Breaking the Bottleneck | Issue 38
[1/22/2023] Apple Vision Pro, Synopsys & Ansys, and NASA’s X-59
Breaking the Bottleneck is a weekly manufacturing technology newsletter with perspectives, interviews, news, funding announcements, manufacturing market maps, and a startup database!
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News
Making the Apple Vision Pro [Apple]
Check out Pete Oxenham’s awesome step-by-step breakdown of the machining process in the video!
Toyota, READY Robotics Introduce Sim-to-Real Programming [Robot Report]
READY Robotics is collaborating with Toyota and NVIDIA to enhance safety and efficiency in automotive production. Toyota will utilize READY Robotics' ForgeOS with NVIDIA Isaac Sim to create a simulated robotic programming environment for its aluminum hot forging production lines. This collaboration aims to simplify the programming of industrial robots used in forging, where metal parts need to remain hot, creating safety challenges. ForgeOS and Isaac Sim enable programming in a visual and physics-realistic simulated environment, eliminating the risks associated with hot parts. This sim-to-real workflow allows for rapid program development, optimization, and real-time production data relay, facilitating greater monitoring and oversight in automotive manufacturing. The collaboration aims to improve efficiency, usability, and safety in robotic automation programming and deployment.
Why Synopsys is Paying $35 Billion for Ansys [Next Platform]
Synopsys' acquisition of Ansys for a substantial $35 billion has profound implications within the semiconductor and chip design landscape. While Synopsys specializes in electronic design automation (EDA) tools and hardware intellectual property (IP) development, Ansys focuses on electronics design analysis and simulation tools. The acquisition was somewhat foreseeable, especially for those who witnessed Aart de Geus' keynote at the IEEE’s International Solid-State Circuits Conference in 2022 where he outlined the convergence of Moore's Law ambitions in transistor design and chiplet packaging. This acquisition will create a chip design software powerhouse with expertise in various areas. In the increasingly complex field of chip development, designers must optimize their designs closely with foundries, known as design-technology co-optimization (DTCO). The integration of Ansys' design analysis and simulation capabilities with Synopsys' EDA tools will enable a comprehensive software package for designing next-generation processors and systems, enhancing competitiveness against rivals like Cadence and Siemens EDA. Under the agreement, Ansys shareholders will receive $197.00 in cash and 0.3450 shares of Synopsys stock per Ansys share, valuing Ansys at approximately $35 billion. This represents a 29% premium over Ansys' closing price and a 35% increase over its 60-day average price. Synopsys intends to fund the $19 billion cash portion of the deal with cash reserves and $16 billion in committed debt financing. Following the acquisition, Synopsys expects its total addressable market (TAM) to expand to approximately $28 billion annually, with annual revenue reaching around $8 billion. The merged entity aims to achieve $400 million in annual cost synergies within three years and approximately $400 million in annual revenue synergies by the fourth year, with long-term expectations exceeding $1 billion annually.
How Fusion 360 Fast Tracks Consumer Electronics Design [Engineering]
Engineers using Autodesk's Fusion 360 can incorporate optional simulation packages that, while not as comprehensive as more expensive alternatives, effectively cover the needs of most designs, particularly in the consumer electronics sector. Two valuable simulation tools within Fusion 360 are the Signal Integrity Extension and the Electronics Cooling Extension, which collectively address about 80% of design requirements. These tools help identify issues early in the design phase, reducing the risk of costly PCB re-spins and design complications. The Signal Integrity Extension, powered by Ansys, assists in locating and rectifying PCB signal problems, facilitating EMC and EMI testing compliance, and speeding up product launches. Fusion 360's user-friendly interface allows for easy configuration and selection of signals of interest, providing visual insights into circuit performance. However, it has limitations, such as not addressing cross-coupling, power network design, or transient simulation. Additionally, Fusion 360 offers an Electronics Cooling Extension for thermal analysis, considering component specifications, materials, and cooling solutions. Integration within Fusion 360 streamlines the design-to-simulation process, allowing engineers to switch between design and simulation environments seamlessly. Even in complex systems requiring specialist input, Fusion 360's simulation tools can serve as a preliminary check, improving the efficiency of the iterative design process.
Flush With Investment, U.S. Factories Face a Familiar Challenge [NYTimes]
The Biden administration is investing more than $2 trillion into U.S. factories and infrastructure to strengthen American industry and combat climate change. However, it faces a challenge from China, which is flooding the market with low-priced products, including electric vehicles, semiconductors, and solar panels, often at significantly lower prices than American competitors. For example, China sold about 6.7 million all-electric vehicles last year, compared to around 1.2 million units in the United States, with Chinese electric vehicles averaging around $28,000 in price compared to $47,500 in the U.S. China also accounts for roughly 80% of the world's solar panel production. To address these challenges, the Biden administration is considering new protectionist measures, such as raising tariffs on Chinese imports. Congress is also exploring options for more protections, including tariffs on components imported within finished products like semiconductors. China's hefty investments in semiconductors, including a new $40 billion fund, are worrying for companies investing in new U.S. chip facilities, even though China currently accounts for only about 7% of global chip production. Many officials in Washington see China's dominance of key markets as a significant risk, given growing tensions between the countries and China's imposition of certain export bans.
One of Biden’s Favorite Chip Projects Is Facing New Delays [WSJ]
TSMC announced a delay in the production schedule of its second semiconductor plant in Arizona citing challenges such as a shortage of skilled workers and complex negotiations over government funding. Originally, the first factory in the Arizona project was slated to begin mass production in 2024, but this was pushed back to 2025. Now, TSMC is looking at a timeline of 2027 or 2028 for volume production in the second factory. U.S. officials and analysts see the delay in TSMC's Arizona project as a negotiation tactic to secure a larger share of funding from the Chips Act, a $53 billion program aimed at spurring chip manufacturing in the United States to reduce reliance on imported chips and compete with China's semiconductor efforts. The negotiations between TSMC and the Biden administration over subsidies have been challenging, with discussions revolving around the amount of subsidies and the conditions attached to them. These conditions include profit-sharing and operational transparency requirements. TSMC Chairman Mark Liu mentioned that these terms might discourage chip makers from investing in the U.S.
BMW’s South Carolina Plant Is Testing Figure’s Humanoid Robots [Verge]
Robotics startup Figure has signed a “commercial agreement” with BMW to introduce its “general purpose” humanoid robots to BMW’s manufacturing facility in Spartanburg, South Carolina, as it tries to identify use cases in automotive production. The robots are intended to automate “difficult, unsafe, or tedious” manufacturing tasks, and if they’re found to be viable, they’ll then be deployed in the BMW facility in stages.
Research:
Digital Twins: The Next Frontier of Factory Optimization [McKinsey]
Factory Digital twins are rapidly gaining traction, with 86% of surveyed executives seeing their applicability to their organizations. Among these respondents, 44% have already implemented digital twins, and an additional 15% are planning to deploy this technology. Though adoption has been slow, implemented digital twins have been used to redesign production schedules, resulting in monthly cost savings of 5 to 7%. They have also aided in identifying ideal batch sizes and production sequences, leading to cost reduction and yield stability. To harness the full potential of digital twins, a modular and scalable tech stack is essential. This stack integrates data from various sources, including PLCs and MES platforms, to provide a comprehensive view of the production process. It also creates a standard language for data so that simulation software and ML optimization algorithms can be used to create virtual renditions of the factory use cases.
Despite the increasing adoption of digital twins, challenges remain. Limited awareness of digital twin capabilities, complex data landscapes, and a shortage of in-house talent capable of building and deploying these solutions can hinder implementation.
Cobalt-Free Batteries Could Power Cars Of The Future [MIT]
MIT researchers have developed a lithium-ion battery with an organic cathode, eliminating the need for cobalt or nickel. The organic cathode material can be produced at a lower cost than cobalt-containing batteries and has comparable conductivity, storage capacity, and faster charging. This breakthrough could reduce the environmental and ethical issues associated with mining metals used in batteries, such as cobalt. The material also offers improved stability and longevity due to its insolubility, preventing it from dissolving into the battery electrolyte. The researchers estimate that the cost of manufacturing organic batteries could be significantly lower than traditional cobalt batteries.
One Interesting Chart:
Share of EV Sales for Each OEM
Podcasts:
In Factories, Robots Struggle To Do What Humans Do [WSJ]
The Electric Age [Industrial Revolutions]
Manufacturing Deals🏭💵
Quantinuum - The quantum computing company formed by the merger of Cambridge Quantum and Honeywell Quantum
$300 million at $5B Valuation [Strategic] - Led by JPMorgan and joined by Mitsui & Co. and Honeywell
Weavix - An provider of modern frontline communications solutions for manufacturing and industrials
$23.6 million [Series B] - Led by Insight Partners and joined by Four More Capital, The Friedkin Group, and Perkins Coie
Xyte - An Israeli servitization platform for device and hardware manufacturers
$20 million [Series A] - Led by Intel Capital and joined by Samsung Next, insiders S Capital and Mindset Ventures
Element Zero - A company converting metal ores such as iron ore and nickel ore to pure metal form with zero carbon emissions
$10 million [Seed] - Led by Playground Global
Planned Downtime 🏭🧑🔧
NASA’s X-59 May Change the Future of Flight