DESIGN & MANUFACTURING 

The future of building product manufacturing and fabrication

Bring your expertise to building projects and inform decisions that define the spaces around us. 

What clients want from building product manufacturers and fabricators

  • 77% need customisation

    Due to changing expectations of building occupants, 77% of architects saw an increased need for customised solutions and closer collaboration with suppliers. 

  • 74% need more collaboration

    Nearly three-quarters of architects surveyed said that highly collaborative relationships are very important to the success of their projects. 

  • 48% need BIM data

    Lack of Building Information Modelling (BIM) proficiency was listed as a supplier deal-breaker by 48% of architects. 

Why leading companies choose Autodesk

  • “In many cases, the discussion isn’t even about the windows or the façade. It’s a collaborative moment in which we can all start to make design decisions.” 
    – Erik Rasker, CTO 

  • “We need to give our customers a measure of customisation. We chose to move forward with Autodesk to free up our engineers’ time and win more business.” 
    – Matte Quigley, Design Manager 

  • “Many of our customers have told us they will use us over anyone else because we give them 3D BIM content.” 
    – Steve Hofmann, CAD Designer 

Discover one platform for the building supply chain

Collaborate with BIM

Provide BIM content to make it easier for your clients to specify your products into projects. Work inside building models to design in the context of the building. And exchange all this data in one seamless digital ecosystem to help all your stakeholders communicate more efficiently. 

Deliver customised solutions at scale

Whether you make standard, catalogue or completely customised solutions, ensure your products are perfectly matched to project requirements by automating product configuration or designing right inside the business model. 

Improve agility across your organisation

You need to be able to meet even the tightest project delivery schedule and adapt to changing project requirements. Help improve agility – from the engineering department to the sales team – by digitalising enterprise systems and optimising production processes. 

Solutions for building product manufacturers and fabricators

  • BIM collaboration for manufacturers

    Collaborate with clients using centralised data in the BIM ecosystem, reference building data in your designs and generate BIM content of your product designs. 

  • Product lifecycle management (PLM)

    Manage product data and development processes with tools that adapt to your business. Start simply, scale easily and realise the promise of connected people, processes and data. 

  • Design automation

    Capture and re-use engineering knowledge and intent to reduce errors and time spent on tedious, repetitive modelling tasks like product configuration, drawing creation and more. 

  • Integrated factory modelling

    Generate a digital representation of your production facilities and equipment by combining BIM and digital factory planning.

  • Advanced manufacturing

    Whatever you make, however you want to make it – Autodesk has the advanced manufacturing software you need. 

Building Product Manufacturing & Fabrication software

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Report from Harvard Business Review Analytic Services

Harvard Business Review: The Future of Building Design

Building projects are changing – and so is your place in them. In this new study, architects share how they see the role of their suppliers evolving.  

Featured resources

  • Product design and factory modelling help firm develop more sustainable practices

    VECOR 

    More sustainable buildings – one tile at a time

    See how Vecor used product design and factory modelling technology to reduce the environmental impact of its ceramic tiles. 

    Image courtesy of Vecor/3D Chemoprag 

  • Viewrail fulfill orders faster with automation technology

    VIEWRAIL 

    Automation grows customised staircase business

    See how a leading manufacturer of stair parts and customised staircase systems quickly adapted its engineering processes to fulfil orders faster. 

    Image courtesy of Viewrail 

  • ON-DEMAND WEBINAR

    What Building Designers & Contractors Want: A Client Wish List for Building Suppliers

    Do you know the deal breakers in your client relationships? Hear from industry experts from both sides of the table – architecture and manufacturing – to understand the evolving role of suppliers in building projects.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Building product manufacturers make products, equipment and supplies that go in and around buildings, such as windows, doors, lifts, escalators, HVAC systems, light fixtures, kitchen fixtures, bathroom fixtures and wood elements. Customised fabricators provide a mechanical design-to-manufacture service for bespoke or customised items, such as entrance canopies and facades, handrails, staircases and curtain walls. 

Building products manufacturers use a variety of software at different stages in the development process, industrial design software, mechanical 3D CAD, product lifecycle management (PLM), computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) and visualisation and rendering applications.  

The use of building information modelling (BIM) methodologies and software is now widespread within the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industries. Manufacturers who strive to partner with their AEC clients must become BIM-fluent so they can consume and create data that is compatible with the applications currently used to design the buildings their products are used. 

Digital transformation is about connecting your entire organisation with the data and insights needed for everyone to perform their job to the best of their ability. This brings together different disciplines within the company, enables a higher order of collaboration with your clients and provides a foundation for automation that leads to significant improvements to overall throughput and productivity. 

In a recent survey conducted by Harvard Business Review, more than three-quarters of architecture, engineering and construction respondents stated that there is an increasing attention to the building occupant experience throughout the building design process. Since the manufactured products provided by companies in the building products industry play a significant role, a higher degree of collaboration is required to plan and evaluate that experience prior to construction. 

A recent survey of architects, engineers and contractors conducted by Harvard Business Review identified the following trends: 

  • 73% say having a highly collaborative relationship with their building product manufacturers is important to the success of their projects.

  • 77% say there is an increasing need for customised solutions and closer collaboration.

  • 23% say BIM proficiency is among the most important factors when choosing a supplier.

  •  25% say ability to meet project delivery schedules is the most important factors in choosing a building product supplier.

Let’s talk strategy

As a global leader in the integration of architecture, engineering, construction, product design and manufacturing processes, Autodesk can help you to develop the capabilities needed to achieve your goals. 

Keep in touch today to schedule your business consultation.

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