TechViz - Blog - AR / VR for engineering

Looking for a way to enhance your design/engineering/manufacturing process when working with CATIA V5 models? A great solution lies in 1:1 scale visualization with Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR). These immersive technologies close the gap between the 2D screen of your CAD application and the physical world, and allow industries to exploit the power of digital prototyping as a competitive advantage.

And it gets even better when no 3D data is translated from your native CATIA V5 application to the VR environment.

Collision detection is an essential aspect of AR / VR simulation. Does this new Ikea sofa you have an eye on really fit into that funky-shaped corner of your living room? This really is the question you would like answered when using the AR app on your tablet. Well, sometimes other industries have the same question when fitting machine-tools in factories.

In industries such as engineering, manufacturing and architecture, some of the biggest benefits of testing designs in VR is to assess the integration of different 3D elements or integration of the human factor with the CAD model. Collision detection can also enhance the realism of the VR experience, making it more effective for training and evaluation. In this article, we will define what 3D collisions are and how they can be used across many industries.

Immersive technologies play a crucial role in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry worldwide. According to a report from Statista, the market for augmented and virtual technology in medicine and pharma will grow by $4.64 million by 2025 thanks to many advancements in the healthcare industry in recent years.

Designing and manufacturing aircrafts is quite a challenge. The million parts composing a plane must be as light as possible, while extremely resistant, and they must be assembled in a precise order. This has to be done in a context of fully globalized supply chains, with subassemblies prepared in different locations across the globe.

 Hence you should watch for some key issues: 

• The risk of conception errors is multiplied by the number of contractors and workers involved in the project

For machine tool manufacturers, Virtual Reality offers many important opportunities. Indeed, an increasing number of their customers have embraced the Smart Factory concept, in other words the use of advanced CAD systems as well as data-driven manufacturing. With this, the core of the tooling industry has shifted from simple machining technology to more sophisticated and advanced horizontal / vertical machining centers, Computer Numerical Control and multitasking part processing, making it an increasingly complex environment that Virtual Reality can help navigate.

Updated September 27, 2022

Many businesses have been using virtual reality to improve their processes for years. As a matter of fact, the use of VR in businesses has been accelerated since the covid-19 pandemic, as VR enables to improve business meetings from afar while still having an incredible feeling of reality. More and more sectors accelerating digital transformation are taking advantage of VR for business in order to conceive products with way less errors and collaborate more efficiently with 3D data.

Industry 4.0 and digital revolution brought many innovations, new methodologies and tools to the manufacturing industry. Virtual Reality technologies enable businesses to design products and better their production process by simulating 3D prototypes in a virtual environment. Besides saving time and resources, this new approach also enables to optimize the manufacturing lines and improve the workplace ergonomics.

Today, we are witnessing the digitization of manufacturing, a transformation so complete it compels the sector to find new business models and innovative solutions to increase productivity, profitability and safety of their employees. This transformation is called Industry 4.0. and deals with the huge amount of data that we are generating every day, and how to use it. One of the most effective ways to visualize and exploit this information is through Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR/VR). This enables new opportunities, especially for manufacturing industries.

[Updated on May 18, 2022]

When talking about the digital transformation of the construction industry, 2 technologies come to mind and are being used by professionals of the AEC sector (Architects, Engineers, Construction): Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Virtual reality (VR). As they offer the chance to experience the project while still in the design phase, BIM and VR have proven to be an efficient investment. They've already been making a fundamental change in the way the construction industry plans, designs, develops and manages a construction project. Also, they enable all the people collaborating around a project to have the same level of information, while making the process more reliable, productive and cost-effective.