By Chris Emery, CloudNC co-founder

Throughout history, humans have never been able to manufacture everything we wanted.

There are always limiting factors: perhaps the materials we have to hand aren’t strong, light, or available enough to be able to bring certain designs to life. Or maybe the tools we have aren’t sufficiently flexible or precise to make them with - or, more simply, the humans responsible for using them aren’t as skilful as they need to be.

The combined result of all those ongoing limitations is a brake on human creativity. While we can dream up fantastical creations that could transport us vast distances extremely quickly, or solve energy generation problems, or just look super-cool, we can’t make them all.

This problem is compounded now that generative AI-enabled design is here, through tools like Midjourney. Generative AI helps unlock the creativity of the world and enables people without traditional design skills (such as drawing and drafting) to create fantastic, professional-looking images, unbound by the tethers of reality.

We need to find a way to bring these designs to life feasibly and efficiently. Maybe it’s already here.

The answer: generative manufacturing

In manufacturing, we’re already familiar with the concept of generative design.

In generative design, the user describes requirements and constraints for a component (these faces must join here with an axle, this much force will be applied and the component must not break, and so on) and software generates designs for that component to help find the one with the lowest cost/weight/environmental impact, etc. (You can see some examples here, via Autodesk).

And that’s great - but at CloudNC, we want to go further and take that concept to the next level.

So we’re now applying our industry-leading technology to create a new paradigm: one that we’re calling generative manufacturing.

What is generative manufacturing? Well, it’s when software doesn’t just generate designs for a component: it’s when our AI creates the strategy to actually manufacture it as well.

In practice, with generative manufacturing, a user can describe a component that they need and the constraints that are required, and the software creates ways to manufacture it in line with those restrictions (be they scheduling, machine capabilities, spindle power, tools available, etc), while also finding the strategy with the lowest overall cost.

Effectively, we’re removing the human limitations from the process - whether that’s time, or skill level - and upscaling the capacity of every manufacturer, everywhere, so they can execute beyond the upper limits of their abilities.

So what does that actually mean? Well, with generative manufacturing, not only could you make everything proposed by generative design - you could make it brilliantly, using production techniques that are as efficient as possible in every respect (from time spent, to tool use, to wastage, to reducing every other limiting factor).

In effect, that enables the world to make whatever it wants, whenever it wants, as optimally as possible - making it feasible to greatly increase innovation through tighter prototyping loops, offset labour pool contraction, and reduce global material shortages - to list just a few examples.

Sounds too good to be true? Well, we’re already putting this into action today, in CAM programming.

CAM Assist: generating manufacturing solutions

CloudNC’s CAM Assist solution creates CNC machining toolpaths and strategies for new components. It generates CAM programming alternatives, finding the strategy with the lowest cost (in terms of key process variables such as machining time, and tooling costs).

Generative design unlocks designs for components that would be infeasible to design manually. And with generative manufacturing, applied to CAM programming, we do the same - as complex CAM programs that would take humans weeks to program can be generated near-instantly.

When programmed correctly, CNC machines are capable of extremely rapid machining: the best program for a part can be 10x faster than what ends up actually being employed. The constraint is time - a CAM programmer doesn’t have the man hours to devote to come up with an optimal solution that does everything perfectly; instead, they’re usually forced to compromise and come up with a functional option that will at least get the job done.

Optimising those programs rapidly would transform the machining industry - for example, by allowing much more complex parts at much lower batch sizes to be economical. And this shift is coming just in time, as the industry trends towards smaller and smaller batch sizes, and higher complexity designs.

We’re already seeing the benefits of this change at CloudNC, not least as our technology gets to grips with new materials - such as titanium - and applies machining concepts to it that human programmers have never had the time or inclination to try. In time, those applications will result in breakthrough machining strategies, greatly upskilling our global ability to make items with this light and strong - but difficult to mill - metal.

The reality is that humanity is only using a fraction of the capability of CNC machines. More than 70% of machines around the world are idle at this moment and the ones that are running, are running at a fraction of their true capability. Even after 50 years, this technology is still in its earliest stages, and far from reaching its full potential.

Generative manufacturing is how we will unlock this, providing precision components that barely cost more than the material used to make them, and transforming a >$300bn a year industry.

And in terms of what this means for today’s toolshop owner? Well, the takeaway is that generative manufacturing will help across your business: by upskilling your staff, lowering time to market, and greatly improving what techniques you can employ to make even cooler stuff.

Ultimately, generative manufacturing means the brakes are now off.

Want to know more? Sign up on our website and try out CAM Assist today!

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