GENERATIVE DESIGN:

REDEFINING WHAT’S POSSIBLE IN

THE FUTURE OF MANUFACTURING
 4 GENERAL MOTORS 8 SOCIAL HARDWARE
Driving a Lighter, More Efficient Meet the Prosthetics Start-Up
Future of Automotive-Part That’s Aiding Amputees in Rural
Design at GM India With Helping Hands

12 STEPHEN HOOPER 16 CLAUDIUS PETERS 21 PHILIPPE STARCK

The Promise of Manufacturing Heavy-Equipment Manufacturer From Analog Ideas to Digital
Automation for All Starts With Brings Generative Design Down Dreams, Philippe Starck Designs
Generative Design to Earth the Future With AI

25 EDERA SAFETY 29 DENSO

This Spine Protector That’s Worn Japan’s DENSO Takes on the
as a Second Skin Makes Extreme Engine Control Unit, a Small but
Sports Extremely Safer Mighty Auto Part
GENERATIVE DESIGN: REDEFINING WHAT’S
POSSIBLE IN THE FUTURE OF MANUFACTURING
Introduction

Technology has played a key role in the design and French creator and visionary Philippe Starck designed the
manufacturing of products for years. Having said that, I world’s first production chair created by AI in collaboration
think it’s fair to say that technology has been used primarily with humans. And find out how heavy-equipment
as a productivity tool. But imagine if technology could be manufacturer Claudius Peters is using generative-design
our partner in the process instead. That’s the idea behind technology for traditional fabrication methods.
generative design, an artificial intelligence–based design
exploration process that lets humans and machines create But not only well-known brands are embracing generative
together. design. Start-ups, makers, and universities are also using
it to create everything from affordable prosthetic devices
With generative design, designers and engineers shift their to search-and-rescue drones to a humanoid robot that may
focus from drawing things and storing them in a computer to allow us to better understand the human brain. Together,
spending more time framing the real problem they want to these pioneers share a desire to redefine the way things are
solve. The user inputs goals, constraints, and priorities (such made—and in the process, they’re helping people live better
as weight, safety factors, material preferences, manufacturing lives. This is the next generation of engineers and companies.
methods, and cost constraints) and then the partnership
with technology begins. The software goes to work, using When I began working in the manufacturing industry more
a combination of artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud than 20 years ago, I couldn’t have imagined something like
computing, to explore thousands of options in pursuit of the generative design being possible. We were so focused on the
best outcome. Solving complex problems more quickly—and way that things had been done that we weren’t able to see
delivering more potential solutions than a human ever could— how things could and should be done.
is what makes generative design so powerful.
I’m excited about the possibilities of what humans and
Sounds pretty futuristic, right? When I first became familiar machines can create together when we go beyond what we
with generative design, I was blown away but admittedly once imagined. And I think we have only seen the beginning
skeptical. But just a few years later, generative-design of what’s possible.
software is being used in surprising and inspiring ways. In
these pages, meet some of the early adopters of generative
design. Read about how General Motors is transforming the SCOTT REESE
future of the automotive industry with generatively designed Senior VP Manufacturing, Cloud and Production Products
parts that create lighter, more fuel-efficient cars. Learn how Autodesk, Inc.

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A standard General Motors auto part gets a nonstandard
redesign with the help of generative design—and
becomes lighter and stronger in the process.

DRIVING A LIGHTER,
MORE EFFICIENT
FUTURE OF
AUTOMOTIVE-PART
DESIGN AT GM
BY MATT ALDERTON

Additive manufacturing has already assisted with 3D-printed

musical instruments, including a drum set, electric guitar, bass,
and keyboard; 3D-printed food, including meals for astronauts
and the military; 3D-printed clothing, prosthetic limbs, and human
organs for transplants; and even 3D-printed two-story concrete
homes. What’s next, 3D-printed cars?

Actually, yes. For example, in 2015, Local Motors introduced the

Strati roadster, an electric two-seater made in just 44 hours and
featuring 75% 3D-printed parts. In 2016, Divergent 3D followed
suit with the Blade, a 700-horsepower “supercar” with a 3D-printed
body and chassis. And in 2018, Italian start-up XEV announced
plans to produce the LSEV, a small electric car that, according to the GM consolidated an eight-part seat bracket into a single part using generative
design and additive manufacturing. Courtesy of General Motors.
company, is the world’s first mass-producible 3D-printed vehicle.

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 Disruptive Design

If additive manufacturing were a door to the

automotive future, generative design would
be the key to unlock it. “Generative design
is a way for us to explore different design
solutions for parts and components of our
vehicles by using the cloud and artificial
intelligence to combine the engineer and the
computer,” Quinn says. “By getting them to
work together, we can come up with part-
design solutions that would be impossible
to generate with either the computer or the
engineer working on their own.”

With this model, engineers establish

component design goals and constraints—
including parameters such as materials,
manufacturing methods, and budget—
and then input them into generative-
design software. The software then uses
an algorithm to analyze and evaluate
all possible design permutations and
recommends an optimal solution based on
its calculations.

“Generative design paired with additive

manufacturing can be completely disruptive
With generative-design technology, engineers and computers can collaborate in new to our industry,” says Quinn, who adds that
ways to create new designs never possible before. Courtesy of General Motors.
the auto industry historically has been
handicapped by the limitations of traditional
manufacturing tools such as mills and
injection molds. For one, such tools can only
But it’s not just upstarts and experimentalists “On average, there are 30,000 parts in every fabricate very simple geometries.
working with 3D-printed automotive design. vehicle,” says GM Director of Additive Design
Instead of pumping out headline-grabbing and Manufacturing Kevin Quinn. “We’re not Also, traditional tools are as expensive
proofs of concept, traditional automakers looking to print all 30,000 pieces. Instead, as they are inflexible, which makes
are investing in incremental upgrades and we’re being very realistic. We’re focused experimentation cost-prohibitive. Generative
tangible improvements. General Motors on production opportunities where we can design and additive manufacturing can
embodies this approach, designing 3D-printed provide a business value for GM and for the support infinite design solutions with
components that offer increased performance, customer. For us, it’s not about what you can minimal capital investment. A single piece
customization, and personalization. do; it’s about what you should do.” of software paired with a single 3D printer

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can produce myriad parts and unlimited forms—including organic additive manufacturing and generative design can help us gain that
shapes and internal lattices, which can be executed only using first-to-market advantage.”
additive manufacturing.
In a recent collaboration with Autodesk using the generative
technology in Autodesk Fusion 360, GM engineers designed a new,
A Better Bracket?
functionally optimized seat bracket, a standard auto part that secures
seat-belt fasteners to seats and seats to floors. While the typical
To understand the business case for generative design, consider the
seat bracket is a boxy part consisting of eight pieces, the software
challenges posed by electric vehicles (EVs). Although automakers
came up with more than 150 alternative designs that look more
are extremely bullish on them—GM alone plans to have at least 20
like a metallic object from outer space. Made of one stainless-steel
electric or fuel-cell vehicles on the market by 2023—such vehicles are
piece instead of eight, the design GM chose is 40% lighter and 20%
more expensive to produce. For GM, generative design might help
stronger than its previous seat bracket.
solve those challenges by facilitating lighter vehicles and a shorter
supply chain.
“The motivation to consolidate eight parts into one is twofold,” Quinn
says. “One, we can optimize for mass. But another ancillary benefit is
“Electrification and autonomous vehicles are going to be game-
that you’re reducing all the supply-chain costs associated with having
changers for our industry,” Quinn says. “Having a leadership position
many different parts that may be made by many different suppliers,
in those highly technical areas is critical going forward. We believe
which then have to all be joined together.”

Automotive-part designs like these are possible today only through additive manufacturing. Courtesy of General Motors.
 Applied across hundreds or even thousands of parts, it’s easy to see
how such improvements could make vehicles cheaper, lighter, and
more fuel-efficient. Learn how Airbus has continued to use generative
design on the latest version of its bionic aircraft
“The challenge for us now will be to find those other unique
applications where generative design and additive manufacturing
cabin partition—with even better results.
make sense,” Quinn says. GM already is working to optimize many
other parts on its vehicles.

“If we can use generative design and additive manufacturing to give

another mile per gallon of fuel economy or to extend by 10 miles
the range of our electric vehicles, that can be a huge competitive
advantage for General Motors going forward,” he says.

Benefits, Not Buzz

Increased performance is only the beginning. In the future, GM

envisions using additive manufacturing to affordably and efficiently
make service parts at dealerships and to customize its vehicles.

“Right now, to customize something on a vehicle requires a huge

capital outlay for GM because you’ve got to build a new tool every
time you want to make something custom,” Quinn says. “Since there’s
no return on investment, often in our industry, we make the decision
that we just won’t do those things.”

Quinn adds that additive manufacturing could allow customers to

order custom trim packages or personalize their vehicles with their
names or the logos of their favorite sports teams. “If we can offer
something that our competitors don’t, that will set our vehicles
apart,” he says.

At its best, that’s what technology is all about, according to Quinn: It’s
not about building buzz; it’s about delivering benefits. “Generative
design and additive manufacturing really excite me [because they’re
going to allow us] to deliver performance to our customers that they
couldn’t get any other way.”

Courtesy of Airbus.

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Indian company Social Hardware used generative design to create a
prosthetic device that combines the best features of two very different
types of prosthetic limbs.

MEET THE PROSTHETICS

“There is a gaping hole in the prosthetic market,”
says Abhit Kumar, cofounder of Indian prosthetics
start-up Social Hardware. “Our aim is to fill

START-UP THAT’S AIDING

that hole with prosthetic devices designed
specifically for low-income rural amputees from
the agricultural or construction industry, as this is

AMPUTEES IN RURAL INDIA

where most of the casualties occur.”

According to a report from India’s Ministry of

Statistics and Programme Implementation,

WITH HELPING HANDS 2.21% of the country’s population lives with

a disability. Of that population, 20% have a
disability of movement, and most live in rural
areas. The highest rate of amputation occurs in
BY RINA DIANE CABALLAR these rural settings, where the main employment
is in agriculture and construction. Prosthetics are
typically imported from overseas and can cost
more than six times the average monthly income
of a rural Indian family.

After researching existing solutions, Social

Hardware cofounders Kumar and Cameron Norris
saw a need for a new approach to upper-limb
prosthesis design. The pair met through the
online community Reddit, where they contributed
to an open-source prosthesis project to help a
fellow user with a disability. Kumar came from
a biomedical and robotics background; Norris
worked in the UK start-up world.

Social Hardware’s prosthetics are purpose-built using generative

design to be affordable for agricultural and construction workers in
rural India. Courtesy of Social Hardware.

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Finding a Path Forward

As a recognized start-up under the Startup India

initiative and a technical partner of Bengaluru-
based nonprofit Association of People with
Disability (APD), Social Hardware works toward
outfitting amputees in rural India with prosthetic
devices and providing rehab opportunities—at no
cost to the recipients.

Through partnerships with APD and other

disability rehab centers, Social Hardware will
provide rural amputees access to a rehab program
that includes physiotherapy and training to
effectively use an assistive device in their daily
lives. The start-up wants to keep the retail price
under ₹20,000 (about $280) for each prosthetic
hand; those who successfully complete the
program will be fitted with Social Hardware’s
prosthetics for free.

“By speaking directly with amputees and those

working within the prosthetics and orthotics
industries, we learned that most devices are
unsuitable for end users in rural India,” Norris
says. “In particular, durability and hygiene are two
major issues not being addressed appropriately.”

It’s All in the Wrist

Once Social Hardware developed a suitable

electric prosthetic arm, the team created the
Avocado Wrist Connector, an assistive device used
to securely attach agricultural and construction
tools to their prosthetics. “We took inspiration
from the ruggedness of military hardware design,”
Norris says. “We looked through old patents to
help us understand how different attachments The latest Social Hardware prosthetic arm with a farming tool attached (top), with a prosthetic hand attached (middle),
were mounted in military settings.” and with both the hand and farming tool attached to the wrist connector (bottom). Courtesy of Social Hardware.

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3D renders of Social Hardware’s latest wrist connectors and farming tool. Courtesy of Social Hardware.

They also wanted it to be compatible with But first, the team had to address the issues To achieve this balance, Social Hardware
the existing anchor system of connectors with existing prosthetic devices. Externally turned to generative design. With
and sockets made by ALIMCO, one of India’s powered prosthetic limbs don’t rely on a measurements from traditionally fabricated
largest manufacturers of prosthetic and user’s strength but, instead, have limited sockets, the team used Fusion 360 and a
orthotic devices. “Instead of replacing what battery life and typically aren’t sturdy enough five-stage generative-design process to
was already available in the prosthetics for high-intensity work. Body-powered bring down the weight of its Avocado Wrist
market, we wanted to support and prosthetic limbs are generally much more Connector and speed up the development
supplement it,” Norris says. “We wanted to durable and do not require batteries, but process. “Generative design enabled us to
create an add-on device that fits between they are heavy and have limited functionality. reduce the weight from 300 grams to 96
the bionic hand and the socket, which can be Kumar and Norris wanted to combine the grams while maintaining the durability we
used to attach different tools such as a small two: the lightweight, feature-rich approach needed,” Kumar says. “These results would
hammer or a trowel or whatever tool the of an externally powered prosthetic limb have taken months of trial and error to
individual may need.” with the durability and reliability of a body- achieve through traditional means.”
powered device. “The end goal is to provide
the best of both worlds,” Norris says.

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 Generative design also helped Social Hardware tackle the
challenges amputees experience with their prosthetic sockets
and to improve their appearance. “There are issues with sweat
and heat, especially in humid environments or if you’re working
at a high intensity,” Norris says. “We used generative design to
create a lightweight, breathable socket with a unique aesthetic.
Although we’re targeting low-income communities, we want
them to feel like they have the latest cutting-edge technology.”

Prosthetics for the Masses

As part of their future plan, Kumar and Norris want to

transition from a working prototype to an end product ready
for mass production. Preparing for clinical trials before
releasing their product as a medically certified prosthesis, they
plan to work with international aid agencies and humanitarian
organizations to bring their devices to other APEC countries
that need them.

Moreover, Social Hardware’s founders want to provide the first

commercial version of their device for preorder as a prosthesis
development kit for STEM (science, technology, engineering,
and math) education. The kit will include everything that
hobbyists, researchers, and students need to build their own
Social Hardware used generative design to bring down the Avocado Wrist Connector’s prosthetic hands.
weight while maintaining its strength. Courtesy of Social Hardware.
“We’re providing the kit to raise awareness of India’s rural
amputee population, encourage others to participate in
the development of assistive technologies, and for young
graduates to understand the concept of design engineering
and fabrication,” Kumar says. “It also builds on our foundation:
frugal innovation and participatory design.”

Watch how Stanley Black & Decker used

generative design to cut the weight of its
hydraulic crimping tool in half.

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 Both of these parts, produced by generative design,
feature traditional CNC milling techniques: 3-axis (left)
and 2.5-axis.

Generative design: It’s not all weird-looking geometries produced by additive

manufacturing, says Autodesk’s vice president and general manager of Fusion 360.
As a manufacturer, you’re certainly
familiar with the concept of generative

THE PROMISE OF
design by now—but there’s still some
confusion over its real definition.

MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION
Many in the manufacturing community
would have you believe that generative
design is merely a branch of topology

FOR ALL STARTS WITH

optimization or procedural modeling.
But in reality, generative design is a
more profound change in approach
than that. It’s an artificial intelligence–

GENERATIVE DESIGN powered process that leverages the

cloud to drive innovation by exploring
thousands of possibilities, rather than
simply removing excess material from
BY STEPHEN HOOPER an idea you’ve already had. (That’s
topology optimization.)

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If you know that, you’re hopefully already convinced of generative Generative Design for All
design’s revolutionary possibilities for the future of manufacturing
automation. But you might also think the technology is useful solely Many forms of manufacturing automation are initially too expensive
for complex geometries that can be produced only with additive- or too complicated to fully adopt. In the 1960s, when industrial
manufacturing techniques. robots first became available, only the likes of GM could afford
them. Generative design—the automated process of creating a
To be fair, many of the generative-design examples you’ve seen to design geometry based on simulation outcomes that are generated
date have been intricate, often otherworldly looking pieces printed in with an understanding of the manufacturing process—is just
metal. One reason for that is because the output of generative design the latest seemingly out-of-reach tech. But the good news for
hasn’t been connected to the traditional means of manufacturing. manufacturers is that the scope of generative-design automation
And if your manufacturing business can’t afford a $2 million 3D metal is expanding to include new manufacturing processes that support
printer, the technology hardly seems accessible or relevant. traditional manufacturing.

This interplanetary lander, the result of a research collaboration between NASA‘s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Autodesk, is an
example of a cool generative-design project fabricated through a combination of additive metal printing, casting, and milling.

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With a manufacturing constraint such as can be made on a more common machining A Digital Pipeline for Continuous Workflow
casting or machining, generative-design center, but it costs closer to $100 to make,
software can produce results that you can due to the length of time it takes to machine To realize the next significant advance in
fabricate using tools and equipment you likely the organic form. The third option—2.5-axis automation, a digital pipeline is necessary to
already have in your shop. These outcomes milled—is utopia because it gives you a part enable a continuous workflow from concept
aren’t just possible; they’re affordable. that does everything that the die-cast part to physical product. Consider today’s
does, but for $25. For roughly the same basic product-development workflow: An
Take, for example, three versions of a metal price, you get the absolute best solution for engineer completes some design geometry
support part for a wheelchair, derived from your design problem, without the need for and then hands it over to someone else to
the same generative-design output. Each part custom tooling, and you can make it with do simulations. That person has to finish
is essentially the same: same functional and your existing machine-shop hardware. the simulations and validate them before
performance requirements, same material, handing off to yet another person who
same rough form. The only difference is the Clearly, the manufacturing process is a creates the machining instructions in the
manufacturing process, but as you’ll see, not big influence on the type of geometry you form of g-code. In many cases, that g-code
all processes are created equal. produce, and it’s finally possible for anyone file is then copied onto a memory stick
to apply generative-design technology to and walked down to the shop floor, where
The original part is die-cast out of metal, at accessible means of manufacturing. But the machinist can load it onto the machine
a cost of about $15 when tooling costs are the promise of manufacturing automation controller and actually start to cut metal.
fully amortized. The 3-axis-milled iteration doesn’t stop with generative design.
That waterfall workflow is linear and highly
inefficient. A better way forward is an
automated, agile product-development
process, one that allows for some form of
concurrency so that one person can start
working on simulation studies before the
design is even finished. With feedback from
the simulations, someone else can start the
manufacturing instructions also before the
whole design is complete.

This enables your business to work less like

a 19th-century factory and more like a highly
competitive sports team. Having process
elements happen in parallel shortens the
total amount of time it takes to produce
a product, and it leads to greater product
innovation, better product performance,
lower costs, and faster time to market—all
key attributes of a killer business.

To really make that work, you need to create

A human-designed part alongside two generative-design versions milled on 2.5-axis and 3-axis CNC machines. that digital pipeline: a direct connection

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between the manufacturing instructions produced in the software
and the machine tool. In that scenario, the g-code is created in
the background and sent straight to the machine tool without the
designer ever being conscious of it. Think of it like this: If you want to
print something on paper, you send it over the network, directly from
the word processor; you don’t copy files across the network or insert
a thumb drive to make the printer understand what you typed into
your word processor. The same should be true in manufacturing, with
a network of machines and CAD/CAM applications.

Closing the Loop on Feedback

As valuable as that type of manufacturing automation is, it’s still

linear and thus incomplete—the information goes to the machine
tool, but no feedback returns. Things would be more inspiring if
those controllers on the machine tool could also capture information
about the tool’s performance. That kind of automation would provide
closed-loop feedback, allowing you to take information from the
machine tool and update the machining instructions in real time.

When a CNC machine cuts metal, the spindle turns and drives the
cutter into the metal. The controller knows how much pressure is
on the spindle and its maximum capacity. It knows, for instance,
if the spindle’s under 50% of its maximum loading condition in
the middle of an operation—which means it has 50% capacity that
you’re not leveraging.

With a direct networked connection to the machine controller, you

can “listen” to the controller and, in real time, update the machining
strategy that you’ve automatically generated in your design software.
If you’re aware that the spindle load capacity is at 50%, you can
either increase the feed rate so that the cutter goes through the
A Tormach CNC machine cutting metal. Courtesy of Getty Images.
material faster or cut deeper to remove more material. Either choice
increases the spindle force, pushing the machine further toward its
limit. And that means you can manufacture faster and get better
operational efficiency at the factory.
use its generative-design functionality to produce optimal design
Taken all together, these three forms of manufacturing automation— solutions. Soon, the digital pipeline and ability to reclaim information
generative design, digital pipeline, and closed-loop feedback— through connectivity to the shop floor will no doubt change your
present a powerful case for a new way of working. Today, you can business outcomes for the better. For manufacturers, the best really
input traditional manufacturing constraints into Fusion 360 and is yet to come.

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 You won’t find any 3D-printed parts at Claudius Peters:
This century-old firm has adapted generative-design
technology for traditional fabrication methods.

HEAVY-EQUIPMENT
MANUFACTURER
BRINGS GENERATIVE
DESIGN DOWN TO
EARTH
BY LAURA NEWTON

Claudius Peters, a 113-year-old manufacturer of bulk-materials

processing equipment, is undergoing a transformation to become
a digital company for the 21st century. Generative design is a
game changer for the firm, offering a radical new way to approach
product design and optimization.

By adapting this technology—which is usually associated with

3D printing—for traditional fabrication methods, the company
is making more cost-effective products for a price-sensitive
industrial market. Generative design in heavy manufacturing helps
A welder fabricates the prototype for the new transport part, reverse-engineered using ideas from cut material, energy costs, and lead times to make Claudius Peters
generative design, traditional design, and input from the foundry. Courtesy of Claudius Peters.
more competitive in changing times.

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The new part design, based on An Old-School Company Embraces Change
generative design, is more than
50% lighter than the original.
(left)
German manufacturer Claudius Peters
exemplifies the term “heavy industry”: The
Design engineer Maximilian company produces big industrial machinery and
Lerch works on a reverse-
engineered version of the processing plants for the cement, steel, gypsum,
generatively designed part and aluminum industries. “We’re the specialists
that can be fabricated with
traditional manufacturing in handling bulk materials,” says Thomas Nagel,
methods. (below) operations director at Claudius Peters (CP). In
Courtesy of Claudius Peters.
addition to its headquarters near Hamburg,
Germany, the company has 12 regional offices in
the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

Founded in 1906, CP has manufactured

huge, capital-intensive industrial products—
conveyors, silos, grinding mills—for more
than 100 years. But instead of clinging
to its venerable history, Nagel, acting as
chief digital officer, is helping the company
establish a reputation as a global leader in
digital innovation. Claudius Peters initiated
an innovation journey in 2014 with the goal
of improving business outcomes related to
cost, quality, speed of delivery, and customer
satisfaction. But the company realized that
staying competitive in the 21st century requires
more than just new software. In 2018, CP
began a further transformation into an agile
company, which would require new digital
skills and a culture focused on design thinking,
experimentation, and iteration.

The Innovation Journey Begins

Working with technology partners such as

Autodesk has been key to Claudius Peters’
innovation journey. CP has adopted new
tools, including Autodesk BIM 360, to
connect processes across sales, engineering,
design, manufacturing, and assembly. The
company also found new ways to streamline

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manufacturing processes using Autodesk
Inventor and finite element method
(FEM) analysis. To install its machines, CP
began using 3D reality-capture scans with
Autodesk ReCap and Autodesk Navisworks
to capture data at customer facilities, then
quickly hand off the files to the engineering
and design teams in Germany. “This means
we do our job faster, with higher quality
at lower cost, leading to higher customer
satisfaction,” Nagel says.

“But our innovation didn’t stop there,”

he adds. Inspired by a demonstration of
generative design in Fusion 360, Nagel set
up a four-hour workshop for the CP team to
learn about this emerging technology.

Autodesk generative-design software takes

design goals and constraints and explores
the possible permutations of a design
solution, quickly generating dozens of
options to choose from. After experimenting
The ETA Cooler at the Holcim Untervaz Cement Plant in Switzerland is a huge
with a few generic parts, the team decided machine that’s almost half a football field in size. Courtesy of Claudius Peters.
to try using generative design to optimize a
part from one of CP’s core products for the
cement industry—a clinker cooler.

What’s a Clinker Cooler? CP began supplying clinker coolers to the thermal efficiency,” Nagel says. “These
industry in the early 1950s, producing more energy savings can help reduce the negative
The cement industry has been a mainstay than 700 coolers over the next 60 years. But environmental impact of cement production.”
for Claudius Peters from its earliest days. clinker production consumes a lot of energy, Today, CP’s main business is replacing
Cement manufacturers mix crushed rock and making the cement industry one of the existing clinker coolers with ETA Coolers to
heat it in a kiln to 1,450°C (2,640°F), fusing world’s biggest CO2 emitters. increase efficiency at cement plants.
it into marble-size lumps called “clinker.”
The red-hot clinker is discharged to a clinker In the early 2000s, CP began developing a
cooler, a massive machine 50 by 25 meters next-generation clinker cooler designed to
(164 by 82 feet). Air cools the clinker to save energy: the ETA Cooler, named after
around 100°C (212°F) as it’s moved through the Greek symbol “η” (“eta”), which denotes
the cooler. It’s then ground and mixed with energy efficiency. “One of the greatest
other ingredients to form cement. benefits of our ETA Cooler is outstanding

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WHAT’S A CLINKER COOLER?
Images courtesy of Claudius Peters.

In the cement-production process, red-hot clinker is Conveyor lanes move the clinker through the ETA Cooler, Each ETA Cooler has around 60 transport parts that are placed
transferred from the kiln to the ETA Cooler, which can handle where air cools the molten rock to around 100°C (212°F). on conveyor lanes to move hot clinker through the cooler.
up to 13,000 metric tons of clinker per day.

The original transport part (left) was redesigned in 2016 and The new part design (right), based on generative design, is Renderings show the clinker-cooler part’s evolution from the
has been installed and proven in 14 clinker coolers. more than 50% lighter than the original—providing significant original heavy geometric design (top row, far left) through
savings on material cost and energy. generatively designed and reverse-engineered iterations.

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 Generative Design Yields Surprising Results how to manufacture it. “Generative design Generative design also delivers greater
normally uses 3D printing or other additive- sustainability. “We can move from a
CP decided to use generative design manufacturing methods to make the heavier part cast in a foundry in India or
to optimize a part for the ETA Cooler—a product,” Nagel says. “Our industry will not Turkey to a lighter part—a welded design
heavy-metal piece that had been recently use 3D-printed parts—it’s too expensive.” that we can even do in our workshop here,”
redesigned to remove excess material using Nagel says. “We save material, energy,
traditional design methods. Each cooler has But using ideas from generative design transportation time, and other negative
50 to 60 of these parts, which are bolted and traditional optimization, “it took effects on the environment.”
together on a series of conveyor lanes that us only a week to reverse-engineer the
move the molten clinker through the ETA part so we can make it using traditional Claudius Peters is now at the point where
Cooler. “This cast piece has been optimized manufacturing methods.” generative design is becoming a standard
over and over again,” says Maximilian process for optimizing existing parts or
Lerch, design engineer at CP. “The target With Inventor and FEM analysis, the team designing new ones. “We will figure out
was to lower weight and the linked cost of tested different fabrication solutions with more parts on which to apply optimizations
the metal. Even a little weight optimization Claudius Peters’ foundry. “We decided to and material reductions in the future,”
would have a big effect. move from a cast part to a solution with Nagel says. “Part by part, we’ll try to see
laser-cut plates and welding,” Nagel says. if generative design will have the same
“It was really cool to watch all the engineers “We’ve made the part an additional 25% positive benefits.”
gathered around the computer screen, lighter, faster to make, and more cost
watching generative design create an efficient.” The team continues to study
optimized, strong part out of almost nothing, design options for the transport part, finding
just the constraints,” Lerch continues. “All additional opportunities for improvement and Courtesy of Claudius Peters.
the iterations that are needed to come to the even more cost savings. “It should be rolled
best solution are done by the software.” out into production very soon,” Nagel says.

After that first four-hour session with

Reaping the Benefits of Generative Design
generative design, the team had its first
result: “We called it ‘the alien part,’” Nagel
CP’s generatively designed part can
says. “The result surprised us—how could it
ultimately save the company a significant
be so different from our optimized part? And
amount of money on each clinker cooler it
30% to 40% lighter?”
installs. With the weight of the transport
part reduced by about 20 kilograms (44
Adapting a Generatively Designed Part for pounds), the company anticipates saving
Traditional Manufacturing about €100 (USD $113) per part—multiplied
by 60 or more parts in each cooler. In
Claudius Peters’ skeptical engineers ran addition, less weight means lower shipping
calculations and FEM analysis on the “alien cost. “From the first prototype we developed,
part” and were astonished to find it was we believed that generative design will help
more effective than their traditionally us achieve better costs for our products and
optimized version of the part. The team make us more competitive,” Nagel says.
began to analyze the design to figure out

\ 20
What do you get when you combine a French visionary, an Italian
contemporary furniture maker, Autodesk Research, and AI? The A.I
chair, which is available now.

FROM ANALOG IDEAS TO

DIGITAL DREAMS, PHILIPPE
STARCK DESIGNS THE
FUTURE WITH AI
BY ERIN HANSON

The opportunity to work on a truly furniture maker Kartell and Autodesk

unique project is every designer’s dream, Research. Starck provided the
and new technologies can certainly overarching vision for the chair,
provide the occasion to do just that—as and advanced generative-design
one world-famous French creator and algorithms output myriad design
visionary can attest. options to meet Kartell’s injection-
molding manufacturing requirements.
Philippe Starck—the mastermind The A.I chair, representing a
behind designs for everything from leap forward in human-machine
furniture and household objects to collaboration, is now available in
hotels and even space travel—can add Kartell’s showrooms.
one more accolade to his impressive
CV: designer of the world’s first Here, Starck shares some of his
production chair created by AI in thoughts on the present and future
collaboration with humans. of design, including what it’s like to
work with generative design and when
That chair, A.I, is the result of Starck’s technology will be able to achieve its
Philippe Starck. Courtesy of Starck Network/JB Mondino.
collaboration with Italian contemporary own true brilliance.

\ 21
 The A.I Chair. Courtesy of Kartell.

As someone who doesn’t own a computer, how do you feel about

using generative-design technology, where the computer becomes a
design partner?

I do not have a computer because for my job—being a creative—I

am faster than any computer on the market. And above all, my
field of creativity is unlimited. The best creative person with the
best program can exercise his creativity, his idea, only within the
imagination, talent, and intelligence of the programmer. It is like an
incredibly intelligent and talented fly flying inside an invisible glass
cube. All these dreams are limited. Obviously, with the upcoming
arrival of a talented AI, the situation will change. In a few years,
it might be possible that I would be able to increase my creative
potential with this tool.

\ 22
 When I saw the great chess grandmaster
Garry Kasparov beaten by a computer, I
dreamed of being Kasparov beaten by a
computer. Today, we are at exactly the
same place: Kasparov was beaten under
certain conditions; I fought under certain
conditions. The A.I chair is the beginning
of a great freedom—a great revolution—that
human revolutions can no longer offer.

How does the A.I chair fit in with your

personal ethos of “democratic design”?

Democratic design is not a style. It is a

humanism that aims to increase quality
in every respect—cultural, qualitative,
technological—to lower the price and to
share it with as many people as possible. AI
should optimize all parameters of democratic
design. And no longer coming from my brain,
it will no longer please only people who have
Well-known for traditional hotel designs, Philippe Starck goes extraterrestrial with designs for the
Axiom commercial space station, its habitation module pictured here. Courtesy of Starck Network.
the same brain as me, but also a kind of
universal brain.

What’s the most unique design challenge

you’ve been asked to solve?
How would you describe the A.I chair that you even if I twist my brain in all directions—if
created with the use of generative design? everyone twists their brain in all directions— The programmers’ cultural memory [behind
if we are all geniuses, all great designers, advanced generative-design algorithms]. It
I have designed dozens of chairs that are we will always come out with pretty much took me several years to try to chase away
fairly well made, intelligent, and diverse. But the same thing because our DNA, our any human trace in AI’s reasoning. Finally,
after all these years, I realize that they come “background,” our structure does not allow human reasoning gave way slightly to a
from the same brain—a brain that belongs us to do it differently. I was getting bored, vegetal reasoning that does not satisfy me
to the same animal species, therefore to the but I have great hope with AI to get out of much more but which, despite everything, is
same intelligence and logic. In other words, this creative ghetto. a vital beginning.

\ 23
 Given your work with architecture and interiors, would you apply Do you think technology is capable of genius?
generative-design technology to, say, a hotel project?
Today it’s not, because it relies on limited memory that is castrating.
It is an interesting idea but incredibly complicated. In a hotel, the However, we only have to give AI a little time to grow in its heart, to
function is an obligatory one but quite easy to understand. The make it capable of even more sophisticated feelings. The day when
importance is the human and sentimental function, which is difficult it will be in love, when it will be afraid, when it will have desires and
for a human being to evaluate and which still seems difficult today dreams, it will have become a genius.
to get evaluated by a generative intelligence. But this question is a
challenge—why not try it?

What’s the funniest design mishap you’ve ever encountered?

One day, I received a very poor-quality phone call from a person I

love very much, but whose mother tongue is not English. He ordered
a 50-meter sailboat. I developed it for six months. I was extremely Under Armour’s giant step forward: Learn how
proud until the day I introduced it to this friend. He had difficulty the company created the next-generation
understanding and, for the first time, showed a rather appalling lack
of enthusiasm. I then understood that it was not a 45-meter boat, but athletic shoe using generative design.
a 145-meter boat that he wanted. I’m still humiliated by it.

How do you know when a project or a design is done?

Designers understand that a project is well done in two ways: First,

we feel it in our guts. There is something magical in it. Second, after
some analysis, success is the perfect balance of all parameters that
make a proposed design fair, good, and deserving to exist.

What makes you most excited or hopeful about the future of design?

The most exciting thing about design is to understand that it was a

temporary activity that dates back, as we know it, to the middle of
the 20th century and will disappear in the middle of the 21st century.
The intelligent part of human production follows the strategy of
dematerialization: We will have much more with much less. Today, the
task of design, with great naivete, is to try to make daily obligations
bearable so that we can love them. But that is not true; we will never
love a coffeepot, well designed as it is. This announced failure will
end when the coffee maker disappears, and so will we.

Courtesy of Under Armour.

\ 24
 Downhill mountain-bike test rider Dominik Doppelhofer catches wicked air while
wearing the Rotational Spine Protection System. Courtesy of Edera Safety.

Austrian design studio stands up to spinal-cord injuries

with a generatively designed “skin” that’s got your back.

THIS SPINE PROTECTOR

In the first episode of Friday Night Lights, a high school
quarterback suffers a paralyzing spinal-cord injury (SCI)
on the football field. As his community struggles to absorb

THAT’S WORN AS A
this devastating blow, the show’s oracle, Coach Taylor,
intones: “Life is so very fragile. We are all vulnerable, and
we will all at some point in our lives fall—we will all fall.”

SECOND SKIN MAKES According to a 2016 article in the Journal of Spinal Cord
Medicine, researchers have identified countries with the
highest incidence of SCIs that are sports-related (Russia,

EXTREME SPORTS Fiji, New Zealand, Iceland, France, and Canada) and sports
with the highest risk (diving, skiing, rugby, and horseback
riding). Although there are many mandatory helmet laws

EXTREMELY SAFER worldwide for bikes and motorcycles, almost no standards

are in place for spine protectors—or recommendations for
their use in sports.

BY DREW TURNEY

\ 25
Most spine protectors are made for motorcyclists and
are variations of belts or armor that restrict movement
or absorb blows. But a new project out of Graz, Austria—
the Rotational Spine Protection (RSP) System—acts as a
“second skin” with straps and buckles that fit onto the body
and “lock” movement inside a certain range, keeping the
wearer in a green zone of safe motion. If spinal rotation
enters a critical range, the tightening straps capture and
absorb the excess rotational energy.

Cofounder and CEO Thomas Saier of Edera Safety, the

design studio behind the RSP System, studied medical
surveys of spinal injuries, determining how and where they
occurred, as well as the type. Under the in-house brand
name adamsfour, the team concentrated on rotational
injuries, which are five times more common than direct
spinal impacts.

“It’s a biomechanical injury,” Saier says. “The natural range

of motion is overaccentuated. Injuries happen when the
rotational force to your spinal cord, which is centered in the
middle of your spine, is getting torn or sheared apart.”

The Body Electric

Step one was discerning where potentially damaging forces Edera Safety CEO Thomas Saier works
on the RPS System design. (above)
exert themselves on the spine when the body moves in
extreme or sudden ways. The team had to develop its own A rendering of the Rotational Spine
Protector. (right)
crash-test dummy with sensors and a spine that rotated
properly, apply rotational forces in every direction, and Courtesy of Edera Safety.
gather the resulting data.

The team concentrated on the vertebrae joining the

thoracic-lumbar and lumbar-cervical regions, where most
rotation—and injury—occurs. It also referenced human
spines from cadavers with the University of Graz Institute
for Anatomy, applying rotation and taking 3D scans to
collect more data on the spine’s biomechanical range.

A critical discovery was the spine’s natural limits with

two types of movement: one managed by the body’s
musculature and one where connections between bones

\ 26
(including vertebrae) start to take on the load. A New Generation Using Fusion 360 to fill the simulation
The human body can reach only about 60% with the real-time data, adamsfour
of its range of motion using active muscular Step two was putting all the data about developed a prototype. The team put it
force—the rest is done passively through bone spinal movement into practice, designing a to work, integrating more sensors and an
movements such as spine rotation. system that restricts simulated force and app to accurately measure and record all
energy but doesn’t feel like a suit of armor. relevant forces, and then feeding it into the
So the trick was not to restrict the active generative-design algorithm.
movement made by directing muscles, but Saier began considering generative design
to put the brakes on when the passive bone and its potential applications for RSP. “If For René Stiegler, adamsfour’s resident
movement is too much. When the spine you just work on the test pad, you can only sportsman and designer, the next step
enters that critical phase, the RSP System simulate one kind of movement,” he says. was working with the geometries from the
absorbs the resulting force. “Sports are such a complex thing with so generative-design process to find the best
many variations of movement—you don’t solution. “The results we got were a bit too
know how much force, rotation, or disruption extreme to be sold as a product,” he says.
really occurs in your system until it’s out “For usability issues, you have to reduce it
there taking impacts.” into something people actually want to wear.”

Various iterations of adamfour’s design for the Rotational

Spine Protector. Courtesy of Edera Safety.

\ 27
 how you implement it in the final product.
It’s actually based on a skeleton to build the
entire system around.”

The next phase is to equip a larger number

of test riders with more sensors, which
will generate even finer detail, and then
regenerate the current design to refine the
topology further.

In the Real World

After all that simulating, data crunching,

and finessing, does the user experience
stack up? Is the device easy to put on,
comfortable, and effective?

The right material was crucial. It needed to

be cuttable and shapable without losing its
intrinsic strength and required appropriate
friction with the surface of the skin or
clothing. If the device slides around on a
sheer fabric or sweaty body, it won’t restrict
Daniel Krobath gets ready to test the RSP System in Schladming, Austria. Courtesy of Edera Safety. sufficiently. The answer was a substance
called “chlorosulfonated polyethylene
synthetic rubber,” similar to the material
used for rubber dinghies.

The RSP System is a business-to-business combine it with your intuitive know-how and “It’s comfortable to wear,” says Dominik
technology—adamsfour will sell it as a kit the development skills of the design team to Doppelhofer, adamsfour’s downhill
to other manufacturers to be incorporated transfer it into a commercial product.” mountain-bike test rider. “Compared to other
into their own products. Even though back protectors, it’s a little bit different
adamsfour is in the preproduction stage, it is One advantage of this process was reducing to put on. You have to adjust it properly
already finalizing contracts with three large the amount of material needed, based on the because it has to sit on your body like a skin,
sportswear brands. system’s calculations for where the lines of but it works really well.”
force and energy apply to the body. “Without
“Depending on the constraints, you get a lot it, we might have had more material, or it This all means that if you play sports and
of structural proposals out of it,” Saier says. might have been heavier,” Stiegler says. “It soon find your spine better protected
“Generative design produced the key image, basically gives us the answers about the from overzealous twisting, you might have
and the final product we’re using right now amount of load we have to carry or how thick anatomical research, generative design, and
was driven by that geometry. You need to the material needs to be. It’s your decision a small company in Austria to thank.

\ 28
 A leading auto-parts manufacturer used generative
design to optimize a critical component, making it
lighter and increasing its thermal performance.

JAPAN’S DENSO
TAKES ON THE
ENGINE CONTROL
UNIT, A SMALL BUT
MIGHTY AUTO PART
BY YASUO MATSUNAKA

The global auto industry is scrambling to adapt to a number of

major changes: increased regulations mandated by governments
and the Paris Climate Change agreement, dizzying technological
breakthroughs (some of which put the industry in direct
competition with tech giants such as Google), and consumer
demand for greater efficiency and lower carbon emissions.

To this end, automakers are looking for ways to improve engine

performance and reduce vehicle weight, reexamining the 30,000-
plus parts that make up a car, such as the steering wheel, pedals,
seats, engine, brakes, and one key component tiny enough to rest
A concept model of an ECU fabricated using metal cutting. Courtesy of DENSO Corporation.
in the palm of your hand: the engine control unit (ECU).

\ 29
 The ECU is an electronic fuel-injection control
system that determines the proper fuel supply
required by the engine: Think of it as the “brain”
of the engine. This system plays a critical role
by optimizing the amount and timing of fuel
injected, which can improve driving performance
and reduce the amount of harmful emissions.

In 2019, the iF Design Award for Professional

Concept went to Japan’s DENSO Corporation,
a leading auto-parts manufacturer, for a
redesigned ECU. Founded 70 years ago, DENSO
today develops technologies for autonomous
and electric vehicles, AI, mobility as a service
(MaaS), and even quantum computing. To
optimize the ECU, Akira Okamoto, DENSO’s
project assistant manager of product design,
used generative design to meet two critical
goals: making the part lighter and increasing its
thermal performance.

Okamoto is developing ECUs for mounting on

small diesel engines used in construction and
Another view of the agricultural machinery, incorporating generative
metal-cut ECU concept design into his workflow to create advanced
model. (above)
conceptual models. “From the outset, I designed
Akira Okamoto, head the components with lightness in mind,” he
of the second product says. “I realized I could then use generative
development unit of
DENSO’s product design design for even greater weight reductions.”
office. (left)

Courtesy of DENSO An engine’s “room temperature” can reach

Corporation. 120°C (248°F). To operate without problems,
the ECU hardware’s temperature needs to
be lower than that by dispersing heat from
where it contacts the engine block, where
temperatures are about 105°C (221°F).

“I can draw on my experience to visualize a

shape that disperses heat well,” Okamoto says.
“However, in a lightweight design, there are
fewer pathways for drawing off heat, which
reduces the heat-transfer efficiency. I thought

\ 30
 I could use generative design to create parts Designing for Production a frame created through generative design.
using new shapes that are lighter but still Autodesk Alias SpeedForm and Fusion 360
retain heat-dispersing properties.” Objects created with generative design can were employed to taper the overall body and
be difficult to produce without 3D printing— give it a smooth shape, and adjustments
which is unsuitable for mass production. were made for production via conventional
Solving the Heat-Transfer Dilemma
“When you need tens of thousands of manufacturing methods. “We combined the
parts, cost and production time become essentials of each component to create the
In his research, Okamoto used the
challenges,” Okamoto says. For this project, shape of the overall unit,” Okamoto says.
generative-design features of Fusion
the team incorporated elements from the
360, even though it does not offer heat-
generative-design process into a part that A metal-cut mockup of the result is called
related parameters. “To calculate for heat, I
conventional die-cast molding could produce. the Direct Mounted ECU Concept. “We
hypothesized I would need to treat the heat
realized a 12% overall weight reduction,”
as load, so by adding load to areas that need
To do this, a geometrically shaped circuit- Okamoto says, “but we could maintain the
to disperse heat, the optimal shape could be
board cover was made and integrated with heat-dispersing capacity of the original.
found,” he says. DENSO collaborated with
partners at the Nichinan Group and with
designers Satoshi Yanagisawa and Yujiro
Kaida during this process.
The conceptual model shown in the middle combines the circuit-board cover with the generative-design frame
In generative design, AI creates copious to the left. The model to the right is the original general-purpose design. Courtesy of DENSO Corporation.
design variations based on the designer’s
provided parameters. By sifting through the
choices—discarding unsuitable designs and
accepting others—a person arrives at the
optimal design. “Our work designing this
ECU was a process of trial and error, and
many unusable designs were generated,”
Okamoto says. “However, variations that
could be used began to have similar shapes.

“What I liked about this process was that

I could make a 3D print of a model and get
a better sense of how the heat would flow
around that part,” he continues. “Lots of
the models were ugly at first look, but you
began to see the beauty in these designs.
The final design had a beautiful shape that
we modified to allow for manufacture using
conventional methods.”

\ 31
 While the reduced weight meant there and we have found areas we can further A frame for direct mounting on an ECU unit to an engine
block, created using generative design. Courtesy of DENSO
are fewer paths for heat to escape, since refine in the next round of design work. Corporation.
the performance is identical, we can say
the exothermic capacity of the part has “If we can lighten each part one by one,
improved over the original.” even slightly, the overall result will be
a much lighter automobile,” Okamoto
Although Okamoto had experimented with continues. “We can apply these results
other approaches to weight reduction, such toward other parts beyond ECUs. It would
as topology optimization, this was the first be ideal if we can apply these methods
time he tried generative design. The project regularly to lighten automobiles overall.
took about three months to finish. “While it While this model is just for proposal to
took us a little time to get up to speed, we our clients, our next step is to put in the
achieved results in a relatively quick time electronics and test its performance to see
frame,” Okamoto says. “We think we will the actual results of our work.”
realize even greater gains with larger ECUs,

Another view of the initial ECU frame, made using

generative design. Courtesy of DENSO Corporation.

Courtesy of X-Vein.

Learn how a massive natural disaster in Japan inspired

this student maker duo to develop a lightweight, highly
customizable drone for search-and-rescue missions.
\ 32
TAKEAWAYS
Generative design lets humans and Generative design helps:
machines collaborate to create better,
Save time
stronger, and more efficient things. Whether
the goal is to minimize weight, consolidate In the time that a human can create a few
designs, a computer can generate multiple
parts, improve performance, or meet iterations, along with data to prove which
sustainability objectives, generative-design designs are performance-based frontrunners.

software can help achieve it. Boost creativity

Generative design automates routine tasks
and opens new doors for designers and
engineers to explore more innovative and
imaginative outcomes.

Save money
Simulation and testing are built into the
initial design process, preventing expensive
changes later in the manufacturing process.

Fuel innovation
Generative-design software makes
formulating this complex geometry possible,
and hybrid manufacturing helps accelerate
the entire design-to-make process.

\ 33
From the past to the future: Generative
design upgrades a vintage van and aids
research on the human brain.

VOLKSWAGEN TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF MUNICH

Generative Design Holds the Key to the What a Big Leap Forward in Humanoid Robot
Future of Cool, Fuel-Efficient Car Design Design Could Mean for the Human Body

WATCH NOW READ NOW

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