Automated reviews of CAD drawings are now becoming a reality at both Väderstad AB and Siemens Energy, all thanks to the Linköping startup T&S Engineering Intelligence led by CEO and co-founder Axel Skyttner. The project became reality due to Axel and his team winning a Proof of Concept in the first edition of IndX in 2020.
– Our AI tool can identify common errors and give suggestions on possible changes to improve the end result, for example changing the thickness of a component. An easy way to put it is that we aim to remove the boring and repetitive tasks, says Axel Skyttner.
T&S Engineering Intelligence is a young company that was created when the team behind the well known Linköping startup Skymaker joined forces with Måns Thulin, associate professor in mathematics at Uppsala University. The services they provide are automatic review of CAD drawings which will help save both time and resources. When they applied to IndX in 2020 they attracted the attention of both Siemens Energy and Väderstad AB who decided to run a Proof of Concept (a PoC) with the startup. And now, the service is becoming a permanent part of both industries.
– T&S Engineering Intelligence AI drawing reviewer adds more quality and efficiency into our drawing creation workflow, says Markus Zwörner, product developer at Väderstad AB.
They have proven their competence throughout the entire process and have been both responsive and flexible in meeting our requirements and wishes. The solution we are looking at now will contribute in several ways, both improving quality and increasing our productivity. – Thomas Wiktorsson, Senior Vice President – Innovation, Business development and Product management at Siemens Energy.
– As a founder it is amazing to see how our product can have such a great impact for large companies like Väderstad AB and Siemens Energy. To learn exactly what kind of services and functions they value are extremely important to our development, says Axel.
Automated check for errors and smart suggestions
In the PoC project Axel and his team investigated the impact of their AI drawing reviewer and taught the AI common errors to check for as well as best practice for different kinds of projects. Interviews with staff from all of the organizations were made during the project to get different views on the PoC.
– When we presented our results last spring we could gladly share that our tool was a real time saver that led to faster R&D processes for the entire organization, says Axel.
– The biggest lesson we take from this process is that the technology of complex algorithms today has come very far. So far that it is relatively straightforward to be successfully applied in several areas in the industry, says Thomas.
Good relations between startup and partners
After the PoC, both Siemens Energy and Väderstad AB announced that they wanted to move forward with the project and further investigate the possibilities with the AI tool, especially looking at historical data to prevent future errors.
– We were delighted to keep working with both Väderstad AB and Siemens Energy. Even though they both are large organizations the communication between us has been very uncomplicated. We have made good relations with both management and staff which has given us great input on our product, says Axel.
The cooperation with T&S Engineering Intelligence is very successful! We understand each other well and both companies are very focused on development of the product since it is a typical win-win situation. – Markus Zwörner, product developer at Väderstad AB.
– We see a lot of opportunities for bigger, more established companies like Väderstad AB and others, to cooperate with new exciting start up companies. We can also see the benefit from the fact that we, bigger manufacturing companies in the East Sweden area, join hands and cooperate around initiatives like IndX rather than looking at each other as competitors, says Markus.
Call out for companies within the manufacturing industry
For T&S Engineering Intelligence, the goal ahead is to keep implementing new functions at both Väderstad AB and Siemens Energy.
– We wish to add even more design features, so that the tool can make even more suggestions on its own. We would also love to do more prestudies with other large organizations within the manufacturing industry, says Axel.