{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Hexagon advances digital manufacturing with AI-powered solutions","description":"  The future of manufacturing is increasingly digital, collaborative, and intelligent. This was the clear message at Hexagon\u2019s recent \u2018The Future of Shop Floor\u2019 event, held in partnership with Mills CNC at their Technology Campus. The event demonstrated how artificial intelligence, cloud-based platforms, and data-driven insights transform traditional manufacturing operations, resulting in measurable improvements in productivity and profitability. Opening the event by introducing Nexus, the company\u2019s cloud-based platform designed to tackle the collaboration crisis in manufacturing, Jason Walker, Hexagon\u2019s VP of General Manufacturing, stated: \u201cAn independent Forrester report we commissioned, surveyed around 500 manufacturers from small, medium, and large-sized organisations worldwide and 97% across all those different kinds of organisations, agreed that collaboration is the key challenge that manufacturers face.\u201d Nexus addresses this challenge through comprehensive connectivity. \u201cNexus is fundamentally about connectivity. It\u2019s about joining all these different tools together within a specific function, across different functions, departments, sites, and organisations,\u201d Walker explained. \u201cNexus connects to third-party tools as well, even if they are competitors of Hexagon, it builds workflows to encourage collaboration between engineers.\u201d The platform\u2019s design philosophy emphasises integration rather than disruption. \u201cNexus is designed to meet you where you are. If you\u2019ve got a process, a tool, or a particular place where you store your data today, Nexus won\u2019t disrupt any of that. Just join the dots to encourage and enable collaborations,\u201d Walker emphasised. The Pro Plan Revolution Stephen Graham, Executive Vice President and General Manager for Nexus at Hexagon, revealed Pro Plan AI\u2019s impressive performance metrics during its pilot phase. For readers unfamiliar with Hexagon\u2019s Pro Plan AI suite, see the January 2025 issue of MTD magazine. \u201cWe\u2019ve got ten customers engaged in a formal piloting programme at the moment, and the feedback has been stunning,\u201d Graham announced. \u201cEven at this early Beta Test stage, we can demonstrate something like a 70 to 75% improvement in productivity. A task that may have taken a couple of days could take just a few minutes using this powerful tool.\u201d Pro Plan AI\u2019s approach differs fundamentally from that of existing automation tools. \u201cThere are tools out there attempting to automate CAM programming, but they\u2019re either trying to identify features in a CAD model using a rules-based system, or we\u2019ve seen people trying to use generative AI,\u201d Graham explained. \u201cOur machine learning approach is looking through the history of programs, figuring out how you program, and replicating that based on the new geometry.\u201d The tool\u2019s knowledge capture capabilities will address critical workforce challenges. \u201cPro Plan AI captures tribal knowledge. When it\u2019s first installed, it learns how users program CNC machines. It will program in the style of what it sees in the organisation\u2019s history,\u201d Graham noted. Discussing one of the early test customers, Graham adds: \u201cThis feature proved particularly valuable in a North American pilot. The company has a relatively new programmer in his early 20s who joined the company two or three months ago. Once he started working with Pro Plan AI, he suddenly contributed programmes directly to the shop floor that were on par with anything from any of the guys who have been there programming for 20 or 30 years. This not only speeds up programming times, but also demonstrates how it is closing the \u2018skills gap\u2019.\u201d Pro Plan AI also enables new business capabilities. \u201cYou can programme a machine in a few seconds, then for a given part, you can programme every single machine on the shop floor. You can program every machine on the shop floor for every combination of tools; you can then use that to interact with your production planning systems. You can also use it to create much more accurate quotations before starting a job in the first place,\u201d Graham explained. The improvement in quoting accuracy addresses a fundamental business challenge. \u201cOne of the big ones we heard from customers is regarding quoting. Quite a lot of guesswork goes into quoting, because nobody\u2019s got the time to do the proper engineering work to find out how long it takes. With Pro Plan AI, even if it\u2019s not 100% accurate, you get a pretty good idea of how long it will be on a particular machine,\u201d Graham revealed. Transforming Quote-to-Cash Processes Hexagon recognises that efficient and accurate quoting is essential for business success\u2014and this is one reason why \u2018Paperless Parts\u2019 has been added to the portfolio. A strategic partnership that delivers measurable business transformation for manufacturers, Jason Walker provided an extensive analysis: \u201cPaperless Parts is Boston-based, and they are primarily in the US for now, although we are just in the process of helping them expand internationally.\u201d The platform addresses critical inefficiencies in manufacturing\u2019s front-end processes through comprehensive automation of the quoting workflow. The quoting challenge directly impacts manufacturers\u2019 competitiveness. \u201cI have asked a couple of customers exactly how long it took to get a quote out of the door before you implemented Paperless Parts. And on average, they would say about a week. So, you get an RFQ on Monday, you might only get to it by the end of the week,\u201d Walker detailed. \u201cThe problem is that another manufacturer is getting their quote back quicker. They\u2019re probably going to win the work, because most of the OEMs just want to fulfil their order.\u201d Paperless Parts delivers dramatic improvements in turnaround times that directly impact business outcomes. \u201cWith Paperless Parts, most manufacturers are doing turnaround within 24, sometimes 48 hours. So that\u2019s the difference,\u201d Walker noted. The business impact extends far beyond speed enhancements: \u201cOne customer that is already reducing quote time from a week to 24 hours claims to be already winning 25% more work.\u201d The platform\u2019s functionality includes comprehensive quote management capabilities that eliminate traditional bottlenecks. \u201cIt\u2019s an interesting space because it focuses solely on quoting, but the platform also allows for internal collaboration at a large company, which you might need when compiling a quote. You might need the engineer\u2019s input on \u2018Can we manufacture this?\u2019 So the platform itself enables that real-time collaboration,\u201d Walker explained. This collaborative approach ensures that technical feasibility is assessed during the quoting process rather than after the work is won. Automation features remove the burdens of manual data entry that have traditionally hindered quote generation. \u201cIt configures everything for you and automates the quoting setup process; it syncs back with your ERP system. Many customers will be using Excel spreadsheets or their ERP, but mostly the ERP\u2019s quoting functionality is like an Excel spreadsheet. You still have to put everything in manually. So that\u2019s where Paperless Parts is automating much of that,\u201d Walker detailed. The integration capabilities extend throughout the manufacturing workflow. \u201cEngineers have all that information, from the design to the integrations with our CAM software and then into Paperless Parts,\u201d Walker explained. This smooth data flow eliminates multiple manual handoffs that traditionally delay quote generation and introduce errors. \u201cNot only is it allowing businesses to get quotes out quicker, but it\u2019s reducing the burden. A lot of the time, it\u2019s the owner or the manager who\u2019s doing the quotes, because it\u2019s such a crucial process. You don\u2019t want to be under-quoting. This is buying them their time back,\u201d Walker observed. This liberation of time enables leadership to focus on strategic business development rather than administrative tasks. The European expansion is proceeding with pilot customers demonstrating similar transformative results. \u201cWe\u2019ve been in partnership since the beginning of last year, but we focused primarily on the US last year. There will be a European launch later in the year. At the moment, we\u2019re finding a few pilot customers,\u201d Walker confirmed. \u201cEarly European feedback mirrors US success, it\u2019s completely transformative to the way that they were doing things before.\u201d Innovation and Strategic Partnership Tony Dale, CEO of Mills CNC, offered insights into the strategic partnership with Hexagon as well as the company\u2019s forthcoming product innovations. Tony Dale says: \u201cOur strengths are that we are an independently owned business, which makes us agile and allows us to respond to customers\u2019 requests.\u201d The company\u2019s inventory management reflects its customer-focused approach. \u201cWe\u2019ve got about 80 machines here now, but we\u2019ve normally got around 200 machines in stock. So, the availability of machines is key for customers these days; nobody wants to wait. So that agility and stock holding enables us to support customers when they need that technology for that new contract,\u201d Dale explained. \u201cThe relationship with Hexagon is effective. It enables us to provide a solution to the end user, not only supplying the machine tool but also programming it, reverse engineering it, and inspecting components, all of which contribute to our automation for end-to-end production,\u201d Dale explained. Looking ahead, Mills has significant product launches planned. \u201cKey focuses for us this year are launching two brand new models. We\u2019ll be holding an event later in October. We\u2019ve got the DNX 2100 entry-level multi-tasking machine, and it\u2019s quite a big launch for us because we\u2019re seeing how customers want to leave tools set up on the machines to reduce setup and changeover times,\u201d Dale announced. The DNX 2100 addresses specific market evolution. \u201cIf you can quickly change your jaws and programme, with your tools already set up in that carousel, this is faster than traditional block tools on a turret. We already do 5-axis mill\/turn machines, but this is more entry level for customers upgrading from a traditional turret lathe to get into the realms of multitasking,\u201d Dale explained. Dale linked the new machine to broader industry trends that Hexagon is also tackling: \u201cWith the skill shortages of engineers these days, we\u2019re finding that this is a growing part of our business offering.\u201d The second major launch involves an evolution of existing technology. \u201cWe also have the second generation of the DVF 5000, which will launch simultaneously. It is a high-speed, high-accuracy 5-axis machine,\u201d Dale noted. We will publish the second instalment of this event in the September issue of MTD Magazine. It will highlight the new Datanomics production monitoring suite and provide an update on the success of Hexagon\u2019s Benchmarking tool, a year after we first discussed the tool at MACH 2024. ","author_name":"MTD Audiobook","author_url":"https:\/\/mtdcnc.com\/magazine","html":"