Autodesk has become the latest company to invest in Toolpath and its software to integrate AI into CAM, helping optimise tool selection and toolpath strategies.
No monetary value has been mentioned for the ‘strategic investment’, but Autodesk joins Kennametal, ModuleWorks, and Leaders Fund in supporting Toolpath’s AI-powered manufacturing platform.
Toolpath’s software integrates AI into the CAM process, optimising tool selection and toolpath strategies. The platform analyses machining processes and the parts a process will make, providing manufacturers insights to make better decisions about which jobs to quote, estimate costs accurately, and optimise machining operations.
Workflow steps, from initial job evaluation to machining plan, including tooling and operations, are all covered in Toolpath, thanks to its applied AI and proprietary Part Comprehension Engine that helps professionals at critical stages of the machining business, enhancing their work rather than replacing it.
A statement from Autodesk’s Stephen Hooper, VP of design and manufacturing cloud solutions, says that the investment will help support the growth of Toolpath’s engineering team and further enhance its market presence.
Hooper adds that the strategic partnership will add closed-loop, fully automated workflows into Autodesk Fusion. “Looking ahead, combining Toolpath’s technology with Autodesk’s Manufacturing Data Model would enable Fusion users to automatically analyse manufacturability, plan machine strategies, and send complete programs to Fusion. The goal here is to streamline and elevate the user experience, harnessing AI to automate and augment critical aspects of the production process,” he said.
Autodesk has previously invested in CloudNC, an AI enabled CAM company, which Hooper suggests offers ‘differentiated support to that of Toolpath‘. While Fusion focuses on providing an end-to-end platform for manufacturing, Toolpath and CloudNC specialise in addressing additional “specific persona requirements, creating a separate but comprehensive suite of solutions that supports manufacturers across the board”.
