Collaborative Making In Overdrive
A Primer on How Cloud CAD, AR, AI, and Blockchain are Set to Change the Future of Product Design — and How to Prepare Yourself!
Introduction
The tools we use to communicate, share, design, and build are changing dramatically. These tools have the potential to bring us into a period of unprecedented human collaboration. Advances in design and manufacturing technologies, the improving fidelity of collaborative communication tools, and the improving accessibility of seed capital are changing the nature of what is possible. In this new world, designers and engineers who understand how to contribute to open, collaborative, and community-based forms of problem-solving will excel. Furthermore, companies who differentiate themselves through nurturing innovation and human performance will win.
In this article, you will learn where this change is happening already, to what effect, and most important — how you can get in the game!
What are the drivers of this change in design engineering?
Over the next five to ten years, businesses of all sizes will be challenged by the global application of various technological advances in computational power, global digital connectivity, machine intelligence, cloud Saas services and tools, additive manufacturing, and industrial automation.
As these advances combine and integrate deeper into the operations of society they will enable fundamental shifts in how design engineering work is done. Together these changes will change how product design engineering and R&D firms are staffed, operated, and managed. They will enable changes in both nature and availability of design engineering work.
The sections below explore how these technological developments are already enabling changes in the nature of the engineering workforce; the process of funding and distributing ownership of engineered products; the routes to scale manufacturing, and the changes happening in education to enable these developments to continue.
Decentralized Workforce
New design and communication tools are enabling a new kind of distributed workforce. New cloud-based computer-aided design (CAD) software tools like OnShape and Fusion 360 dramatically enhance the ability of engineers and designers to work in agile, distributed, scalable, and highly-productive teams in ways that were previously impossible. These types of tools enable fluid, mobile, and global access to complex design and analysis data in ways that make real-time collaboration possible between designers, engineers, managers, manufacturers across times zones and across devices.
Although there are universal ways to communicate in engineering (e.g. mathematics, standardized geometric dimensioning and tolerancing, schematics, etc) the human relationship building across borders and cultures required to develop and manufacture complex devices and systems is currently limited by miscommunication. AI-driven real-time language translation tools (e.g. Google Pix Buds, Skype, DeepL) are the first step towards breaking these barriers and they are improving literally every day.
Communication within distributed teams will be improved even more so by rapid hardware and software developments in augmented and virtual reality tools. Mixed reality applications will enable design engineers to work in augmented space, from their home office, with teams in another land, speaking another language.
These tools for collaborative design, visualization, and communication will not only enable existing teams to become more agile, they will enable upstarts and incumbents alike to leverage access to scalable design talent across language and cultural barriers. Furthermore, as the world becomes more digitally connected, more and more people will have the opportunity to contribute to the digital engineering workforce. This is a good thing! We need more people inventing the future.
Distributed data processing is a model for why we need more makers in a decentralized workforce. Designers and engineers are data processors in human form — living systems taking in problems and contextualizing disparate bits of information to form insightful solutions. As Yuval Harari puts it in his book Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow,
“…distributed data processing works better than centralized data processing, at least in periods of accelerating technological changes”.
To solve more (and more complex) problems we need more (and more diverse) perspectives working through them at once. Distributed design engineering teams = distributed information processing.
Decentralized Funding Paradigms
For even the most agile and frugal teams, scaling complex hardware products is capital intensive and has historically required significant upfront investment from private capital markets (e.g. high-net-worth accredited investors). Recent innovations in funding architectures and legislation have begun to change this paradigm through crowdsourced funding — e.g. crowdfunding and equity-crowdfunding. These changes have led to a massive increase in crowdfunding in the last decade.
It started with novel, open platforms (e.g. Kickstarter, Indiegogo) that proved effective in raising seed capital and in providing proof-of-market demand to venture capital firms for later-stage funding (e.g. see Oculus Rift, Pebble SmartWatch, FormLabs as case studies of this trend).
The space has been pushed even further in the US by the groundbreaking Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act and platforms like SeedInvest which allow regular citizens the right to invest in startups in exchange for equity(learn more here).
Another interesting case is MicroVentures, an online platform for venture capital investments that is open to the public. This service is marketed as providing the benefits of venture capital (connections, research, deal flow, mentoring) combined with the benefits of equity crowdfunding (open access, ease of use, diversification).
It is still early days for many of these tools, so it is difficult to say with certainty how effective they will be as investment vehicles. However, there is a clear trend is towards decentralized access to capital — a giant new source of capital to support design engineering projects.
Decentralized Ownership (Kinda maybe)
Although the public hype around blockchain-based assets exploded in 2017, insiders have long been discussing how decentralized ledger systems are the ideal model and platform for true crowdfunding — open, distributed, and liquid. Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), wherein companies offer a scarce digital asset (a token) for sale across the globe (more or less) have enabled the rapid amassing of massive funds from decentralized civilian investors (e.g. Bancor (+$150 Million, Tezos (+200 Million), EOS (+200 Million), etc). These ‘tokens’ can be:
- Coins/Cryptocurrencies: Use encryption techniques to generate units of currency and verify transfer of funds within a network.
- Utility Tokens: Units of services that can be purchased.
- Tokenized Securities: Tokens representing a share of a business.
It remains unclear whether or not tokens are securities — so keep an eye out to see how the space evolves! Despite the confusion, mega-hype, and lack of clarity in this space, the key point to take away is that blockchain technology has the potential to uproot how all technology projects are funded (for both software + hardware). Learn more about the implications of blockchain via Tapscott’s Blockchain Revolution: How the Technology Behind Bitcoin Is Changing Money, Business, and the World. You can also learn more about Blockchain technology with this free Foundations of Blockchain course from Springboard.
It is not difficult to imagine a world in which design engineers contribute to decentralized projects in exchange for tokens of one form or another. In fact, examples of these decentralized finance platforms for managing ‘gig economy’ labor transactions, or ‘paid crowdsourcing’ already exist (see LytePay and Earn.com). It’s a matter of time before these types of tools become integrated with engineering design tools — especially considering tools like Fusion 360 and OnShape are open for application development.
Decentralized Manufacturing
The hybridization of traditional and digital manufacturing processes is creating novel supply-chain efficiency opportunities for upstarts and incumbents alike. These new tools create changes to the economics of production and enable increased design freedom, increased part functionality, product personalization, and potential for improved product environmental sustainability.
Companies like Markforged, Desktop Metal, FormLabs, and Carbon3D are creating accessible (under <$200K) additive manufacturing technologies that can produce polymer, metal, ceramic, and composite components at production level quality. Additive manufacturing enables complexity at little to no extra cost and since the speed of the additive metal printing is near ~500 cubic centimetres per hour (and improving almost exponentially) it is quickly becoming cost and quality competitive with some traditional manufacturing procedures. These improvements enable design engineering teams to product highly-optimized complex components economically, to localize aspects of component production, and to develop a flexible, real-time inventory.
However, since these additive processes are limited in volume capability, hybrid processes that incorporate additive and traditional processes (e.g. using additive processes to create complex geometries for casting mold forms) creates new cost structures for traditional processes and enables incorporation of the best of both worlds (e.g. see Figure 6).
Traditionally, large design and engineering teams would be located beside their massive manufacturing facilities. The technological reality of today enables smaller and distributed micro-factories and cloud-based supply chains as a viable alternative (at certain levels of scale). You can see a shift towards this reality through distributed manufacturing services like MaketTime.io and Fictiv that enable consistent lead-times on machined components by leveraging networks of machinists, connectivity, and clever optimization software. Local Motors is an interesting manifestation of this reality also. The company leverages crowdsourced design and engineering talent to co-create novel automotive concepts and then builds them to order in micro-factories across the globe. This model is the future of innovative manufacturing.
Democratized Education
Improved communication tools listed above (language translation, VR/AR) will have as much an effect on working teams as it will on education — likely more! Already, the global rise of high-quality Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) from established academic institutions and private companies (e.g. EdX, Coursera, and Udacity) are democratizing access to high-quality technical and vocational training. Similarly, established institutions are offering accredited graduate degrees (e.g. Georgia Techs online masters program). But it may be too little too late for these institutions. Digitization and decentralization are changing the credentialing paradigm in education. We are moving towards a technology era where credentials matter less and portfolios of work or developed products matter more.
What is needed to foster this exciting potential change in engineering practice?
Massive investments in global satellite networks are going to make global broadband internet connectivity a reality (SpaceX, OneWeb, etc) within the next decade — maybe sooner. This is going to bring another three billion people online. Billions of creative minds who will want to learn, grow, and contribute to technology. To successfully leverage this massive new human resource firms will have to strike a balance between how they manage closed intellectual property and how they nurture, manage and leverage crowds of skilled and creative networks.
As the design engineering labor force becomes more flexible, agile, decentralized the active development and management of online communities will be vital to the development of complex product solutions. The beginning of the shift is happening already. Large players see the future potential and are beginning to experiment with crowdsourcing segments of their product design engineering process:
- HeroX connects companies with challenging problems to a global community of innovators through incentive competitions
- Launch Forth is an online co-creation product design platform created by Local Motors that empower their community to partner with various organizations to contribute across the entire lifecycle of products (from cars to drones, to coffee makers, to jet engines) from ideation to manufacture.
- Innocentive crowdsources solutions from creative thinkers for companies from Ford to World Vision
- LEGO has created a gamified online ideas community and rewards contributors with a part of sales of co-created product concepts.
- Similarly, Quirky co-creates consumer products with its online community of inventors and shares proceeds from sales with its co-creators.
- FirstBuild is a co-creation platform that has developed and shipped multiple home appliances using their network of designers, engineers, and makers.
These projects are all excellent examples of organizations effectively aligning incentives between the interests of a large organization and their distributed, creative, and skills communities. Across industries of the future, it will be the organizations who are able to create and nurture distributed, diverse, multifunctional, and multicultural teams that will excel at developing unique value in the future.
As business strategy professor and author of ‘Humility is the New Smart: Rethinking Human Excellence in the Smart Machine Age’, Edward D. Hess writes — leading these types of organizations will require a new story about the role of leadership. Leaders of future organizations will need to role model the right mindsets and behaviors that enable the highest levels of human performance in pursuit of continuous learning and innovation. Hess outlines these mindsets and behaviors as the ‘4 Es’:
- Embrace uncertainty and complexity with the scientific method
- Engage the world as a lifelong learning and with emotional intelligence
- Excel at managing self and enabling connection and engagement between stakeholders
- Enable the highest levels of human development and performance
What could this mean for problem-solving?
It is still early days for globally crowdsourced product design innovation so it is hard to say how it will develop. What will it mean when the world’s best design engineers are available able to work on multiple projects across the world projects at once? How quickly will wicked global problems be solved when designers, engineers, and entrepreneurs across the world will be able to seamlessly collaborate to create solutions that reflect the thought diversity of a global citizenry? These are the management challenges of the future.
How can you get started?
So you are a young designer and/or engineer and you want to be part of this new world of product design engineering? You don’t need a fancy degree — you need skills in the areas of CAD, fabrication, community, and code:
CAD
Computer Aid Design (CAD) is essential to design engineering. To contribute to co-creation projects online you need to understand the applications and limitations of the most appropriate tools and learn how to use them collaboratively.
There are many systems out there but in my opinion, the best solutions for co-creation are browser-based, cloud-CAD systems like OnShape and Fusion 360. These tools enable you to work in distributed teams through real-time collaboration and offer the most seamless communication between designers, engineers, managers, and fabricators. Both Fusion360 and OnShape have excellent free online training tutorials.
Fabrication
To contribute to co-created design engineering projects you should have some understanding of the application and limitations of various manufacturing processes. Developing practical experience making things is a great way to start. Find your local FabLab and make something. Similarly, learning how to use contract manufacturers like Plethora, Fictiv, Xometry, and Protolabs is an excellent skill to develop. Many of these services provide educational resources and guides to help guide you through the process — they want you to succeed in making awesome stuff.
The two books ‘Making It: Manufacturing Techniques for Product Design’ and ‘The Future of Making’ are excellent resources to get you up to speed on the present and future realities of fabrication.
Code
You don’t need to be the next Zuckerberg but you do need to understand the tools available, their applications, how to use them, and most importantly their implications. It is easy to get started and there is are loads of free ways to learn online. To motivate yourself read ‘Program or Be Programmed: Ten Commands for a Digital Age’.
Community
You need to know how to build and/or contribute to online communities with empathy, cultural sensitivity, respect, and openness. You need to learn how to use the communication tools at hand. This is not something you learn in a course. The best way to do learn is by joining some open slack-channels related to topics or projects you are interested in. Join some of the online co-creation communities listed above (eg. Launch Forth, HeroX and get involved) — it’s free! Make a contribution, build your skills, share your work and ideas and see how you grow!
Final Thought
This is the best time in history to be a designer and/or engineer. It has never been easier to learn, invent, fund, create, build, are share your creative ideas with the world. Embrace it! Our capability as designers, engineers, and makers to communicate, share, design, and build is improving every day. Open innovation strategies will continue to provide agile product innovation results across industries. Those who have skills in CAD, fabrication, code, and community will thrive in this exciting future. Go get started!
Overarching all of this is the fundamental reality that learning is the strategic driver for individual and organizational success in tomorrow’s economy. To contribute collaboratively in a world of rapid technological advancement and increasing globalization your effort should focus on the development of your ability to learn complex skills and subjects and the development of a growth mindset- that is, the belief that your abilities can be developed.
Great resources to start developing your learning strategy and a growth mindset are the Coursera Learning How to Learn course and the book ‘Mindset: The New Psychology of Success’ — both creations of psychologist Carol Dweck.
Want more insights and ideas for building a happy engineering career? Please subscribe. You can also follow me on twitter at @timosaurous
