【Haichuan Digital Delivery】Starting from factory buildings

The development of the earliest CAD software for construction design was driven by the United States’ push for standardization in construction, which led to the rapid growth of AEC-oriented software. Intergraph, the American software company specializing in EagleView, made its achievements in the AEC sector through a project to create a digital geographic space for a city in the United States. Autodesk went a step further by promoting the establishment of an international interoperability alliance, introducing the military equipment format STEP used by the U.S. military into the field of architectural design, and advocating for the BuildingSmart format. This seems to be a new hegemony in the global architectural format, and the European market has reacted strongly to it. The German company Nemetschek acquired ArchiCAD software from the Hungarian company Grahpisoft, which has long been a strong competitor to Revit. Nemetschek has gone through numerous mergers and acquisitions, eventually establishing an open OpenBIM system that can compete with that of the United States. The history of this struggle reflects Europe’s high level of vigilance regarding America’s monopoly on standards for architectural design software formats. This German giant in architectural design software now has 16 BIM software brands under its umbrella; ArchiCAD is the most well-known of these, and it holds a significant advantage in the field of architectural design in China. Not surprisingly, this BIM software was also originally developed through collaboration between a group of Hungarian architects and mathematicians. The ubiquitous hints, and the origins of software, are always closely linked to mathematics. Each software finds its own distinct niche: BricsCAD from Belgium stands out for its lightweight design (it has since been acquired by the ambitious company Hexagon), while Tekla from Finland is a specialized software for steel structure design, boasting extensive experience in the design and fabrication of various steel structures. This feature, stemming from the advanced rendering capabilities of steel structures, also enables it to find its place in the BIM market. And Dassault Systèmes’ BIM, although a newcomer, has also found a way to get in. Generally, the granularity of BIM is not very fine, but the BIM software developed by Dassault Systèmes based on the Catia core further increases this granularity, reaching a level suitable for manufacturing. In particularly complex buildings such as Daxing Airport, it has become an artwork that constitutes a living experience, occupying a special place. Daxing Airport’s large double-curved glass panels consist of over 8,000 pieces, each one unique in its own right. Their design allows for automatic changes from front to back, and from the production stage all the way down to the individual component level; this enables bending or cutting machines to be used to directly manufacture the required parts. BIM software developed based on existing mechanical CAD cores generally has more failures than successes. They are often used for special occasions. DigitalProject, an industry application developed by Gehry Technologies through further development based on CATIA, has evolved into a lightweight SaaS application for architectural design. In 2014, this company was acquired by American Tianbao. As the world’s most renowned provider of high-precision satellite navigation and positioning systems, Trimble is well-known in the construction machinery industry, having developed benchmark navigation systems for construction sites. Caterpillar, the world’s largest construction equipment manufacturer, also holds shares in it. The acquisition of Google’s digital mapping design software SketchUp enhanced its capabilities for geometric modeling on construction sites. As a leader in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Tianbao has established an integrated data connection between geographic environment modeling and construction machinery navigation. Judging from its strategies in recent years, this is also one of the key strategies for its entry into the industrial IoT sector.

In China, thanks to the Ministry of Construction’s strict requirements regarding standards, the development of AEC software has also progressed rapidly. Although the core modeling software for BIM is still lagging behind, progress has been made in other areas as well. This includes software such as Beijing PKPM, Beijing Yingjianke, Guangzhou Glodon, Pinming, Suzhou Haochen, and Beijing Bochao. PKPM, designed for structural analysis, originated from the China Academy of Building Research and was developed as part of a project related to 3D engineering design systems under the 863 Program; it once held 90% of the market share among survey and design firms. Later, after the main developer of this software left, Yingjianke was founded and quickly rose to prominence in the market for civil engineering structure design software. As for factory design, Zhengzhou Sixth Hospital originally had a great opportunity. At that time, the JJ software package for factory design was developed and was very popular in the 1990s. It collected the equipment databases (sample libraries) of all machine tool manufacturers at that time, containing many process software packages that enabled the performance of process flow and interference analysis, as well as calculations related to load. Unfortunately, with the changes brought about by restructuring, it, like many other domestically developed software programs that were emerging at that time, gradually lost its ability to be updated. This once again demonstrates the characteristic of software: it is a matter of running at a slow pace. Even if it is achieved through concentrated efforts to overcome challenges, there will be no future prospects if there is no ability for continuous updates thereafter. Software needs to be used continuously: it stays up-to-date only through regular use. In terms of project costs, China also has unique advantages. Apart from Luban, Guanglianda performed outstandingly. It exhibits a characteristic typical of mature foreign software companies, namely a preference for mergers and acquisitions. In 2014, it acquired the Finnish BIM software MagiCAD. As a visualization and parametric modeling tool, it boasts a vast library of building product models, including hundreds of thousands of products across various categories such as windows, fire hydrants, and power cables. This makes the on-site architectural design easier. In China’s sluggish capital market for industrial software, Guanglianda is one of the few companies skilled at M&A strategies. The most recent acquisition was in 2020, when Beijing Hongye Software, which specializes in equipment modeling and is built on the Revit platform, was acquired. As a new combination of geographic information systems and GIMs, Shanghai Glendale, which emphasizes lightweight design, has also emerged as a notable player. It can be said that among various software sectors, in the field of AEC software, China is the sector that is most committed to this area and follows foreign brands closely.

The digital delivery of factories came into being as a result. With these physically-based models and simulation mechanisms generated by software, if they can be integrated with future factory operations and maintenance, data will truly be able to flow throughout its entire lifecycle. This is an unprecedented new development in the factory. Software for plant design will once again play an important role. Domestic software in this area is somewhat similar to the mechanical CAD market; it is relatively weak in terms of design capabilities, making it difficult for such software to gain a foothold in design firms. This market is also largely dominated by the previous brands. In China, Changsha UESOFT is one of the representative companies for domestic 3D pipeline CAD/CAE integrated design, and it also holds a significant position in the energy and petrochemical industries. Once the design institute completes the process design, the drawings are handed over to the constructor and those responsible for operation thereafter. This involves a large number of data breakpoints, which provides domestic software companies specializing in model reconstruction – such as Zhongke Fulong Technology, Tuwei, and Suitong, among other domestic software providers – with the opportunity to re-establish the data connections. Some companies with experience in factory design from various industries, such as China National Machinery Industry Sixth Research Institute, have also stepped into software development in this field by leading efforts together with relevant units from China National Machinery Group to establish entities like Guoji Jihuan. Starting with customization, these companies share one common feature: they have a thorough understanding of equipment specifications and modeling, as well as strong skills in handling data format conversions. After all, just as a surgeon stitches wounds, an understanding of the characteristics of data processing determines the accuracy of data connections. Digital delivery, with a reliable level of granularity. Behind China’s rapid advancement in infrastructure development is a three-phase approach to project execution (designing, purchasing, and constructing simultaneously), one that foreign manufacturers are not very familiar with. Tripartite projects are also highly controversial in China, yet they are quite common. On the one hand, it is related to overly tight schedule plans, and on the other hand, it is due to poor information flow. Digital technology is trying to reverse this situation. Those disconnected data are being reconnected. From beginning to end, based on the drawings and equipment specifications, and within the context of digital delivery, it is possible to reconstruct the production facilities of a factory using digital twins. Digital twins will be an important tool for advancing the Three-Side Project. Previously, the data on on-site progress was unclear and inaccurate; for information such as the arrival of materials and construction progress, reliance was placed mainly on project progress rather than drawing documents. In today’s highly digital world, this sounds simply incredible. Since the on-site project manager is unable to keep track of the detailed progress of construction and does not know whether the arrival of materials matches the remaining construction schedule, it is necessary to hold frequent progress coordination meetings, each lasting half a day. Zhongke Fulong Technology uses digital twin technology to create factory models; by automatically identifying design changes based on factory objects and incorporating information such as construction progress and inventory, it is possible to reduce the frequency and duration of meetings by more than half. Currently, the petrochemical industry is eager to advance the creation of digital twins for factory assets such as various equipment; establishing high-fidelity physical models based on the process characteristics is the top priority. Digital delivery has also seen a new spring.

The Evolution of Industrial Software: The Past and Present of Digital Factory Delivery. Original post dated 2021-04-22 08:50 · Nan Shan Lin Xueping. The design of factories can never do without software. Factory buildings and equipment, although similar to civil buildings, have many differences as well, and still require specialized software to handle them. Historically, such computer-aided design software used in construction, although it was once associated with its counterparts used in designing industrial products, eventually took a different path. Only a few software companies are capable of designing both buildings and industrial products. And in some contexts of intelligent manufacturing, they do indeed meet. Digital delivery enables the design and operation of factories, which are otherwise separated by time and space, to connect across those barriers. To prepare for this day, the clock of industrial software needs to be set back by fifty years. Starting with factory buildings, the design of factories is a complex systematic engineering activity. In the design of a factory, the core focus is on ensuring the support systems for production facilities. It includes the design of the production space, material flow, and the relationship between people and equipment, among other aspects of layout. Just in terms of the factory building itself, it is an industrial building. For a long period during industrialization, it was the embodiment of rebar, soil, mud, water, electricity, and gas. This is a type of 3D design software specifically designed for the AEC industry (architecture, engineering design, and construction), covering aspects such as architecture, structure, plumbing, and electrical systems. There is also a category aimed at specialized fields such as petrochemicals, power, and maritime (PPM), etc. And both of these involve the application of Geographic Information Systems GIS. Software designed for the AEC sector is generally used to design civil buildings and infrastructure, as well as the buildings and structures of factories ； PPM, on the other hand, requires consideration of large-area pipelines, reaction vessels, etc. In the field of civil construction, Building Information Modeling BIM is also widely used. It can be said to represent a new wave of growth that emerged after mechanical CAD reached its peak and began to show signs of stagnation (around the year 2000); this time, its point of breakthrough was the construction industry, with the underlying driving force still being the improvement in computing power. CAD systems are rooted in graphics and struggle to fully address building information issues. CAD for building design based on BIM has begun to emerge as a solution for similar structural components. Revit, which emphasizes \"structural elements,\" broke away from the point-line-plane structure typical of mechanical CAD by adopting parametric design, and thus rose to prominence in the construction industry. Familiarly, it’s necessary to mention here that in 1988, the company PTC revolutionized mechanical CAD software with \"parameterized modeling\". Yes, although the once-promising company PTC failed to establish a dominant position in the construction industry, its former executives used the same approach to create the innovative Revit software, adopting a subscription-based model in a very forward-thinking manner. This approach was twenty years ahead of its time; the subscription model became standard for many CAD software programs. Of course, resistance has always existed; even in 2020, Revit’s subscription model faced unprecedentedly fierce criticism and resistance from users in the German construction industry. Going back 20 years, Autodesk, which rose rapidly in the era of 2D CAD, began developing building design products as early as 1995. However, even with its greatest advantage in terms of market share in the 2D mechanical CAD sector, it is unable to establish a strong foothold in the BIM field. It is worth noting the growing momentum of BIM; in 2002, Autodesk acquired Revit and released a BIM white paper in the same year, enabling this concept – which had already been proposed by academics in the 1970s – to gain prominence in the market. But Autodesk is intent on shaping BIM into an exclusive \"Concept Hammer\" – in fact, this is an international academic debate, with Europeans claiming to be the first to develop such software. However, Autodesk’s dominance still puts many other building software solutions in an awkward position; sometimes they use BIM, while at other times they are forced to make certain compromises. The awkward situation of pulling and tugging lasted for some time. With the advent of the Internet of Things era and the growing popularity of the concept of digital twins, the significance of BIM has **been diminished**. It is believed that this might relieve many CAD manufacturers in the field of architectural design, as they no longer need to be preoccupied with the question of who initiated BIM. To date, there are as many as 70 BIM modeling software programs worldwide, with 25 of them being commonly used. The Evolution of Industrial Software: The Past and Present of Digital Factory Delivery. Figure 1: Fields Where CAD is Used for Design. The development of CAD software for design was initially driven by the United States’ efforts to standardize construction practices, which led to rapid growth in AEC-oriented software. Intergraph, the American software company specializing in EagleView, made its achievements in the AEC sector through a project to create a digital geographic space for a city in the United States. Autodesk went a step further by promoting the establishment of an international interoperability alliance, introducing the military equipment format STEP used by the U.S. military into the field of architectural design, and advocating for the BuildingSmart format. This seems to be a new hegemony in the global architectural format, and the European market has reacted strongly to it. The German company Nemetschek acquired ArchiCAD software from the Hungarian company Grahpisoft, which has long been a strong competitor to Revit. Nemetschek has gone through numerous mergers and acquisitions, eventually establishing an open OpenBIM system that can compete with that of the United States. The history of this struggle reflects Europe’s high level of vigilance regarding America’s monopoly on standards for architectural design software formats. This German giant in architectural design software now has 16 BIM software brands under its umbrella; ArchiCAD is the most well-known of these, and it holds a significant advantage in the field of architectural design in China. Not surprisingly, this BIM software was also originally developed through collaboration between a group of Hungarian architects and mathematicians. The ubiquitous hints, and the origins of software, are always closely linked to mathematics. Each software finds its own distinct niche: BricsCAD from Belgium stands out for its lightweight design (it has since been acquired by the ambitious company Hexagon), while Tekla from Finland is a specialized software for steel structure design, boasting extensive experience in the design and fabrication of various steel structures. This feature, stemming from the advanced rendering capabilities of steel structures, also enables it to find its place in the BIM market. And Dassault Systèmes’ BIM, although a newcomer, has also found a way to get in. Generally, the granularity of BIM is not very fine, but the BIM software developed by Dassault Systèmes based on the Catia core further increases this granularity, reaching a level suitable for manufacturing. In particularly complex buildings such as Daxing Airport, it has become an artwork that constitutes a living experience, occupying a special place. Daxing Airport’s large double-curved glass panels consist of over 8,000 pieces, each one unique in its own right. Their design allows for automatic changes from front to back, and from the production stage all the way down to the individual component level; this enables bending or cutting machines to be used to directly manufacture the required parts. BIM software developed based on existing mechanical CAD cores generally has more failures than successes. They are often used for special occasions. DigitalProject, an industry application developed by Gehry Technologies through further development based on CATIA, has evolved into a lightweight SaaS application for architectural design. In 2014, this company was acquired by American Tianbao. As the world’s most renowned provider of high-precision satellite navigation and positioning systems, Trimble is well-known in the construction machinery industry, having developed benchmark navigation systems for construction sites. Caterpillar, the world’s largest construction equipment manufacturer, also holds shares in it. The acquisition of Google’s digital mapping design software SketchUp enhanced its capabilities for geometric modeling on construction sites. As a leader in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Tianbao has established an integrated data connection between geographic environment modeling and construction machinery navigation. Judging from its strategies in recent years, this is also one of the key strategies for its entry into the industrial IoT sector. In China, thanks to the Ministry of Construction’s strict requirements regarding standards, the development of AEC software has also progressed rapidly. Although the core modeling software for BIM is still lagging behind, progress has been made in other areas as well. This includes software such as Beijing PKPM, Beijing Yingjianke, Guangzhou Glodon, Pinming, Suzhou Haochen, and Beijing Bochao. PKPM, designed for structural analysis, originated from the China Academy of Building Research and was developed as part of a project related to 3D engineering design systems under the 863 Program; it once held 90% of the market share among survey and design firms. Later, after the main developer of this software left, Yingjianke was founded and quickly rose to prominence in the market for civil engineering structure design software. As for factory design, Zhengzhou Sixth Hospital originally had a great opportunity. At that time, the JJ software package for factory design was developed and was very popular in the 1990s. It collected the equipment databases (sample libraries) of all machine tool manufacturers at that time, containing many process software packages that enabled the performance of process flow and interference analysis, as well as calculations related to load. Unfortunately, with the changes brought about by restructuring, it, like many other domestically developed software programs that were emerging at that time, gradually lost its ability to be updated. This once again demonstrates the characteristic of software: it is a matter of running at a slow pace. Even if it is achieved through concentrated efforts to overcome challenges, there will be no future prospects if there is no ability for continuous updates thereafter. Software needs to be used continuously: it stays up-to-date only through regular use. In terms of project costs, China also has unique advantages. Apart from Luban, Guanglianda performed outstandingly. It exhibits a characteristic typical of mature foreign software companies, namely a preference for mergers and acquisitions. In 2014, it acquired the Finnish BIM software MagiCAD. As a visualization and parametric modeling tool, it boasts a vast library of building product models, including hundreds of thousands of products across various categories such as windows, fire hydrants, and power cables. This makes the on-site architectural design easier. In China’s sluggish capital market for industrial software, Guanglianda is one of the few companies skilled at M&A strategies. The most recent acquisition was in 2020, when Beijing Hongye Software, which specializes in equipment modeling and is built on the Revit platform, was acquired. As a new combination of geographic information systems and GIMs, Shanghai Glendale, which emphasizes lightweight design, has also emerged as a notable player. It can be said that among various software sectors, in the field of AEC software, China is the sector that is most committed to this area and follows foreign brands closely. The delivery of plant design – and beyond civil buildings, plant design, especially in PPM sectors such as petrochemicals, power, and maritime, has entered the realm of highly specialized plant design. In the PPM field, aspects such as power supply, ventilation, civil engineering, and water supply and drainage in the AEC sector are still just the beginning. In industries such as petrochemicals, power generation, and pharmaceuticals, there are countless large-scale reactors and intricate pipelines. Safety and control have become extremely important. Thus, software designed for factory buildings became a separate branch. Among the standouts are PDMS, the plant design software acquired by Schneider Electric from AVEVA. Unlike AEC in civil construction, which places more emphasis on structural work, factory design software focuses more on the flow of production processes, the layout of equipment and pipelines, as well as the detection and resolution of collisions and interferences between various pieces of equipment and pipelines. The AVEVA software originated from a project at the CAD Center at the University of Cambridge in the UK during the 1960s, which once again confirms the close connection between British universities and CAD/CAM software. **Software projects funded will give rise to commercial software upon completion. We must have heard too many similar stories. Like mechanical CAD, it also develops and grows simultaneously. The difference between the two began to become significantly distinct only in 1977. That year, the pipeline design software PDMS became a groundbreaking product. More precisely, it created a completely new branch. However, such a benchmarking milestone still needs to be shared by two other American companies. American Eagle Figure Intergraph and Bentley MicroStation are natural rivals. Intergraph has the traces of being a CAD fossil. It was one of the five major CAD manufacturers in the 1980s (the other four disappeared or were acquired as hardware and software became separated). It initially focused on the design of printed circuit boards PCBs; later, it entered the AEC sector due to a project related to the digitalization of geographic data in American cities. Finally, in 1981, it developed the Plant Design System PDS in collaboration with an engineering company, which made it a product that has remained popular over time. Bentley’s MicroStation is a parallel intertwined story. EagleView’s most important client at that time was DuPont Chemicals, and Bentley was the engineer who used this software on a daily basis. It seems that they found such software to be overly complex, so they developed their own lightweight version of plant design software and founded Bentley Company. The low-cost deployment solution for MicroStation offered by this company is very popular. EagleMap even invested in Bentley Corporation and at one point became an important sales channel for the latter. Throughout the history of software development, low costs have always been an important indicator of changes in the industry. MicroStation seized the opportunity presented by the growing popularity of PCs, withdrew from the minicomputer market, and entered the personal computer market. At different locations, these kinds of stories follow the same pattern. Just as mechanical CAD software such as Autodesk, PTC, and SolidWorks seized the opportunities brought about by changes in hardware, MicroStation too was rewarded by the times for its adaptability. After various complex changes, it has become Intergraph’s most important competitor. Together with AVEVA, they essentially constitute the three most important plant design players in the process power and shipbuilding industries. But as times evolve, cracks always arise, and even tigers can be devoured by the earth. During its peak years, Intergraph was involved in complex legal disputes with Intel; coupled with poor strategic decisions, the company began to decline. It was acquired by an investment firm in 2006 and, four years later, became part of the Swedish company Hexagon, a leader in 3D coordinate measurement technology. AVEVA, on the other hand, was acquired back by Schneider Electric in 2018. To this day, of the three musketeers, only Bentley continues to develop independently. Later on, Intergraph also ventured into the field of Electronic Design Automation (EDA), before eventually selling its related business units to CADENCE, one of the three major EDA software providers that are still active today. This inevitably gives the impression that an integrated circuit board is nothing more than another complex structure. There, the ultra-fine channels in which various weak currents flow back and forth are no different from the main roads in cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. This perspective helps us better understand why industrial software must be the cornerstone of a robust manufacturing foundation. Even when starting from the same point, industrial software has many directions. InterGraph not only develops plant design and electronic design automation software, but it has also achieved significant success in the mechanical CAD market. It is worth mentioning that this company was the creator of the mid-to-low-end 3D CAD software SolidEdge; it is now part of Siemens’ product portfolio, and the brand remains active. Pipeline design of this type, which required consideration of industry-specific characteristics, eventually evolved into comprehensive plant design software, with extensive knowledge regarding processes and equipment also being incorporated into such software from the outset. The world has become more complex, and software has kept pace with it. The granularity at which humans perceive the world is actually determined by software. Whether it’s intricate biological structures or the vast expanse of the universe, software provides adaptable sizes that accompany them wherever they go. Factory design includes factory buildings, machinery, and pipelines, and it needs to incorporate an intelligent construction system. If it is desired that the flow of liquid within the pipes be as safe and stable as intended after the factory is built, it is necessary to understand the physical and chemical mechanisms of pipe flow before actual installation. From the designer’s imagination to the work carried out by workers on site, bridging time and distance to establish a connection – only software can accomplish such traversal and linkage. The creator: ideas arise in the mind and take shape through the hands. Only software can enable precise replication of creativity in engineering, time and again without any distortion. The digital delivery of factories came into being as a result. With these physically-based models and simulation mechanisms generated by software, if they can be integrated with future factory operations and maintenance, data will truly be able to flow throughout its entire lifecycle. This is an unprecedented new development in the factory. Software for plant design will once again play an important role. Domestic software in this area is somewhat similar to the mechanical CAD market; it is relatively weak in terms of design capabilities, making it difficult for such software to gain a foothold in design firms. This market is also largely dominated by the previous brands. In China, Changsha UESOFT is one of the representative companies for domestic 3D pipeline CAD/CAE integrated design, and it also holds a significant position in the energy and petrochemical industries. Once the design institute completes the process design, the drawings are handed over to the constructor and those responsible for operation thereafter. This involves a large number of data breakpoints, which provides domestic software companies specializing in model reconstruction – such as Zhongke Fulong Technology, Tuwei, and Suitong, among other domestic software providers – with the opportunity to re-establish the data connections. Some companies with experience in factory design from various industries, such as China National Machinery Industry Sixth Research Institute, have also stepped into software development in this field by leading efforts together with relevant units from China National Machinery Group to establish entities like Guoji Jihuan. Starting with customization, these companies share one common feature: they have a thorough understanding of equipment specifications and modeling, as well as strong skills in handling data format conversions. After all, just as a surgeon stitches wounds, an understanding of the characteristics of data processing determines the accuracy of data connections. Digital delivery, with a reliable level of granularity. Behind China’s rapid advancement in infrastructure development is a three-phase approach to project execution (designing, purchasing, and constructing simultaneously), one that foreign manufacturers are not very familiar with. Tripartite projects are also highly controversial in China, yet they are quite common. On the one hand, it is related to overly tight schedule plans, and on the other hand, it is due to poor information flow. Digital technology is trying to reverse this situation. Those disconnected data are being reconnected. From beginning to end, based on the drawings and equipment specifications, and within the context of digital delivery, it is possible to reconstruct the production facilities of a factory using digital twins. Digital twins will be an important tool for advancing the Three-Side Project. Previously, the data on on-site progress was unclear and inaccurate; for information such as the arrival of materials and construction progress, reliance was placed mainly on project progress rather than drawing documents. In today’s highly digital world, this sounds simply incredible. Since the on-site project manager is unable to keep track of the detailed progress of construction and does not know whether the arrival of materials matches the remaining construction schedule, it is necessary to hold frequent progress coordination meetings, each lasting half a day. Zhongke Fulong Technology uses digital twin technology to create factory models; by automatically identifying design changes based on factory objects and incorporating information such as construction progress and inventory, it is possible to reduce the frequency and duration of meetings by more than half. Currently, the petrochemical industry is eager to advance the creation of digital twins for factory assets such as various equipment; establishing high-fidelity physical models based on the process characteristics is the top priority. Digital delivery has also seen a new spring. Industrial software is always hidden deep away. Majestic factories, awe-inspiring ； Yet the design software behind it is often mentioned in passing, or even unknown to everyone. The digital delivery of factories is bringing these two elements together in a virtual and physical manner, enabling designers and operators to engage in a dialogue that transcends time.