Tag Archives: CAD

Business, Contributed

Increase Productivity for Production and Manufacturing Processes

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This article is contributed by Varinderjit Singh, General Manager at Lenovo Malaysia

Production and manufacturing processes are becoming more complex and demanding as customers expect higher quality, lower cost, and faster delivery of products. To meet these challenges, manufacturers need to leverage the power of advanced technologies, such as high-performance computing (HPC), artificial intelligence (AI), and spatial computing. In this article, we will explore how a workstation can increase productivity for production and manufacturing processes by using spatial computing solutions, data science and client AI solutions, NVIDIA Omniverse, and remote workstation solutions. Examples of noteworthy workstation options include the Lenovo ThinkPad P16 G2, Lenovo ThinkStation P3 Tower and the Lenovo ThinkStation P620 Tower operating on Windows 11 Pro. Use Windows 11 Pro for Workstations to blaze through workloads with lag-free multitasking across your most demanding applications.

Picture1 LenovoProductionManufacturing byline

Spatial Computing Solutions

Spatial computing is a technology that can digitize the spatial relationships between machines, people, objects, and environments, and enable and optimize their operations and interactions. Spatial computing can help manufacturers with product design, quality control, safety, and efficiency. For example, spatial computing can enable digital twins, which are virtual replicas of physical assets or processes that can be used for simulation, testing, and optimization. Spatial computing can also facilitate augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) applications, which can enhance the visualization and collaboration of design and engineering teams, as well as provide immersive training and guidance for workers. A workstation that can handle spatial computing tasks should have a powerful GPU, a large memory, and a high-resolution display. A possible choice is the Lenovo ThinkPad P16 Mobile Workstation, which has an NVIDIA® RTX 5000 Ada graphics card, an Intel® Core™ i9-13950HX processor, and up to 192GB of memory.

Data Science and Client AI Solutions

Data science and client AI solutions can help manufacturers analyze and utilize the vast amounts of data generated by production and manufacturing processes, such as sensor data, quality data, customer data, and market data. Data science and client AI solutions can help manufacturers with demand forecasting, inventory management, process optimization, anomaly detection, predictive maintenance, and customer satisfaction. For example, data science and client AI solutions can help manufacturers create and fine-tune foundation models, which are large and versatile AI models that can perform multiple tasks, such as natural language processing, computer vision, speech recognition, and more. Data science and client AI solutions can also help manufacturers interact with and explore data through conversational interfaces, visualizations, and summarizations. A workstation that can handle data science and client AI tasks should have a fast and reliable processor, a large and expandable memory, and a flexible and scalable storage system. A possible choice is the Lenovo ThinkStation P3 Tower Workstation, which has a 13th Gen Intel® Core™ processor, up to 128GB of memory, and up to 32TB of storage.

Picture2 LenovoProductionManufacturing byline

NVIDIA Omniverse

NVIDIA Omniverse is a platform that enables the creation and operation of complex, AI-enabled virtual environments, or digital twins, for factory and warehouse design. These virtual replicas facilitate real-time collaboration among teams and are the key to unleashing operational efficiencies with predictive analysis and process automation. NVIDIA Omniverse allows manufacturers to import and export data from various sources, such as CAD tools, simulation software, and IoT devices, and create realistic and interactive simulations of production and manufacturing scenarios. NVIDIA Omniverse also supports ray tracing, physics, and sound rendering, which can enhance the quality and realism of the virtual environments. A workstation that can handle NVIDIA Omniverse tasks should have a powerful graphics card, a high-performance CPU, and a large memory. A possible choice is the Lenovo ThinkStation P620 Tower Workstation, which has up to 64 cores CPU, a 10Gb Ethernet port, and plenty of storage capabilities.

Picture3 LenovoProductionManufacturing byline

Remote Workstation Solutions

Remote workstation solutions can help manufacturers access their physical workstations from virtually anywhere with rich graphics acceleration via leading remote visualization tools. Remote workstation solutions can help manufacturers with remote design, engineering, and collaboration, as well as reduce the cost and maintenance of physical workstations. Remote workstation solutions can also provide security and compliance features, such as encryption, authentication, and auditing. A workstation that can handle remote workstation tasks should have a low-latency frame encode, accelerated desktop capture, headless graphics support, and leading pro-ISV certifications, like the majority of the Workstations from Lenovo. The Lenovo remote TGX solution is the best way to connect to your Workstation cluster from anywhere in the world.

Wrap up

A workstation can increase productivity for production and manufacturing processes by using various technologies, such as spatial computing, data science and client AI, NVIDIA Omniverse, and remote workstation solutions. These technologies can help manufacturers improve their design, engineering, simulation, production, and collaboration workflows, as well as reduce their costs, risks, and environmental impact. A workstation that can support these technologies should have a combination of hardware and software features, such as a powerful GPU, a fast CPU, large memory, flexible storage, and a reliable network. Lenovo offers a range of workstation solutions that can meet the needs of different production and manufacturing scenarios, such as the Lenovo ThinkPad P16 Intel (16″) Mobile Workstation, the Lenovo ThinkStation P3 Tower Workstation, the Lenovo ThinkStation P620 Tower Workstation, and the TGX Remote Workstation.

Computers, News

ASUS Going All-In with OLED on the ProArt StudioBook 16 OLED and ProArt StudioBook Pro 16 OLED

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Innovation is ASUS’ middle name. Well, not really. But they are one of the most innovative PC manufacturers of late. They were the first and still the only manufacturer that offers a dual function touchpad that works as a mouse tracking pad and an extra number pad at the same time. They are the only manufacturer currently that ships some of their notebooks with two displays in a notebook PC. At this point, when ASUS launches new devices, we are basically asking, “what will be the next big thing?”.

OLED is not a new technology. By now you would have known and understood the power of an LED display and what it can offer in terms of colour reproduction and contrast, in comparison to regular LCD displays. It is not a new technology on ASUS devices too, in a sense. They have integrated the OLED technology into their ZenBook before this.

ProArt StudioBook Pro 16 OLED

ASUS StudioBook 5
Source: ASUS

The top-of-the-line ProArt notebook PC is the no compromise notebook for the creatives that needs the power for 3D CAD work. The OLED display that is splashed on the new ProArt StudioBook Pro measures in at 16 inches as per its name. The 16:10 display pushes 4K (3,840 x 2,400) UHD resolution into your face. The 4K UHD OLED display also boasts 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage with up to 550 nits in maximum brightness. At ΔE<2 as well, the pantone validated display should be a lot of help for creators.

Inside the 16-incher’s chassis you can find either a very powerful AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX (W5600, up to), or an industrial 3rd generation Intel Xeon W-11955M (W7600, up to). Alongside the choice of two processors, the ASUS ProArt StudioBook Pro 16 can be specced with up to 64GB in 3200 MHz DDR4 RAM. At the same time, you can pack the StudioBook Pro with up to 4TB of PCIe SSD from the factory to ensure you have ample storage for all of your work and quick access to the files you need. Speaking of storage, the SD card reader on the StudioBook Pro is capable of reading SD cards at 985 MB/s for an extra smooth, extra fast workflow.

In terms of graphics, you get NVIDIA power for both variants of the StudioBook Pro. The notebook can be packed with up to an NVIDIA RTX A2000 GPU (A5000 of W7600 Intel variant), which is made specifically made for the studio environment. Thanks to modern machinery as well, you get the benefit and power of a full HDMI 2.1 port on the notebook.

ASUS StudioBook 3
Source: ASUS

While all these are well and good, it does take away from the interesting innovation that ASUS has fitted into the StudioBook Pro though. The innovation is on the surface of the keyboard on the ASUS ProArt StudioBook Pro 16. On the keyboard surface of the StudioBook Pro is not just a keyboard and touchpad combo. The touchpad does not need to double as a numpad as well, because this has dedicated physical numerical keys. The innovation comes in a form of a small circular dial that sits just below the keyboard.

They call it the ASUS Dial and it is brilliant for the creative industry. Using dials to have more granular and finer controls over your creative software, or even volumes, is nothing new. But having that packed in a notebook and having it accessible wherever you deploy your mobile workstation without extra accessories is new. This is what the ASUS Dial is though, a dedicated, built-in dial that is compatible with Adobe’s suite of apps. The implementation is not limited to Adobe though, imagine working with CAD software to create your next big project. The Mousepad also has a third middle button now just to really suit content creators for their projects and apps.

ProArt StudioBook 16 OLED

ASUS StudioBook 1
Source: ASUS

There is also the ASUS ProArt StudioBook 16 OLED, a less bonkers version of the ultimate creative working laptop. The ASUS ProArt StudioBook 16, visually, shares the same design cues with the more expensive and powerful ASUS ProArt StudioBook Pro 16. The StudioBook 16 even features the same ASUS Dial that the Pro variant gets. The touchpad also features the third middle mouse button.

You still get a 16-inch 4K (3,840 x 2,400) UHD OLED display that boasts the same colour accuracy as the pro variant. The difference lies in the hardware that powers the device. While you can still opt for the AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX AMD powerhouse if you are team red, the Intel variant only goes up to a Core i9-11900H processor. While it is no workstation powerhouse, the latest generation Tiger Lake Core i9 processor is still a respectable and mighty powerful processor for the notebook.

Graphics wise, the Intel variant stops at NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 3060 while the AMD variant goes up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070. Both the notebooks support NVIDIA’s studio driver, these are creator-centric notebooks after all. You still get to pair the powerful processors with up to 64GB 3200 MHz DDR 4 RAM for smooth operations especially when you are relying on creative apps and 3D rendering projects. With up to 4TB in SSD storage as well, you are not going to be really wanting more storage space for your ongoing projects. On top of all of that is a super-fast SD Express 7.0 SD card reader with up to 985 MB/s read speeds.

Price and Availability

  • ASUS StudioBook 1
    Source: ASUS
  • ASUS StudioBook 6
    Source: ASUS
  • ASUS StudioBook 5
    Source: ASUS
  • ASUS StudioBook 4
    Source: ASUS
  • ASUS StudioBook 3
    Source: ASUS
  • ASUS StudioBook 2
    Source: ASUS
  • ASUS StudioBook 7
    Source: ASUS

There are no announcements on the availability of the new ProArt StudioBook series with OLED displays just yet. There are no mentions on pricing either but remember these are made to be the ultimate portable workstation for content creators. In that regard, you can expect them to come at a premium. With that kind of price premium, its availability in Malaysia might be even more delayed. However, if you are a production house in need of powerhouse like the ProArt StudioBook series with OLED displays, you can try ringing up ASUS to come up with a deal.