Hexagon's Manufacturing Intelligence division has announced an open platform for intelligent manufacturing: Nexus. It aims to revolutionize the way technology professionals collaborate and innovate.
Announced at Hexagon's HxGN Live Global 2022 conference in Las Vegas, Nexus will enable real-time data sharing between different design, simulation and production applications. These connections will form workflows by combining technologies to develop unique solutions to engineering and manufacturing problems, from design to delivery. Nexus will enable cross-functional teams to exploit fragmented digital data by improving visibility and connectivity. The platform will also help them obtain data from many different sources and analyze it in a holistic way, ultimately turning ideas into reality more quickly and producing better quality results.
It's in his keynote Ola Rollen, President and CEO of the Hexagon Group, announced this new feature as part of a strategy of openness and disruption. He repeated on several occasions " What stands in the way becomes the way " (what stands in the way becomes the way or what stands in the way becomes the way). The Nexus platform was announced with the aim of resolving the problems associated with the multiplication of data and data sources. At the heart of the Group's strategy: the Smart digital reality that goes beyond the digital twin(1).
Metrology at the heart
Nexus forms the basis of Hexagon's new Intelligent Manufacturing offerings. Today, Nexus gathers and exploits data from Hexagon tools, notably its metrology solutions, but also its design and engineering software. Nexus can also connect to third-party tools to become the nerve center for production data.
The platform also offers data visualization and management solutions such as HxGN Metrology Reporting and MaterialCenter, designed as cloud-native connected applications.
The company is also developing specific solutions via the platform that combine several technologies to help users improve productivity and digitally optimize complex processes and workflows. One example is a "plug-and-play" workflow for 3D printing an optimized reverse-engineered part that could be used, for example, to streamline the repair of aircraft components on the ground. This workflow connects 3D laser scan data to Hexagon products such as RECreate, MSC Apex Generative Design, MaterialCenter and Simufact Additive, and also connects to a market-leading third-party application, CADS Additive, to dramatically improve productivity and enable rapid collaboration to solve production problems.
More agile and resilient processes
Parth Joshi, Chief Product and Technology Officer of Hexagon's Manufacturing Intelligence division, said: " Our customers are managing increased complexity in the marketplace, which demands innovation faster than ever. Siloed tools, rigid systems and inaccessible data are less and less suited to the needs and pressures of the manufacturing industry. Our vision for Nexus is to enhance the products our hundreds of thousands of customers have come to know and love, with additional capabilities, powered by the cloud, AI and machine learning, real-time collaboration and advanced visualization. Nexus will enable manufacturers to build more agile and resilient processes so they can respond positively to change and leverage new opportunities, create faster product pathways and develop increasingly autonomous workflows - realizing the full potential of smart, sustainable manufacturing. "
(1) For a full report on Hexagon Live 2022, see the back-to-school issue of Contrôles Essais Mesures.
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