Autodesk bets big on Forge Platform to make anything

By Niraj M Wanikar, Chief Editor, CNCTimes.com, 2016-11-16 11:50:00

Autodesk Inc. announced that developers and customers of all sizes are adopting its Forge platform to build and deploy apps and services for making the world around us. The company also introduced new AR/VR capabilities to drive immersive real-time industry experiences and shared its plans to use Forge as its common data environment and engine for simplifying its own product offerings.

Since announced at Autodesk University 2015, Autodesk Forge has expanded to include more robust integrations to manufacturing and construction enterprise systems to streamline collaboration, integrate with manufacturing and BIM workflows and make it easier to get things made. The more than 4,000 apps and services created on Forge span a variety of business needs ranging from part inspection to sub-sea surveying, from managing mines with drones to turning cost estimation into a competitive advantage.

Autodesk has aggressively broadened the Forge platform and ecosystem in the past twelve months. The most recent platform enhancements and future plans include:
AR/VR – Added Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality support into the Forge 3D browser and mobile viewing experience. Data preparation and connectivity services (similar to what LIVE Design does with Revit data) to connect data and ease the asset pipeline between real-time AR/VR applications and Autodesk’s native design solutions will be available in the future.

Rendering – The Autodesk Rendering service recently surpassed 50 million renderings. A new Forge Render API will soon be available, which will extend rendering power to any application.

Data Management – Enhanced to support access projects and files managed in support for BIM 360 Docs and Fusion.

Security and Reliability – Autodesk is pursuing industry standard security compliance such as SOC2 to maintain robust security and data protection controls, so customers can focus on creating services with high confidence.

“Autodesk relies on Forge as the foundation for its own cloud services like Fusion 360 and BIM 360, and we want both developers and our end customers to benefit from creating lightweight applications that fit their business needs,” said Amar Hanspal, SVP products at Autodesk. “Forge is empowering companies to build and deliver all sorts of industry applications, and we are thrilled to see the range of connected experiences created with our platform in just one year.”

Forging the Future Together
Autodesk invests in and partners with companies developing innovative solutions and services on the Forge Platform. JE Dunn, MakeTime and Seebo are a few of the companies using Forge for building apps and services.

JE Dunn is at the forefront of the digital revolution in construction, and over the past year used Forge APIs to custom build Lens--a model-based estimating application. Lens harnesses and maximizes the value of information-rich models, combined with cutting-edge visualization technology to connect design data to elements of estimates. It brings together advanced functionality delivered through Forge, and integrates with Dunn Dashboard and Autodesk BIM 360, creating a seamless, transparent and connected ecosystem.

MakeTime is an online platform that simplifies the process of getting machined parts made in America. MakeTime matches part orders from manufacturers to available CNC machines at pre-qualified shops across the United States. The result is simplified supply chain management & empowered expansion for both manufacturers and machine shops alike. MakeTime is plugged into Fusion 360, Autodesk 360 and the Forge initiative to connect engineers to an expansive network of modern machine shops and on-demand CNC machines.

Seebo provides a Software as a Service (SaaS) platform for developing Internet of Things (IoT) and smart, connected products. Seebo’s technology intuitively connects Autodesk design apps like Fusion 360 and enables users to drag and drop components (connectivity, motion and location features, etc.) into a product design framework to transform simple products into smart technology.

“We’re very excited about the integration between Autodesk Forge and Seebo, which will provide Autodesk customers with access to some of the most cutting edge IoT development tools available. The joint platform allows manufacturers to tap into the world of IoT efficiently and cost effectively,” said Lior Akavia, Co-Founder and CEO of Seebo.

Forge for Autodesk
Cloud-native and always connected, Forge is the platform in which Autodesk is building three industry specific experiences that span design, make and use for each of our major industries. Each offering is built on a common data environment with a set of lightweight applications and experiences that work across multiple platforms such and personas. Whether used internally by Autodesk for development and simplification or externally by companies to deliver and deploy apps and services, the Forge platform is the backbone to make anything.

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