As we gear up for DEVELOP3D LIVE 2025 at Warwick Arts Centre on 26 March, Stephen Holmes takes a look at some of the highlights planned for the bumper one-day event, packed with design and engineering technology and know-how
Big things are afoot in the world of technology, with product design and engineering tools undergoing fundamental changes.
The big guns are readying their products for a new world of AI enhancements. New players are popping up regularly, with capabilities boosted by GPU and cloud compute power.
This is the lull before the storm – the time to figure out where you, your team and your organisation stand in terms of the tools at your disposal. Stick or twist, you need to decide.
But how are you going to choose which path to take? At DEVELOP3D, we believe there’s nothing more valuable than getting up close and personal with the companies behind the tech and hearing what they have planned directly from senior executives. Add to that the opportunity to kick the tyres of a product on the exhibition floor and to chat to your peers about their own experiences, and you’re looking at an event that will help you cut through the hype and confidently take the driving seat.
That’s why you should head to DEVELOP3D LIVE on 26 March 2025 at the Warwick Arts Centre, UK. Our conference programme will give you all the information you need to make sound decisions that will give your organisation a competitive edge over its competitors.
This is the only event where all the leading software companies that matter to product designers and engineers come together to engage directly with their most important audience: end users, corporate decisionmakers, and key influencers.
We’ve spent months finding exactly the right speakers to inspire you. So come and meet incredible designers doing wonderful work and technology suppliers truly pushing back boundaries. Come and explore the innovations that will transform your own workflows.
Be part of the changes underway. Don’t miss out. We look forward to seeing you at DEVELOP3D LIVE on 26 March. To register FREE now, click here
Stephen Holmes Editor DEVELOP3D
www.develop3dlive.com
Goodwin Hartshorn
You’ll find Goodwin Hartshorn’s work in products that look and perform with equal brilliance, from Bowers & Wilkins’ Hi-Fi equipment to medical devices, wearables and more.
The co-founders — Richard Hartshorn and Edward Goodwin — both have a background in engineering, before shifting to industrial design. This is amply clear from their ability to find beauty in details. Learn how the team at Goodwin Hartshorn approaches projects and uses technology to develop award-winning products.
Software futures
Your everyday CAD tool of choice is now part of a platform, a growing ecosystem, and in some cases, a ‘universe’ of exploratory design software enabling you to design anything from a spoon to a spacecraft.
Get the very latest news from the likes of Solidworks, Catia, Siemens Digital Industries, Autodesk and Shapr3D as executives from these companies appear in back to back sessions on our main stage. They’ll give you insights into how their products stand today and what customers achieve using them, not to mention a tantalising glimpse of what the design software you use today might look like tomorrow.
Apiar watches
The design of luxury watches regularly gets compared to the styling and engineering of cars, planes, trains and boats – so how about incorporating the same 3D-printed lattices into a watch that you might also find in a next-generation spacecraft?
Apiar is on a mission to combine cutting-edge technology and materials with exclusive designs, and to make it all in the UK. Join Apiar founder Matt Oosthuizen to find out more.
Energyminer
Generating power from flowing water is nothing new, but Energyminer is looking to do it more locally to areas of energy demand, without dams or weirs to impact on nature.
Hear from Energyminer CTO, Dr. Chantel Niebuhr, about how CAD and simulation technology enables the company to test its Energyfish power plants in a fraction of the time that it might otherwise take.
Kingfisher
Parent company of retail brands including B&Q and Screwfix, Kingfisher is pivotal in the UK’s building, home improvement and gardening sectors. Behind the stores and the e-commerce websites lies a team of in-house industrial designers, developing everything from power tools capable of handling the toughest jobs to beautiful bathroom sets.
Join industrial designer Liam Donnelly and head of design Tom Jarvis as they reveal how Kingfisher brings its products to life.
Computational design panel
Do you love your lattices or are you jumpy about gyroids? Our panel of experts are here to put computational design in the frame and offer you insights into how you can transform your products with structures impossible to build by hand.
There’ll be plenty of real-world examples, built with the power of these tools. Panellists include executives from Synera, ToffeeX, 3D Systems and Carbon.
XR panel
With hardware from established consumer brands such as Apple and Sony regularly turning up in workplaces, the spatial computing sector now has fresh impetus and new accessibility. Join experts from Siemens, Shapr3D, Tech Soft 3D and Threedy to explore the potential gains for designers and engineers from working in extended reality (XR) to elevate concepting, visualisation, exploring assemblies and more.
Future housing
House building is in trouble. The industry has tried to copy automotive, but in the UK nearly all off site manufacturers have crashed and burned. Bruce Bell from Facit Homes will present an exciting alternative. His innovative architecture firm has partnered with Tharsus to build a robot system to take the housing factory to the worksite in two shipping containers.
The potential to have these robots in every city and county, ready to manufacture buildings through CNC cut box sections could solve the housing crisis, helping overcome the skills shortage endemic in the industry.
Tech showcase Landr
The Landr 500 is a new FDM 3D printer for industrial use. Developed by experts in their field and battle tested preparing parts for some of the most demanding clients in automotive, it is a sign that 3D printing is fast maturing for end use components.
Hear from Landr CEO Mitchell Barnes how the product was developed to meet the needs of users.
Tech showcase Neural Concept
Nvidia GPU-powered CAE platform, Neural Concept, is a name the software you’re already using is racing to collaborate with.
Neural Concept’s platform aims to bring together data scientists, CAE and CAD designers on a single platform for deep-learning simulation capabilities. Learn how it can accelerate your workflow with HPC power.
Elderly mobility
Industrial designer Henrik Svanvig has worked at Vital Auto and interned at Chinese Automotive giant SAIC Design Advanced in London.
He has a deep interest in mobility for the elderly and how many of today’s designs seem to alienate the target demographic.
Svanvig will present some of his ideas on elderly friendly vehicles and explain how he has incorporated the use of cutting edge tools like Gravity Sketch and VR in his design process.
Management & strategy
Beyond the design of the product and the engineering to optimise production, there are management level issues which impact the whole business of producing manufactured goods.
This year DEVELOP3D LIVE features a new track looking at more strategic issues which face 21st Century businesses; desktop and cloud tech stacks, business process change using Artificial Intelligence (AI), PDM and PLM, factory design, Intellectual Property (IP), Patents, accessing grants for R&D innovation and working with Catapult institutions.
We are working with industry analyst Cambashi, Innovate UK (part of the Government’s UK Research and Innovation) and various departments of Warwick University.
As part of this track, Peter Harman, CEO of Infinitive, creator of a configuration platform for product development, will share strategy and tips for SMB success for accessing grants as routes for technology development.
Infinitive has a great record in securing various grants and Harman will show how these have helped accelerate the in house development of its technology.
