Factory design
Make your next move toward modernized factory design
Make your next move toward modernized factory design
Combine 2D and 3D CAD into powerful workflows to optimize your factory layout and gain ground in the areas that matter to you most–efficiency, throughput, and quality.
Close the loop between digital and physical
Close the loop between digital and physical
Area by area. Discipline by discipline. Data silo by data silo. For decades, that’s the way factories have been designed—the way they’re often still designed today. But from brownfield site to greenfield, the pressure is on: to mass customize, to do more with less, to digitize. And there’s an emerging importance of a modern factory planning approach. Of converging building and production information. And making information readily available.
Read how industry leaders are moving toward modernization to bring out the best from their factories–one step at a time–with Autodesk.
Area by area. Discipline by discipline. Data silo by data silo. For decades, that’s the way factories have been designed—the way they’re often still designed today. But from brownfield site to greenfield, the pressure is on: to mass customize, to do more with less, to digitize. And there’s an emerging importance of a modern factory planning approach. Of converging building and production information. And making information readily available. Read how industry leaders are moving toward modernization to bring out the best from their factories–one step at a time–with Autodesk.
Free your team from factory planning chaos
Keep plans on track
Keep plans on track
Manage process complexity across stakeholders during a new build or retrofit so you can bring out the best from your factory with an optimized factory design.
Manage process complexity across stakeholders during a new build or retrofit so you can bring out the best from your factory with an optimized factory design.
Attain quality and efficiency
Attain quality and efficiency
Simulate production plans and analyze material flow early on to optimize machine availability and line performance and increase manufacturing throughput.
Simulate production plans and analyze material flow early on to optimize machine availability and line performance and increase manufacturing throughput.
Fast-track insights
Fast-track insights
Accelerate informed decision-making and improve time to market by making sure cross-disciplinary stakeholders can access and review designs efficiently.
Accelerate informed decision-making and improve time to market by making sure cross-disciplinary stakeholders can access and review designs efficiently.
Maximize your resources
Maximize your resources
Boost efficiency and free-up time for valuable tasks with access to a customizable equipment library and specialized tools purpose-built for factory design.
Boost efficiency and free-up time for valuable tasks with access to a customizable equipment library and specialized tools purpose-built for factory design.
Evolve your traditional workflows for an optimized factory
Equipment installation
Simplify handoffs and get to market faster by working around a shared digital model that maintains data integrity and transparency—from factory planners, to architects, to production planners, to contractors, to operators.
Simplify handoffs and get to market faster by working around a shared digital model that maintains data integrity and transparency—from factory planners, to architects, to production planners, to contractors, to operators.
Product data management (PDM)
Streamline collaboration and speed up review cycles by communicating factory design ideas with anyone, on any device. Aggregate your models and associated data in a central location, securely accessible by all stakeholders.
Streamline collaboration and speed up review cycles by communicating factory design ideas with anyone, on any device. Aggregate your models and associated data in a central location, securely accessible by all stakeholders.
Digital twin for factory
Optimize your factory design with a digital twin of your facility. Visualize, simulate, and uncover critical insights that help you forecast operation and utilization and inform future planning of production lines.
Optimize your factory design with a digital twin of your facility. Visualize, simulate, and uncover critical insights that help you forecast operation and utilization and inform future planning of production lines.
Factory simulation
Take your testing process virtual. Simulate possible scenarios in 2D during process development and apply the findings to identify bottlenecks and optimize your factory design.
Take your testing process virtual. Simulate possible scenarios in 2D during process development and apply the findings to identify bottlenecks and optimize your factory design.
Factory layouts and planning
Uncover fresh insights within familiar workflows. Conceptualize high-efficiency production line layouts using familiar 2D workflows—automatically converted to detailed 3D models that can inform critical design decisions.
Uncover fresh insights within familiar workflows. Conceptualize high-efficiency production line layouts using familiar 2D workflows—automatically converted to detailed 3D models that can inform critical design decisions.
Reality capture
Bring real-world context to your factory design. Plan with richer insights and reduce downstream issues by capturing the as-is state of existing facilities, converting into point clouds, and contextualizing your factory design in 3D.
Bring real-world context to your factory design. Plan with richer insights and reduce downstream issues by capturing the as-is state of existing facilities, converting into point clouds, and contextualizing your factory design in 3D.
Software for factory design
Stay ahead of factory planning best practices
Factory planning webinars
Factory planning webinars
View our extensive library of webinars to learn from industry experts about factory planning tips, tricks, and best practices.
View our extensive library of webinars to learn from industry experts about factory planning tips, tricks, and best practices.
Selecting the right tools for agility
Selecting the right tools for agility
Agile, flexible factories arrive at optimized processes earlier. Get insights into evaluation criteria for selecting the best CAD software for factory design.
Agile, flexible factories arrive at optimized processes earlier. Get insights into evaluation criteria for selecting the best CAD software for factory design.
Insider views on factory transformation
Insider views on factory transformation
Read how one engineering pro helped companies digitalize their processes to save time and reduce costs on factory projects.
Read how one engineering pro helped companies digitalize their processes to save time and reduce costs on factory projects.
Confidently take a step toward modernization with Autodesk
Talk to Autodesk Sales about how you can lay groundwork today for long-term and high-impact improvements in your factory.
Talk to Autodesk Sales about how you can lay groundwork today for long-term and high-impact improvements in your factory.
Confidently take a step toward modernization with Autodesk
Talk to Autodesk Sales about how you can lay groundwork today for long-term and high-impact improvements in your factory.
Talk to Autodesk Sales about how you can lay groundwork today for long-term and high-impact improvements in your factory.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ) on factory design
The first step of factory layout design is planning for the equipment needed to produce an item in a particular amount of time. During planning, you will identify optimal throughput and potential bottlenecks. The next step is to gain an accurate representation of your facility using CAD or point cloud data. Last, you would place equipment into your factory layout. This step can be accelerated by using libraries of configurable assets available in Factory Design Utilities.
Factory design is done by people in production engineering roles, such as industrial engineers. Architects and contractors should contribute building data, which is useful for giving context to the factory design and avoiding issues during equipment installation. Many downstream stakeholders like facilities managers can benefit from factory designs when they are available as accessible 3D models and integrated with building data.
Mechanical engineers in industrial equipment manufacturing companies design the machines that go into a factory.