PLM's place in the wild west of clean tech

The early days of a surging industry have a bit of that “Wild West” flavor in the quick execution needed around innovative ideas. And time and again, it’s been some of the smaller players who’ve been able to innovate and capitalize on new technologies, as Microsoft did a generation ago by focusing on operating system and desktop software instead of PC hardware.

But to move quickly today, small tech start up need a technology foundation that not only allows them to design, but also secure their intellectual property, collaborate, and visualize their ideas in ways that go well beyond a PowerPoint. These are some of the reasons why Autodesk–a well-known vendor of design and product life-cycle management (PLM) software–created a program that grants free software to clean tech start-ups.

The Autodesk Clean Tech Partner Program grants free design and engineering software to startups and early-stage clean technology companies. Recipients receive a set of products that includes Autodesk’s Inventor 3D CAD solution, Vault Manufacturing
, which covers core data management functions for PLM; as well as packages such as Autodesk Navisworks Manage
, which pulls together design data to look at the interplay of products and systems in an entire building or factory setting.

“This program is a software grant worth about $150,000 that basically acts as a turnkey solution to let a clean tech company bootstrap their digital prototyping,” says Grant Rochelle, director of industry marketing for the Autodesk Manufacturing Industry Group. “It gives them the technology to start digital, stay digital, protect their intellectual property, and introduce more rigour into their design and data management processes.”

So far, Autodesk has awarded about 30 grants under the program, says Rochelle, and aims to make 100 grants by year’s end. About 155 companies had applied as of early October. Autodesk’s Web site offers a link for clean tech companies interested in becoming part of the program, which at this time, is aimed at the North American market only.

One of the early recipients of a grant is Syncromatics, which makes solar-powered transit signs for bus stops. The company uses Inventor’s capabilities to simulate and understand how its product will behave in different environments. Increasingly, says Rochelle, even small start-ups want to make use of design simulation tools to do away with the need for physical prototypes. With smaller start-ups, however, the company often doesn’t have a resources to pay for specialized design simulation software or specialists trained in that software. Having some simulation capabilities built into the main 3D CAD tool is a plus for such start-ups, says Rochelle. “Clean tech companies aren’t that much different from many of the other small to midsized customers we serve in that they don’t have the funds for specialists,” he says.

Besides simulation, clean tech companies also need tools to help senior management or marketing people sell potential investors and partners on their product technology. Autodesk’s Showcase product is aimed at this need, allowing non-engineers to build 3D demos from native Inventor files. Meanwhile, says Rochelle, there is also often the need for clean tech companies to see how their product will fit together with other products or subsystems, which Autodesk addresses with Navisworks. Finally, there is the need for better data management and data security, which is addressed by Autodesk’s Vault solution. Rochelle agrees that much of the success of a clean tech start-up comes back to its core ideas, but these days, bringing those ideas to market quickly through digital design, keeping data secure, and attracting partners also is important.

With about 9 million people in Autodesk’s software community worldwide, says Rochelle, the company believes sustainability-related programs like the grant program, as well as educating users about green design, can actually boost the development of clean and green technologies. “Working through our community, we believe we have the potential to really begin to make a difference,” he says.