Podcasts

Podcast series: Advanced machine engineering (Part 1) – industrial machinery

By Bill Butcher

Summary

It is a daunting task to design, validate, and manage modern industrial machinery to address rapidly increasing automation complexity and mass customization requirements while increasing market share and unlocking new business opportunities.


Today, in our first podcast of the series, we are discussing how machinery manufacturers are gaining a competitive advantage by implementing a digital twin approach to engineering, which enables the development of highly complex machines faster.


Bill Davis is the Director of Industrial Machinery & Heavy Equipment Solutions at Siemens Digital Industries Software, working to help industrial machinery customers and heavy equipment customers improve innovation and profitability through application of the Siemens portfolio. His background is in automation, converting, and packaging machinery. His 30 years of experience in engineering and management positions have shaped how he helps their customers and their go-to-market strategy. 


So, listen to the first part of this Siemens Podcast on Advanced Machine Engineering, where we will cover some of the challenges and trends facing machinery manufacturers today, and how these challenges are driving an evolution of technology that is now enabling machine manufacturers with the ability to maximize profits and also look at the industry trends driving the adoption of this innovative technology.


Questions I ask:

  • Let’s take a look back at the last 10 years. There have been so many changes in the machinery industry, but what would you cite, from your perspective, as one or two significant technology changes that have shaped the industry in the past decade? (03:52)
  • Would you say technology has been the biggest catalyst for change in the machinery industry? Or are there other factors that are creating the need for advanced technology solutions as well? (05:58)
  • Can you, from your perspective, elaborate a bit on the concept of digitalization and more specifically, the digital twin in the context of the industrial machinery? (09:11)
  • Can you help the listeners understand what exactly is Advanced Machine Engineering, and what makes it unique from any other approaches machine builders and their suppliers are using today? (12:23)

In this episode, you will learn: 

  • About Bill’s background and how that has helped him with his current role at Siemens. (01:42)
  • The meaning of Generative Design Movement. (04:50)
  • How the consumer-driven customization influences machine manufacturing. (06:27)
  • Why you should adopt a digital twin, from a machinery standpoint. (10:43)

Connect with Bill:

The scenery of industrial machinery in manufacturing is seeing a pioneering renovation of technological progressions. It is a daunting task to design, validate and manage modern manufacturing and assembly operations to achieve a first-class level of quality while optimizing cost.

In this latest series of advanced machine engineering podcasts, we are discussing how machinery manufacturers are gaining a competitive advantage by implementing a digital thread approach to engineering, which enables the development of highly sophisticated machines, faster.

Bill Davis
Bill Davis, Director of Industrial Machinery and Heavy Equipment Solutions at Siemens Digital Industries Software

Our special guest and engineering expert, Bill Davis, Director of Industrial Machinery and Heavy Equipment Solutions at Siemens Digital Industry Software, is discussing Advanced Machine Engineering solutions.

This first podcast will cover some of the current challenges and trends facing machinery manufacturers and how these hurdles are driving a technological evolution that is enabling machine manufacturers to exploit profits and discover industry trends driving the adoption of this innovative technology.

Bill’s extensive background in engineering, automation, converting and packaging machinery, along with 30 years in engineering and management, empower him with an advantageous perspective of industrial machinery. His experiences have assisted customers with their go-to-market strategy. Throughout his experience, he is leading the charge in bringing companies forward on their digitalization journey, whether it’s CAD, PLM, ERP integration, solution and simulation and other advancing technologies.

In our first podcast of this series, you will learn how the tools have changed for machine builders, with advanced capabilities to those used ten years ago. The industry is witnessing a changing dynamic in two different parts: CAD/CAM and simulation capability. There’s more core technology around embedding simulation into the design process – so multi-discipline domains, finite element analysis, computational fluid dynamics, vibration and harshness – as well as more collaborative multi-discipline types of design.

These advances include “The Generative Design Movement,” in not designing first and then simulating to see problems but using loads and constraints that are in the design to help shape the net material needed in the part, thus driving the design via additive manufacturing. Lastly, there’s the simulation in everything in the machine to try and arrive at the final product without validating the PLC code and automation code that’s in it. So, these are significant changes from a market perspective, including the solution products.

To hear more about these compelling changes occurring in advanced machine engineering, listen to this first podcast in the series.

Also, access this podcast via AppleStitcherSpotifyCastboxTuneIn or Google.

To improve the speed and efficiency of your machine design process, watch our Advanced Machine Engineering – Start your digital transformation journey today webinar.

Listen to podcast02podcast03 and podcast04 from this series.

About our expert:
Bill Davis is the acting Industrial Machinery and Heavy Equipment Industry leader for Siemens Digital Industries Software. His experience and insights have been acquired from a career spanning 30 years in engineering and operations management with machinery and heavy equipment companies.  Bill holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from Marquette University, with a concentration in Operations Management and Strategic Marketing, as well as a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Milwaukee School of Engineering.

Digital Transformation Podcast

Digital Transformation Podcast

The Digital Transformation: Solutions for Industrial Machinery Podcast by Siemens Digital Industries explores the advantages of smart manufacturing, a digitalized product development strategy and the solutions it offers for the Industrial Machinery industry.

Digital Transformation Podcast Podcast

Digital Transformation Podcast

The Digital Transformation: Solutions for Industrial Machinery Podcast by Siemens Digital Industries explores the advantages of smart manufacturing, a digitalized product development strategy and the solutions it offers for the Industrial Machinery industry.

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This article first appeared on the Siemens Digital Industries Software blog at https://blogs.sw.siemens.com/podcasts/digital-transformation/advanced-machine-engineering-part-1-industrial-machinery/