Come and hear how using Forge can help you on your journey towards creating a transformative consumer experience based on mass customization.

Let your customers unleash their inner rock star. Engineer to order has been done, but what about design to order? Learn how to create flexible complex designs driven from customer inputs. Increase efficiencies and margins using the sculpting tools in the Fusion 360 3D CAD design app and the automation capabilities of Inventor software. We use our startup, Orphanage Guitars, as a case study to illustrate how our customers are able to design their own custom carved-top electric guitars to their specifications in a matter of minutes. We let you behind the curtain, show our process, and discuss the pros and cons of alternative mass customization methods.

This class presents several real-world examples using Fusion 360 software as a platform for making things using a Tormach PCNC milling machine. We will look in depth at case studies in rapid prototyping, mass customization, tool making, and specialty manufacturing.

Industrial robots are primarily known from the automotive industry's production lines. The goal of this class is to present robots instead as multifunctional and flexible interfaces between the digital and the physical world that can be used for anything from innovative, large-scale fabrication to immersive virtual reality (VR) simulators. This extension beyond the robots' initial scope is enabled by new software developments that facilitate a seamless workflow from design to machine through Dynamo software and KUKA|prc. Utilizing parametric design tools lets us use robots for mass customization and small lot sizes, rather than mass fabrication. The class will provide an overview on how to utilize industrial robots through Dynamo and Fusion 360 software, and present realized projects by both small to medium-size enterprises as well as international corporations. We'll also look into the future toward new developments that build upon the geometric capabilities of the Forge cloud and couple it with serverless computation and integration with IoT platforms.

This hands-on lab focuses on using the conceptual massing environment in Revit Structure software to create complex roofs and walls and other complex shapes, such as a transmission tower or even a battleship. We walk through creating the mass framework and then get into the project. We explore advanced techniques to make trusses, complex beams, and columns that host the mass constructs. We also explore the workflow of how to manage change with these tools and how to master these techniques.

The principle of Industrialized construction is to apply techniques learned from industries such as Automotive design to the design and construction of buildings. Moving to this new world has inherent challenges, from the complexity of mass customization to the supply chain pipeline.
You are not alone. Many great minds are focused on this complex problem and the challenges of getting there from where we are today.
If you are involved in the manufacture of building products or equipment, the pre-fabrication of building components and modular systems, or the challenges of implementing design for manufacture and assembly (DfMA) in your Architectural practice, come and join your peers at Autodesk University for this informal networking session.
Take this opportunity to meet others at AU who are focused on the same problems as you and build your network of peers to help you meet this challenge long after AU is over.

Building configurators are essential in the industrialized construction (IC) space. By using tools like Dynamo with Revit software, we can efficiently create an assembled building using basic design for manufacture and assembly (DfMA) assumptions. A configurator enables us to quickly search libraries for company assemblies and their parameter values, suggest previously engineered products (assemblies), and place these suggested products in their assumed project locations. Using this tool reduces a three-week process to one hour, and it unifies data with design, all while creating a reliable model. In this class, you'll learn the techniques involved in building a configurator with Revit and Dynamo software. You'll also learn how to evolve the process for continuous optimization, create custom searches for your products, filter methods that mimic DfMA logic and how to consume other massing inputs. Lastly, we will share lessons learned in our own experiences building configurators and discuss what resources were needed.

This class will show how a business built on mass customization was transformed from a 2D-based environment to a full 3D operation. We will discuss automation and interaction of multiple 3D platforms and products, including how every aspect of the business has been impacted (sales automation, digital design, inventive CAD-CAM, paperless manufacturing, and more). The class will discuss how Inventor software and Vault software have been taken beyond being technical tools to becoming effective global enterprise resource planning (ERP) tools. We will show how you can use Vault software to provide real-time cost accounting, material management, procurement, and strategic pricing in a highly customized global business. We will also discuss the inventive ways of creating workflows, enabling multiple product platforms (Inventor software, Revit software, 3ds Max software) and internal processes (architectural design, product design, manufacturing, technical sales) to work together in collaborative and efficient ways. We will also discuss metrics and strategic business benefits.

Affordable construction is a serious problem that affects us all, and we face a growing housing shortage in the 21st century. It's widely believed that prefabrication and industrialized construction are strategies that can help the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry produce buildings much faster, less expensively, and of higher quality than traditional on-site construction methods. When done right, prefabrication delivers clear benefits to multifamily housing and hotels, but also comes with risks. The right issues must be de-risked to ensure project success, centered on establishing a digital fabrication approach of Rooms as a Product (RaaP). With RaaP, we can enable industrialized construction by connecting teams, processes, and partners. We give developers access to a vetted prefab ecosystem, standardized documents, and a modular certified process to manage workflows. We also digitize the fabricators' pipeline of orders to increase predictability and lower costs to support mass customization.

Berkeley Group has been constructing residential properties in the UK for more than 40 years using traditional approaches. Berkeley Modular is a startup that will deliver off-site manufactured housing products, but at levels of productivity normally associated with other sectors such as automotive. This off-site manufactured housing product is intended to be safe, high performing, high quality, and comfortable where actual performance matches designed intent. The class will chart the development of a new factory build and cover lessons learned, including planning of the layout, specifying the flexible manufacturing system and development of productive workflow, and the development of a technology platform that supports the concept of mass customization and uses conversion velocity. The digitally enabled agile manufacturing platform includes BIM 360 software as the CDE, as well as a suite of integrated manufacturing systems based on Vault software, Inventor software, coBuilder Collaborate, Oracle Fusion, and Siemens MES.

In the wake of the second digital turn in architecture (Carpo, 2017), this talk questions the opinion of Gershenfeld (2012) that ‘’a new digital revolution is coming, this time in fabrication.’’ It questions the widespread use of digital fabrication from industry and investigates the impacts on architecture and society. It's not a pure architecture lecture but multidisciplinary research which tackles the 3D printing industry as we know it today. Specific examples from digital software such as processing would be given in order to demonstrate how the new tools give computational power to architects and produce a new architecture. The lecture debates the above phrase through different approaches towards digital materiality, the use of digital tools in fabrication, the goal of mass customization-collaboration and the relation of design with making. Moreover, It searches the origins and the development of the idea of digital fabrication from antiquity to 21st century. Specific examples are presented towards the prospects of digital fabrication regarding its opening to the society, its further development of embodied technology, and the overcoming of temporal limitations of cost, speed, and quality. Finally, it concludes with useful findings and questions for further research in the field.

Lightning Motorcycles has been breaking records in the world of e-bikes since the company entered the market. The LS-218 is pushing electric and gasoline-powered motorcycles to be the fastest production bike on the market. But pure performance is not the only goal; Lightning is focused on providing consumers with the best quality and value in every product it creates. Key to meeting these goals and staying ahead of the competition are new technology and ways of thinking. Lightning was an early adopter of generative design. Collaboratively, we produced a part-consolidation and lightweighting workflow that saved 30% of target component mass. In this class, we’ll show you how developments within generative design can be used to gain these benefits, while ensuring cost-effective manufacturing. This talk will cover workflows used within Fusion 360 software, maximizing the integrated simulation, generative design, and manufacturing tools to better understand the part and its performance.

Futureproofing your conceptual design process to take advantage of modern construction techniques, such as volumetric modular buildings, will be a necessary step for all as we transition through the modern age of Design & Make.Using Autodesk Dynamo and Generative Design to create and transmit an automated modular massing to Autodesk Forma, with the new Dynamo as a Service extension, will become the next step in the journey towards efficient analysis tailored to your design needs. Steve Thorne of Bird Construction will demonstrate how anyone can take the Stack Modular Design Guide and apply that information to a Dynamo Generative Design script configured to automatically generate a compliant massing to be passed into Autodesk Forma, allowing one to take full advantage of its powerful analysis toolset.This session will empower the attendee to apply massing Automation, Integration, & Customization to any volumetric solution with a framework for paving the way to analyzing other modular assemblies.

This class covers advanced techniques that MEP modelers can use to automate the placement, modification, and customization of mechanical elements when they are confronted with complex architectural geometry. We will demonstrate techniques that involve custom workflows between Autodesk® Revit® MEP and Autodesk® Revit® Architecture software. We will discuss both software platforms simultaneously to illustrate the overlap of specific tools that are most often used solely by architects, but that can greatly enhance the productivity of MEP modeling. Attendees will learn how adaptive components, pattern-based systems, and the conceptual massing environment can be appropriated from the architectural tools to MEP users. These time-saving strategies become highly valuable when you are confronted with architectural projects of complex geometric form.

Manufacturing companies are under increasing pressure to provide unique products to their customers, while at the same time improving their overall efficiency. In this session, we will explore how a configurator technology built on Forge, in conjunction with Fusion Lifecycle software and Vault software, provides a seamless and integrated solution to achieve increased sales, reduced engineering cycle times, and ultimately greater efficiency. Using only a web browser, sales staff or even prospective customers can configure a product to their unique requirements and receive immediate visual feedback and a professional quotation. When they are ready to order, information will flow seamlessly to both Fusion Lifecycle and Vault. Additional Vault customization will provide additional downstream data, such as DXF files—all automated using Vault software's lifecycle engine. This session is certain to open your eyes to excellent processes for optimal efficiency, integration, and automation.

Visualizing masterplans with many buildings can be a time-consuming task, often leading to the use of massing volumes well beyond early design stages. However, as a project progresses, you don't have to compromise on quality. Discover the potential of procedural modeling and texturing techniques to improve your masterplan renders. This presentation will combine 3ds Max 2024 software's latest features with RailClone and Forest Pack, enabling new, efficient, procedural modeling approaches. Learn how to visualize hundreds of buildings that can be effortlessly updated, customized, and refined for a highly optimized workflow. A compelling masterplan visualization involves more than buildings. We will delve into procedural methods for incorporating elements such as pavements, street furniture, lighting, and road markings. The session will conclude with tips on how to add large numbers of realistic trees, plants, vehicles, people, and other essential elements automatically and with minimal effort.

The industry is moving from mass production to customized solutions, creating a tremendous increase in the demand for custom BIM (Building Information Modeling) software solutions. However, custom solutions are expensive to develop. With Forge, you can build custom BIM configurators with minimum investment and time. We created a custom simulation app for HVAC professionals to produce a sustainable design. The app simulates the performance of design spaces and HVAC systems configuration in the cloud. The class will demonstrate how to use Forge to create a new user-defined office build space. We will elaborate on how the assembly of complex 3D HVAC system configurations can be created. You will see how Revit design automation APIs can construct an accurate intelligent model on the server. Attendees will learn these techniques, as well as how to create vast varieties of online BIM system configurators such as kitchen design, furniture design, infrastructure design, and others.