Q) Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division is at the forefront of manufacturing. What are your latest product innovations?
Stephen: That’s very flattering – but it stands true that we are driving some exciting innovations in the machine shop through quality and across larger OEMs releasing and improving over 100 products a year – but I can offer a select few.
Firstly, in February we launched Nexus, our smart digital reality platform that uses cloud technology to allow disparate teams to collaborate in real-time across the product lifecycle – from the design and engineering of a product through to its production and quality inspection.
This made our first new applications and solutions possible, including Metrology Reporting, a Nexus App that consolidates disparate
reporting tools into one intuitive web dashboard, allowing for more efficient metrology analysis and reporting.
The platform’s unique real-time collaboration capability powers a first Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) solution, that allows teams to streamline the design and build preparation of powder bed fusion parts by improving data sharing and communication.
We also have recently launched PRESTO, a turnkey robotic quality inspection robotic cell that’s enabling automotive OEMs and suppliers to cut setup times and reduce tooling so they can respond to change. Expect to see more connected and flexible quality inspection from the OEM to the machine shop.
Q) How does Nexus work?
Stephen: At its core lies the Nexus platform that connects manufacturing technologies and people, enabling much easier data sharing across teams and workflows, and – where needed – a new type of real-time collaboration that we haven’t had in manufacturing before.
It connects people at different parts of the manufacturing process that have previously been separated, including those involved in
design and quality inspection with manufacturing so they can work through problems in a more intuitive way as if they were in the same room.
Crucially, it doesn’t force engineers and operators to replace the various applications they use throughout the process in one place but adds powerful new capabilities that they can use to be more productive and connect the dots with colleagues (and the tools they need).
