CloudNC, a company that has offices in London, a factory in Chelmsford and is developing advanced software that enables factories to ‘autonomously manufacture precision parts’, has raised $45 million in a ‘Series B round’ led by Autodesk, with
Lockheed Martin and British Patient Capital participating alongside returning investors Atomico and Episode 1 Ventures.
The company will use the additional capital to: further develop its SaaS (Software as a Service) offering; roll out ‘at-scale’ through integrations with CAD/CAM packages such as Autodesk’s platforms; and expand its ‘unique full-stack’ manufacturing capability in Essex.
Theo Saville (pictured), CloudNC’s CEO and co-founder, says precision manufacturing required to make parts needed for virtually every industry, from automotive and aerospace to consumer electronics and defence, is currently error prone, time-consuming and expensive. He added: “Despite increased automation, precision manufacturing’s dependency on expert manual programming makes it less efficient than other industrial processes and means it is heavily exposed to an ageing workforce.
“CloudNC’s technology already provides a significant degree of autonomy. A user can upload a 3-D model of any part, and with one click the software autonomously determines the tools needed, how they will be used and drafts the code to tell a CNC machine how to make it. This software assistance allows factories to be more efficient while upskilling the workforce, since more junior employees can operate the machines.
Ultimately, by reducing reliance on manual machine programming, CloudNC’s software will enable factories to autonomously manufacture more parts, more reliably, faster and with less waste than current processes.
“The upcoming software release is a massive step in our journey to full manufacturing autonomy and solving a $200 billion problem. Our vision is for manufacturing to become so simple, it’s invisible — a single click to make nearly any product in days, not months or years, and with no worries about reliability or quality.”
Stephen Hooper, Autodesk’s vice president of design and manufacturing (cloud solutions), said: “Our customers are facing constant challenges: disrupted supply chains, skills and labour shortages, and having to control costs in a high-inflation environment. CloudNC’s bold vision is impressive, and its solution will soon allow anyone, from hobbyists to high-tech aerospace companies, to order and have parts delivered to them anywhere in the world with the click of a button.
He concluded: “In a similar way to how the internet opened the door to new businesses, autonomous precision manufacturing will open the door to increased productivity and more innovation.”