The universal truth of manufacturing is that change is constant. It is brought on from a variety of sources. They could be incremental improvements to quality or efficiency of existing processes, or major changes due to new products, variants, or changes in demand. In a recent study by Tech-Clarity (a leading research firm in the manufacturing industry), there were 10 different causes that at least 1/3 of the companies responding noted as a driver of change.
Autodesk recognized ProModel as a leader in simulation of these identified drivers of change. ProModel recognized that Autodesk was THE leader in CAD tech across all disciplines – in fact, most existing ProModel customers use AutoCAD or FDU today in one form or another – and 99% (or more) of customers use AutoCAD for layout – furthermore 90% of ProModel studies utilize an AutoCAD drawing as a baseline to get results.
Basically, the industry drove them to partner, and Autodesk knew their technology investment and roadmap was years away from ProModel.
I am excited to announce that Autodesk is partnering with ProModel to enable manufacturing organizations to make better informed business decisions. This is possible by unlocking the benefits of combining ProModel process simulation software and Autodesk Factory Design Assets. This will provide a more robust process modeling and analysis solution for Autodesk’s Factory Design Utilities customers. In fact, Autodesk has already suspended development of Process Analysis 2023 as of March of 2023. When you click the link for to Create Process Analysis Model in AutoCAD or Inventor you now get a landing page with an extra link and information:
Going forward you will receive access to the AutoCAD ProModel Evaluation Edition (30-day Trial) but will not be able to make any changes to your existing Process Analysis 360 files. Autodesk currently offers great products for customers to plan and validate factory layouts with the Factory Design Utilites, but the Autodesk stance has always been very strong in "Will it fit?" and has usually fallen short of the "Will it perform?" and "Whats the ROI?" simulations. Think of the power and scale difference this way...
ProModel comes in with Discrete Event Simulation or DES to add variability and a plethora of additional scenarios. This allows the capture and refinement of a process in a digital environment by identifying current issues and enabling testing of possible solutions all before committing capital to a project. Now, DES is not new...in fact its been used by manufacturing and industrial engineers for decades. What is new...is how easy it is to use and and being directly inside of AutoCAD.
Typically the process of performing DES studies is usually involving a cubicle wall or a disconnection of the data entirely. Some DES systems work with AutoCAD but none of them integrate directly with it except ProModel. Until ProModel came along, the workflow for utilizing an existing CAD layout was as follows:
The industrial engineer would reach out to layout, process or manufacturing engineering to access a layout document which they would then insert as a backdrop on which to build a process. This is a disjointed workflow – when the layout changes, this process needs to be repeated over and over – which is time consuming and error prone.
In the past, this was the even ProModel workflow – until now. ProModel felt they could provide a better, more seamless experience for customers. Their solutions allow companies to democratize DES – allowing more participants to simulate easily using the AutoCAD Edition, and allow dedicated Industrial Engineering staff to further the simulation process using ProModel Simulation Suite and the wealth of tools it brings to bear.
Autodesk tools provide a great foundation for building a digital twin – in familiar tools that you are probably already using for layout today. ProModel provides the ability to turn your CAD layout documentation into a powerful tool for throughput simulation – helping customers get the best return on investment for their process changes, and in turn, reduce cost of manufacturing their products.
In the coming weeks I will go cover different scenarios with ProModel as well the different options around their product portfolio.
If you are interested in the partnership, so are we! We have actually partnered with ProModel to be able to sell and support the ProModel product through training and consulting with our experienced technical staff.
Here is a bit more information on the EOL of Process Analysis and the difference in the ProModel Standard vs. Evaluation Edition...
Process Analysis End of Life FAQ
ProModel Evaluation Version vs. Standard Version
