dual Xeon workstation, such as the ThinkStation P720 or P920, but these are virtually non-existent on Lenovo’s UK site. So far, we’ve quoted starting prices, but it’s hard to imagine anyone buying a Threadripper Pro workstation with 16GB RAM. It’s simply not enough. For a designer who uses CAD or BIM software with a little bit of CPU rendering, a more likely starting point would be a 12-core Threadripper Pro 3945WX, 32GB RAM, 512GB SSD, and an Nvidia Quadro P2200 GPU (£1,546 + VAT). For simulation, one might start with a 32-core Threadripper Pro 3975WX, 64GB RAM, 1TB SSD and an Nvidia Quadro P2200 (£3,372 + VAT). And for high-end design viz, you could do a lot worse than a 64-core Threadripper Pro 3995WX, 128GB RAM, 1TB SSD and an Nvidia Quadro RTX 5000 (£6755 + VAT). To give some kind of comparison, an equivalent dual Xeon workstation — a Dell Precision 7920 — would cost you just over £9,000 + VAT and that’s with the base-level 28-core Intel Xeon Gold 6238R CPU, which has a significantly lower clock of 2.2GHz (with 4.0GHz Turbo). Configuring with an Intel Xeon Gold 6238R (2.7GHz, 4.0GHz Turbo) would add an additional £2,000-plus. For a dual Intel Xeon Platinum, prices go off the chart. Pricing aside, the beauty of the ThinkStation P620 is that it can hit a sweet spot for many different workflows. To get this kind of spread on Intel, you’d need at least two different models of workstation. For enterprise IT departments that need to manage vast pools of machines, being able to standardise on a single workstation could be a major attraction.

confidential IP, it’s probably a small price to pay. Threadripper Pro also features AMD Pro Manageability, which includes a set of features designed to speed and simplify deployment imaging and manageability within an enterprise IT environment, making it easier to support remote workers. AMD Secure Boot offers boot protection to help prevent unauthorised software and malware from taking over critical system functions.

LENOVO THINKSTATION P620 The Lenovo ThinkStation P620 is the first Threadripper Pro workstation and will be the only one for a month or two. While the ThinkStation P620 is a new product, it has not been designed completely from scratch. It shares the same chassis as the single-socket Intel Xeon W-based ThinkStation P520, although Lenovo has enhanced the cooling to accommodate the 280W Threadripper Pro CPU. The main chassis fans remain the same, but the CPU features two heatsinks with built-in fans, custom designed by Lenovo and AMD. Importantly, Lenovo has not opted for liquid cooling in the P620. In the enterprise space, stability and serviceability are of paramount performance. And while custom cooling solutions, such as the Full Water Loop (FWL) system used by Armari in its Magnetar X64T-G3 FWL (see



standard offers double the bandwidth of PCIe Gen 3, which means the workstation can transfer data to GPUs and NVMe solid state drives (SSDs) much faster. Unfortunately, many of the PCIe Gen 4 components that Lenovo has lined up for the ThinkStation P620 were not yet available at time of writing. The most important of these is arguably the Samsung PM9A1 SSD. While Lenovo waits for a firmware update, all ThinkStation P620s will ship with PCI Gen 3 SSDs. In our test machine, this was the Western Digital SN730. When the Samsung SSD PM9A1 does become available (hopefully any time now), those working with large datasets, particularly in the areas of simulation and point cloud processing, should notice a benefit. This would mainly be from significantly increased sequential read/write speeds, but also from improvements in random read/write performance. The P620’s motherboard can host two M.2 NVMe SSDs, which can be configured in a RAID array to boost performance (RAID 0) or safeguard data in the event of a failure (RAID 1). There are optional add-in boards that can host one or up to four M.2 SSDs, but they are both PCIe Gen 3 boards, so you miss out on the performance benefits, even when PCIe Gen 4 SSDs are available. For those just interested in capacity, the ThinkStation P620 can host up to four 3.5-inch hard disk drives (HDDs) internally and one more in the Flex Bay at the front of the machine. Unfortunately, Lenovo hasn’t added M.2 SSD support to the Flex Bay, so you have to take off the side panel to access the SSDs. The ThinkStation P620 can also host more GPUs than comparable workstations. With four PCIe Gen 4 x16 slots, it can support up to four single-height GPUs (up to the Quadro RTX 4000) or two double-height boards (currently up to the Nvidia Quadro RTX 8000). Hosting four Quadro RTX 4000s is something that can’t be done in an Intel box. It could be an interesting proposition for GPU rendering or even virtualisation with GPU passthrough, as the P620 can be rack-mounted in a data centre. All Nvidia Quadro RTX GPUs are currently PCIe Gen 3, so if you want a PCIe Gen 4 Nvidia GPU, you’ll need to wait for the Ampere-based Nvidia RTX A6000 (we expect it to be offered by Lenovo in the early part of 2021). You can get hold of a PCIe Gen 4 GPU if you go for AMD, and Lenovo currently offers the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 and W5700 GPUs. However, doubling the bandwidth won’t make a noticeable difference in most workflows. To take full advantage of Threadripper Pro’s 128 PCIe Gen 4 lanes and offer support for four doubleheight GPUs, Lenovo would need a bigger box but, as things stand, the ThinkStation P620 should still satisfy the requirements of most users. Most firms investing in a workstation with so many CPU cores won’t necessarily need such an array of high-end GPUs. In saying that, a 12-core Threadripper 3945WX would be a great foundation for a GPU render box.

The beauty of the ThinkStation P620 is that it can hit a sweet spot for many different workflows. To get this kind of spread on Intel, you’d need at least two different models of workstation

ENTERPRISE CREDENTIALS From a security and manageability perspective, Threadripper Pro comes with several features that will be really important to some enterprise customers. For example, AMD Memory Guard allows the contents of system memory to be fully encrypted, adding an additional layer of security. This is designed to reduce the threat of a physical memory attack, even if a workstation is left in standby mode. As you would expect, there is a small overhead when using encryption, but it’s only a few percent says AMD. And, for those who need to protect

 our review – tinyurl.com/TR-armari), allow Threadripper to hit 3.9GHz on all 64-cores, most enterprise IT departments prefer to keep things simple. The ThinkStation P620 chassis is a fairly compact 33 litres, around the same size as most single-socket Intel workstations, but not as expandable as a typical dual Xeon. It’s perfect for mainstream to high-end users, but it does mean Lenovo is not able to take full advantage of the Threadripper Pro architecture. With eight memory slots, the machine is limited to 1TB, whereas some dual Intel Xeon Platinum workstations can go all the way up to 3TB or even more, although you do pay a massive premium for that much memory. At time of writing, 512GB (8 x 64GB) was the maximum configurable on Lenovo’s UK website, but we’re told 128GB modules will be available very soon. Memory is arranged in two banks of four, each which its own active memory cooler with a small fan. To complete the cooling, there’s a single fan at the front of the chassis and another at the rear. All of these fans work together well in harmony, for what we’ve found to generally be a pretty quiet system, even under heavy load. One of the headline features of Threadripper Pro is support for PCIe Gen 4, which is not yet available in Intel workstations. The new interface

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1 The Threadripper Pro CPU is flanked by ●

two banks of four memory slots

2 Each memory bank has its own active ●

memory cooler with a small fan

3 Backlit headphone port and USB ports ● 4 Lenovo ThinkStation P620 Flex Bay ● 5 Lockable side panel ● 6 Easily removable power supply unit ●

As we’ve come to expect from Lenovo, the build quality of the machine is superb. The chassis is incredibly solid, though still very portable thanks to the built-in handle at the front. On the whole, serviceability is excellent, from the lockable push-and-click handle on the side panel, to the red touchpoints inside, which make it easy to change fans, drives, GPUs, memory and even the 1000W power supply. One small gripe is that it’s quite hard to get to the M.2 SSDs on the motherboard. First, you have to remove the full-length GPU and then the heat sink, which is attached by two screws. So should an SSD fail, it’s not exactly a quick pit stop. The machine is well-equipped with ports. At the rear, there are four USB 3.2 Type A and two USB 2.0. At the front, you’ll find two USB Type C and two USB 3.2 Type A, one of which has a charging function. All four front USB ports and the headphone port are backlit, which is a nice touch, as you won’t be scrabbling around in the dark. Above the ports, there’s a four-digit LED diagnostic display, which displays a code when an issue or error is detected. The user then simply punches in the code at Lenovo.com to find out what’s wrong. Finally, there’s 10 Gigabit Ethernet on board rather than the standard 1 Gigabit, which will be useful for shifting large design viz, simulation or point cloud datasets quickly across the network. Importantly, the Lenovo ThinkStation P620 supports Linux (Ubuntu and Red Hat Enterprise) as well as Windows 10 Pro. While most software used in product development runs on Windows, Linux is widely used in engineering simulation, so this should help Lenovo break the Intel monopoly in this space.

TEST MACHINE With a top-end, 64-core AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro 3995WX and Nvidia Quadro RTX 6000 GPU, our Lenovo-supplied test machine was very focused on design viz. To make the most of the 8-channel memory architecture, all eight RAM slots were populated with 16GB RDIMM DR4-3200 ECC memory modules, giving a total of 128GB. A solitary 512GB Western Digital SN730 M.2 SSD rounded out the spec, which can be seen in full over the page.

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TEST MACHINE SPEC Lenovo ThinkStation P620 • AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3995WX (64 cores) (2.7GHz up to 4.2GHz Turbo) • Nvidia Quadro RTX 6000 GPU (24GB) • AMD WRX80 mainboard • 128GB (8 x 16GB) RDIMM DDR4-3200 ECC memory • 512GB SSD M.2 PCIe 3.0 NVMe Opal (Western Digital SN730) • 9.0mm DVD±RW • 15-in-1 Card Reader • 1x 10GbE RJ-45 • 3 Year On-site warranty • £8,073 Ex VAT

COMPUTER AIDED DESIGN One of the beauties of the 64-core Threadripper Pro 3995WX is its suitability for a range of different workflows. Historically, if you wanted a workstation with buckets of cores, you had to take a big hit in single-threaded performance, which is what counts in CAD and when modelling in most 3D applications. While its base clock speed (the minimum frequency you would expect when all 64-cores are being hammered) is relatively low (2.70GHz), the thing that makes the Threadripper Pro 3995WX so well-suited to a desktop workstation is that it can Turbo all the way to 4.20GHz. And this isn’t that far off a comparable ‘Zen 2’ CPU with far fewer cores, such as the 16-core AMD Ryzen 9 3950X (3.5GHz, up to 4.7GHz Turbo). When exporting an IGES model from single-threaded CAD software Solidworks, for example, we saw the CPU go up to 4.05GHz. And it only took 88 seconds to complete the test — not that far behind our current leader, a 5.0GHz overclocked Intel Core-i9-10900K (75 secs).

RAY TRACE RENDERING While single-threaded applications like these will still run best on lower core count CPUs like the Intel Core-i9-10900K, and the new ‘Zen 3’ AMD Ryzen 5000 series, it’s in highly threaded workflows like ray trace rendering where the 64-core Threadripper Pro 3995WX comes into its own. In design viz software KeyShot, for example, the P620 rendered our 4K test scene in a mere 47 secs, miles ahead of a typical CAD-focused CPU like the 8-core Intel Xeon W-1270 (346 secs). And the CPU maintained a consistent 3.0GHz, even when rendering for over an hour. We saw similarly good results in the V-Ray NEXT benchmark, though the frequency fell from 3.05GHz in the first run to 2.90GHz on subsequent runs, which saw the benchmark score of 72,410 ksamples (bigger is better) drop by around 4%. This is significant if you plan to render large scenes or frame by frame animations. While these scores are comparable to a Threadripper 3990X (2.9GHz, up to 4.3GHz Turbo) run at stock clock speeds,



As we’ve come to expect from Lenovo, the build quality of the machine is superb. The chassis is incredibly solid, though still very portable thanks to the built in handle at the front



AMD’s consumer CPU does have a trick up its sleeve in the form of Precision Boost Overdrive, a feature that’s not available on Threadripper Pro. In simple terms, Precision Boost Overdrive is automatic overclocking. It allows more power to be pumped into the CPU, as long as the workstation can cool it adequately, which pushes up its frequency. As mentioned, the Armari Magnetar X64T-G3 FWL, which we reviewed in February 2020 (tinyurl.com/TR-armari), does this with its FWL cooling system that features a pump/reservoir, tubing and a giant radiator that takes up one third of the chassis. This is something you are extremely unlikely to ever see in an enterprise workstation. However, as a result of this extreme cooling, all 64 cores can be pushed to 3.90GHz, delivering substantially better performance. For example, the Armari Magnetar X64T-G3 FWL came in at 38 secs in KeyShot and 92,978 ksamples in the V-Ray NEXT benchmark. While an overclocked consumer Threadripper will almost certainly beat Threadripper Pro in a straight rendering race, there are still design viz workflows where its superior memory bandwidth will likely win out. When compiling shaders in Unreal Engine, for example, we understand that the software spins up multiple instances and each instance needs to be fed data. An AMD spokesperson told this magazine that Threadripper Pro has been seen to deliver a 30% to 40% jump in performance over an overclocked Threadripper workstation, simply because it has the memory bandwidth to ‘feed the beast’.

SIMULATION Most ray trace renderers follow a general pattern, where the relationship between render time and number of cores is linear and inversely proportional. However, simulation software is much more complex. All applications are different, and performance can also vary dramatically within the application itself, depending on the size and kind of dataset, the type of solver and the nature of the analysis (linear/non-linear, and so on). We explored this topic previously in an article on Ansys Mechanical (tinyurl.com/ D3D-ansys). Unfortunately, this level of testing was not possible for this review, but Lenovo did share some benchmark figures from Ansys Mechanical (FEA) and Ansys Fluent (CFD) and we were impressed with what we saw, although we cannot share the results. Lenovo compared various Threadripper Pro models to a dual Intel Xeon Platinum 8280 (2 x 28 cores) and other Intel W-Series CPUs. In the majority of tests, the 64-core Threadripper Pro 3995WX came out top. However, in some workflows, the dual Intel

Xeon Platinum 8280 still had the lead. Both machines had a similar amount of memory and were maxxed out in terms of memory bandwidth. What we found interesting was that in three out of the 21 tests, the 32-core Threadripper Pro was actually faster than the 64-core model. In simulation software, as we’ve seen before, more cores aren’t always better. As discussed earlier, memory is really important for simulation, and this is where Threadripper Pro beats consumer Threadripper hands down, both in terms of capacity and bandwidth — and we’d love to see how the two compare. The potential of having up to 1TB of super-fast memory in an ‘affordable’ desktop workstation really could change the way engineering firms think about simulation — doing more on the desktop and less in a cluster or the cloud. However, while bringing down solve times or being able to obtain more accurate results through the use of more dense meshes is great, firms do need consider the cost of software licensing. Ansys, like many other simulation software providers, charges more if you use more cores. So, in some cases, choosing a more powerful CPU might not be worth the cost involved for what could be a small performance gain. Certainly, firms need to understand exactly how their software works with their datasets before splashing out on a 64-core CPU.

POINT CLOUD PROCESSING Leica Cyclone Register 360 is an AECfocused application that is used to register point clouds, taking individual laser scans and combining them in one unified coordinate system. It’s an interesting application insofar as it doesn’t dynamically allocate workstation resources. Instead, it predicts what CPU resources will be needed for a given dataset and allocates them accordingly. For example, with our 99GB test dataset, which comprises 39 laser scans and 500 million points, a workstation with 16GB RAM will use one thread, one with 32GB will use two, one with 64GB will use five and one with 128GB will use six. The application is currently nowhere near being able to take full advantage of the 64 cores in the Threadripper Pro 3995WX, although AMD told us it is currently working with Leica to improve this. In terms of benchmarking, we were pleasantly surprised to see our ThinkStation P620 complete the test in 2,296 secs, setting a new record with clock speeds hovering around 3.70GHz. This is significantly faster than a 4.0GHz overclocked AMD Threadripper 3990X with 64GB RAM (2,899 secs) and even faster than a ten core Intel Core i9-10900K with 128GB RAM (2,332 secs), even with its significantly higher 5.0Hz clock.

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We immediately put this down to memory bandwidth. With eight channels, Threadripper Pro has significantly more than consumer Threadripper (four channels) and the Intel Core i9-10900K (two channels). Considering the size of the datasets involved, this makes total sense. However, we were puzzled by what happened next. To level the playing field with consumer Threadripper, we reduced the memory to 64GB, taking out four memory sticks. Now, with four channels instead of eight, and registration being calculated on five threads instead of six, we had expected processing times to rise significantly, much closer to consumer Threadripper. However, it made very little difference at all, completing the test in 2,311 secs. While we can’t explain this behaviour, we are certain that memory bandwidth is having a massive influence here, and we’d be exceedingly interested to see how some of the lower core count Threadripper Pro CPUs performed in this test. With their higher clock speeds, we imagine they could be an excellent choice for users of Leica Cyclone Register 360. To find out more about our Leica Cyclone Register 360 testing, read this in-depth article in our sister publication AEC Magazine (tinyurl. com/AEC-cyclone).

a CPU render in V-Ray; a CPU/GPU render in Solidworks Visualize; and then interactive modelling in Solidworks. And, remarkably, the machine remained pretty responsive, even without using the Lenovo Performance Tuner.

GRAPHICS As this review is very much focused on Threadripper Pro, we won’t go into a great deal of depth on the Lenovo ThinkStation P620’s graphics performance. In short, the Nvidia Quadro RTX 6000 is the fastest GPU we’ve tested at DEVELOP3D, and is great for real-time viz, VR and GPU rendering, especially considering its 24GB of memory. In Autodesk VRED Professional, we got an impressive 16.75 frames per second out of our automotive test model at 4K resolution with anti-aliasing set to very high. Our test machine also set a new record in real-time arch viz tool Enscape, navigating our test scene at 38 FPS at 4K. And, in Solidworks Visualise, it rendered the 1969 Camaro model at 4K with 1,000

MULTI-TASKING Threadripper Pro isn’t just about throwing a huge compute resource at a single task. With so many cores to play with, high memory bandwidth, and with highperformance storage coming soon, the Lenovo ThinkStation P620 is also very adept at multi-tasking. For example, one could model in CAD, while running a simulation and a rendering job in the background or run multiple simulation jobs in parallel to explore how different design iterations stack up. This could even extend to using the ThinkStation P620 as a network resource, as is possible with some rendering/ simulation tools. To help users manage the substantial resources of the ThinkStation P620, Lenovo offers a freely downloadable utility called Lenovo Performance Tuner. Instead of letting Windows decide how an application uses the workstation’s CPU cores, users can set processor affinity, so when an application launches, it only runs on specific cores and doesn’t compete with others. This is particularly useful for a demanding workflow like ray trace rendering. To find out how far we could push the system, we tested it out by running a ridiculous number of concurrent processes: a CPU render in KeyShot;

passes in 222 secs and 100 passes with denoising enabled in 24 secs. All impressive stats. However, with the Quadro RTX 6000’s replacement, the Nvidia RTX A6000, just around the corner, those who require this level of performance from their GPU might be advised to wait. Of course, the Quadro RTX 6000 is complete overkill if you simply want to use the P620 for simulation or for CAD-centric rendering. Replacing it with a Quadro P2200 would bring down the cost of our test machine to £5,804 Ex VAT.

Red touchpoints inside the modular chassis make it easy to change fans, drives, GPUs, memory and even the 1000W power supply

CONCLUSION The launch of Threadripper Pro in the Lenovo ThinkStation P620 feels like a defining moment in the workstation market. The performance of this machine, particularly with the 32-core and 64-core Threadripper Pro CPUs, is incredible and even though Intel can compete in some high-end workflows with its dual Xeon CPUs, AMD wins hands down on price/ performance. In many ways, AMD’s biggest competitor is itself. In some workflows — ray trace rendering in particular — consumer Threadripper offers more performance, especially in water-cooled machines. In other workflows, memory bandwidth and capacity gives Threadripper Pro an advantage. But this isn’t just about performance. Lenovo offers something that really matters to large design, engineering and architecture firms, which is global support, reliability through extensive testing, software certification, and a broad portfolio of products that can serve the entire organisation. This is something that the smaller, specialist workstation manufacturers simply can’t offer with consumer Threadripper. While Threadripper Pro excels in multi-threaded workflows, in the grand scheme of things, ray tracing rendering and simulation are relatively niche. Single-threaded performance continues to be more important to the masses of CAD and BIM software users out there, and Threadripper Pro isn’t quite there yet. However, this is only just the beginning for Threadripper Pro. With its new ‘Zen 3’ Ryzen 5000 series, AMD looks to have taken Intel’s single-threaded performance crown – and with the same architecture almost certainly making its way into the next gen of Threadripper Pro later this year, the future looks incredibly bright for AMD in the workstation market. And with that in mind, it’s surely only a matter of time before other Tier Ones, such as HP and Dell, follow suit. Of course, Intel will be fighting back – not just in technology, but also in marketing. Intel Xeon, as a brand, has built up its reputation over many years. So even if AMD does win the performance war, it will still have a big challenge on its hands if it’s to change the mindsets of architects and engineers. While gamers might be more easily swayed by benchmark charts, brand loyalty in the workstation market remains very strong. DEVELOP3D.COM FEBRUARY 2021 45

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03/02/2021 13:48

HARDWARE REVIEW

Acer ConceptD 7 Ezel » Acer is looking to address the creative market with its ConceptD range. Al Dean takes a look at one of the mobile offerings in a range that promises power with flexibility » Intel Core i7-10875H 2.33Ghz (8 core) CPU » Nvidia GTX 2070 Max-Q Design (8GB) GPU » 16GB DDR4 SDRAM memory » 15.6” 4K Pantone validated display » EMR pen & touchpad input » 1TB PCI Express SSD » Aluminium/ Magnesium chassis with ceramic microcoat panels » Dimensions: 326mm (l) x 229mm (w) x 23.9mm (h) » Microsoft Windows 10 Professional 64-bit » 1.68kg » 3 Years standard warranty (return to base) - upgradeable to on-site £2,399 (Ex. VAT) acer.com

1 Acer’s Ezel hinge ●

allows for some interesting positioning options for the 15-inch display, including automatic rotation of the display when flipped over 2 The machine also ●

works perfectly well as a standardconfiguration laptop

well-known brand in the consumer and gaming space, Acer isn’t typically associated with professional workstations. The company is looking to change that, however, with its ConceptD range, which owes much to the success Acer has experienced with its Predator line of gaming PCs. The ConceptD range includes a number of striking desktop workstations, the design of which reflects a determined step away from the typical black-and-silver box – but it’s the ConceptD Ezel laptop range that interests us the most. While sizes and specifications vary, what all the products in the range have in common is the Ezel hinge. This double hinge gives you more flexibility for opening and closing the unit, compared to a standard single hinge. What this means is that the display can be easily adjusted: from a standard laptop configuration, the display can also be pushed upwards if you’re using a connected keyboard and mouse; flipped over for a presentation (with the display adjusting automatically); or it can lie flat for use as a drawing surface. As you might guess, all machines are equipped with Wacom’s pen-based input, so they’re perfectly suited to those who like to switch to that mode for certain workflows and tasks. The machine reviewed here is the smallest from the range, the ConceptD 7 Ezel. It’s built around a 15-inch, 4K screen and weighs in at just 1.86kg. The combination of an aluminium/magnesium chassis, along with some pretty terrifying white casing, makes for a striking and sturdy unit.

The all-important ports are found on either side of the machine. These include USB 3 and C, as well as HDMI connectivity for external displays. (It’s just a single HDMI, but you can also drive a monitor using DisplayPort over USB-C.)

IN USE The Acer ConceptD range is interesting. It moves from pretty standard laptops to more interesting devices, both in terms of performance at the high end and in terms of usability options. And while it might sound a little counterintuitive having the combination of an adjustable touchscreen display, keyboard and pen-based input in a single device is compelling. I’ll give you an example: using Fusion 360 on this machine. With pen in hand, you can draw out geometry when needed and use the keyboard to input numbers and hotkeys as well as type. But you can also use your finger to rotate/pan/zoom your model. What amazed me was how quickly I got accustomed to this mix of interaction types. As a laptop, it’s pretty much as you might expect. It offers a decent GPU for a machine of its size, it doesn’t run too hot, and the keyboard is responsive. We ran the KeyShot Viewer benchmark and found that while it fared averagely on the CPU count, it punched way above its weight when it came to GPU rendering – but only after we installed updates to Nvidia’s Studio drivers. The real sweet spot was using the ConceptD 7 Ezel as a drawing tablet with pen-based input. Wacom’s EMR technology keeps things responsive, the pen nib tracks well and there was very little latency. (It’s also worth noting that Wacom’s EMR tech isn’t swapped out for its more budget-conscious AES tech at the lower end of this ConceptD Ezel range.) In particular, the ability to pull the display closer and position it as needed was very useful, especially if you’re working in a less-than-ideal space (at a kitchen table, perhaps) or while on the move. The hinge mechanism felt robust at all times – but only time will tell how it stands up under longterm, regular use.

1 CONCLUSION The portability of the Acer ConceptD 7 Ezel is pretty handy and its combination of a decent (albeit consumer-level) GPU with pen-based options is intriguing. It opens up, for example, the opportunity to consolidate on a single unit for those of you who regularly find yourselves lugging around multiple devices – even if, right now, that’s only from your living room to your bedroom, or vice versa. Performance-wise, the unit we reviewed (the RTX 2070) wasn’t top of the line, even within the ConceptD 7 line-up. It would probably suit only light-duty CAD work. That said, for GPU-based workflows, such as rendering, it doesn’t disappoint. I’d personally recommend a minimum of 32GB of RAM to bring it up to par. Other options are available and you should assess the full product range according to your specific needs. In terms of my other thoughts on this product, it’s worth mentioning that the white finish is going to appeal to a certain type of person – and it’s probably fair to assume that that person won’t be somebody who regularly gets their hands dirty in the course of their work. In other words, if you’re involved in building prototypes in the design office or working on the shopfloor, this machine may be best avoided. It will be filthy in seconds. You may also want to get yourself a full-size EMR stylus – and there are many available. For comfort, I’d recommend Lamy’s Safari EMR pen. All in all, the Concept 7 Ezel shows that Acer is looking to take the creative market seriously. With this clever multiuse device, it will likely find an eager audience there. DEVELOP3D.COM FEBRUARY 2021 47

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Epson SC-T3100M » The wide format printing market is so dominated by HP that it’s often hard for other manufacturers to be heard. But with a new, compact 24-inch (A1) multifunction printer (MFP), Epson has plenty to shout about, writes Greg Corke

1 » Product: Epson SC-T3100M » Supplier: Epson / ArtSystems Price: £1,346 + VAT epson.co.uk artsystems.co.uk

1 The compact multi●

function printer is considerably smaller and lighter than comparative products 2 It can be placed on ●

a desk, sideboard or optional stand [Ed: Picture absolutely does not show Greg Corke’s own spaceconstrained home office]

hen large format printer distributor ArtSystems asked if I’d be interested in reviewing Epson’s new multi-function printer (MFP), I have to admit I was a little hesitant. Where on earth would I find room for a 24-inch (A1) printer/scanner/copier in my space-constrained home office? And how would I even get it up the stairs? The reality is, the Epson SC-T3100M is not your average wide format MFP. The compact unit is considerably smaller and lighter than comparative products from HP and Canon. It measures 970mm (w) x 505 (d) x 292 (h) and weighs 35.3kg. It’s relatively easy for two people to carry and sits comfortably on a desk or sideboard (although there’s also an optional stand with catch basket). And because the device is WiFi-enabled, it can go anywhere. The SC-T3100M is not a completely new product. It’s an evolution of the SC-T3100 and SC-T3100N inkjet printers that Epson launched a couple of years ago. But the new model has an integrated 600dpi Contact Imaging Sensor (CIS) colour scanner. Impressively, turning it into a 3-in-1 device has not increased its size one bit. As a printer, the SC-T3100M supports a single 2-inch core roll of paper up to 24-inches wide x 100m long and cut sheets up to A1. It can automatically switch between the two with no manual intervention. There’s also a built-in auto sheet feeder for up to 50 sheets of A4 or A3, so the machine can double up as a standard office printer. Like all Epson inkjets, the SC-T3100M features micro piezo print head

technology, rather than the more common thermal inkjet print heads that you get with HP and Canon. The technology works by applying an electrical voltage to a piezo crystal, which then expands and contracts to propel thousands of ink droplets through the nozzle. In contrast, thermal print heads feature a heating element that creates an air bubble which ejects the ink. According to Epson, because piezo print heads are not subject to the same heating and cooling stresses as thermal print heads, they don’t lose their shape or accuracy over time and therefore don’t need to be replaced. In fact, the print heads are included in the machine’s one-year warranty, which is a big plus for a product type often known for big running costs. The SC-T3100M uses four inkjet cartridges — Black (50ml or 80ml) and CMY (26ml or 50ml). At £23.20 (ex VAT) for the 26ml cartridges and £36.59 (ex VAT) for the 50ml, these seem reasonably priced and even though our 26ml colour starter cartridges drained quickly on initial set-up, they actually ended up lasting for a considerable number of prints. The machine uses pigment ink, which has a better resistance to water and smudging than dye ink, making it well suited to construction sites. It’s also lightfast, so good for display posters. The machine is controlled through an intuitive 4.3-inch colour LCD touchscreen panel. Set-up is incredibly easy, aided by a visual user guide that steps you through the process, including animations that show how to add paper and ink cartridges. Once everything is installed, initialisation

takes about 20 mins, and then you’re ready to print. You can print in several different ways. The easiest is with a USB flash drive, which you plug in at the front of the machine and then browse for JPGs or TIFFs (but seemingly not PDFs) on the touchscreen. But to get the most out of the machine, you need to hook it up to a laptop via USB or, better still, get it on the network (WiFi or Ethernet). Drivers are available for Windows and Mac OS, while support for Apple AirPrint offers wireless printing from iPhone, iPad and Mac without having to install a driver. For CAD drawings, it can emulate HP GL/2 and HP RTL, but for best results, Epson recommends using the CAD/line drawing mode in the Epson driver. Unfortunately, my pre-production unit had WiFi disabled, so in order to get it on to my home network I had to plug it into a £20 WiFi Extender using an Ethernet cable. This delivered most of the same functionality as you would get from the built-in WiFi, but it did mean I couldn’t test out WiFi Direct, which allows you to connect directly to the printer when a WiFi network isn’t available or only exists in the form of a closed corporate network. Printing from an iPhone via AirPrint is a really easy way to get prints out quickly. Simply select the device from the list and hit print. Vector PDFs and raster JPGs worked a treat, but we did have some problems getting a large raster PDF file to print. The same file, shrunk down to A4, printed fine on an HP LaserJet. AirPrint is great for its simplicity, but it does have its limitations. In Windows

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HARDWARE REVIEW

2 and Mac OS, you get much more control over scale, orientation, media type and print quality. Using plain coated paper, we printed a selection of CAD drawings from AutoCAD and Solidworks eDrawings and were impressed with the results. It took just over 40 secs to print an A1 colour line drawing (including 10 secs to send the file over the network). Printing in monochrome was slightly quicker. Both delivered super-sharp linework, with great detail on small dimensions and text. Roll-fed paper is automatically cut at the end of the print, but is still held by the printer so it doesn’t just drop to the floor. Photorealistic architectural and consumer product renderings also looked notably good on the coated paper. However, the results with premium semigloss photo paper on the super fine setting were a different class entirely — incredibly vibrant with subtle variations of colour and greys. This is a mature print technology, so no major surprises there, but printing at this best-quality setting does take time. Expect to wait over 10 mins for an A1 print.

SCANNING For scanning, everything is controlled through the touch panel. There are three ways to save/send data: network folder/ FTP, email or USB flash drive. The easiest is to send files directly to a shared folder — simply type in the address and log in credentials. To get this working on my local network, however, I needed to replace ‘computer name’ with the local IP address of my PC.

Setting up email wasn’t plain sailing, either. Gmail complained about security, although it did work fine with an Outlook. com account. This is all done via SMTP and POP3, but I’m told there’s a workaround for Exchange Server. Once set up, scans can be automatically emailed to recipients in an address book. To physically scan, documents are fed in from the rear, face up, and the paper size is automatically detected. You’ll need to make sure the document is precisely aligned with the right-hand edge guide. The machine will warn you if it’s not and ask you to reload. Documents can be scanned to JPG, PDF or TIFF and there are several different settings to control the output, including resolution, colour mode and compression. Automatic background removal, for example, strips out off-white backgrounds, but to get the best results, we found we needed to adjust the value manually. The higher the setting, the more background is removed, but this can also mean you lose important detail from the drawing, so a balance needs to be found. Background removal can also be controlled using the ‘Tracing paper’ and ‘Blueprint’ original type settings. There are no specific settings for scanning full colour photos/renderings but we got the best results from text/line drawing. As with prints, scanned documents are held in place at the end of the scan, ensuring they don’t fall to the floor. When scanning an A1 colour line drawing, it took us around 30 secs at 300 dpi and around 75 secs at 600 dpi. Monochrome scans, naturally, are much faster.

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It’s an impressive entry-level multifunction printer, especially considering its price. It’s easy to set up and operate, and incredibly small given its A1 print and scan/copy capabilities

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COPYING Copying follows pretty much the same process as scanning in terms of settings for quality, background removal and so on. On top of that, you can select the number of copies, specify the output size and scaling (25% to 400%). On the whole, copies of line drawings were good, but not perfect. On the fastest copy setting, there was a slight stepping effect on vertical lines due to small deviations. This didn’t appear to be down to skewed paper, as it went in both directions. It was much less noticeable on the super-fine setting, however, but copies took far longer. We also tried a full-colour copy of a printed architectural rendering on photo paper. The results were OK, but they’ll never be as good as when printing from a digital original.

CONCLUSION The Epson SC-T3100M is an impressive entry-level multi-function printer, especially considering its budget price of £1,346 + VAT. It’s easy to set up and operate, and incredibly small, given its A1 print and scan/copy capabilities. While many design and engineering firms have expanded their digital workflows during the Covid-19 pandemic, many are still missing physical prints and the ability to scan original documents. With its budget price and compact footprint, Epson can give you this capability in your own home, or in a small office, if we ever emerge from this seemingly endless series of lockdowns. DEVELOP3D.COM FEBRUARY 2021 49

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THE LAST WORD

The rise of the digital twin continues apace, but is it really anything new? Al Dean has been pondering on the real benefits that this much-hyped trend might actually deliver and how far off they still might be

IMAGE COURTESY OF PTC

he phrase ‘digital twin’ is one of those sweet nuggets of corporate speak that has become ingrained in the product development and manufacturing technology industry in recent years. While its origins date back to the turn of this new century, it didn’t really become popular until the mid-2010s. Today, however, it seems you can’t browse any technology company’s website without stumbling across it. So, what does it mean? There are definitions aplenty, depending on who you ask. To my mind, it refers to the goal of connecting a rich product data model with a physical counterpart, typically using low-cost sensors, Internet of Things (IoT) technology and some nifty software for both data collection and interpretation. Ask someone else, however, and you may find it applied to a simulation model (no, that’s just a simulation model) or a digital rendering (again no, that’s just a rendering). Once a phrase gets taken up by corporate marketing, it quickly spreads and its meaning becomes dispersed, tweaked and warped to suit each vendor’s agenda. That said, the idea of the digital twin strikes me as a wholly valid one. We now have the ability to create rich, functional digital descriptions of the products that we are designing, representing not only the geometric shape and materials of the product, but its electronics, software, fluid and thermal performance, electromagnetic effects and much more. Given all the money under the sun, it’s possible to have a physical product represented on a screen as if it were ‘real’, along with all of the data that has led us up to point. All of the requirements, the decisions, the workflows, the manufacturing and assembly processes could, theoretically, be simulated, defined and documented. If that’s technically feasible, then doesn’t it make sense to connect it up to the physical product once delivered? Of course. Having a doppelganger linked to the functional, real-world version is an incredibly powerful

idea. When combined with simulation technologies, it could be possible to predict part failures or servicing requirements long before they actually happened. Data on how the product is used could help to find problematic parts or subsystems. Fixes could be shipped and installed before the customer even knows an issue’s brewing. Then, when it comes to developing the next product, that rich set of real-world data could be taken and used as the input to refine and improve it. For those who have been part of the design, engineering and manufacturing world and have tracked technology’s development, this may sound really familiar. It’s in part the original pitch for product lifecycle management (PLM): a means to capture all of the data created in your product’s development process and then its extended lifecycle. The digital twin idea is exactly this, too, but expanded to capture data from physical products. Of course, as with PLM before it, there are very few organisations that have the need, the capability and, frankly, the budget to explore this concept fully. Those doing so were probably half-way there already, before someone in marketing gave it a nifty new name.

The problem is that to shoot for those customers, many of the software vendors like to put forth the idea that everyone should use the same approach, that they should open up the corporate coffers, just because its what ‘industry leaders’ do. The reality is very different. Products are not for the most part ‘smart’ and their manufacturing and assembly processes most certainly are not. The reality is that, just as with PLM, organisations will take portions of the idea, appropriate for their products, best practices and workflows, and apply them in the context of company goals and budgets. While we do that, the tech vendors will continue to push the idea of the digital twin for a few more years and then move onto the next big thing that some company leader is willing to pay an expensive consulting firm to ‘verify’. I’ve still no idea what the hell a ‘digital thread’ is, by the way – but I’m pretty sure it’s a lot less interesting than the smart sewing machine I’m eyeing up on Ebay.

1 Digital twins: ●

Were they born from PLM over-exposure, cheap sensors and the Internet of Things?

GET IN TOUCH: Email me on al@x3dmedia.com. On Twitter, I’m @alistardean. Are you developing and building products? We want to tell your story. Talk to us!

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