Backflip, the generative AI software developer headed by Markforged’s Founders Greg Mark and David Benhaim, has introduced a new AI foundation model.
According to the San Francisco-based startup, the AI model can automatically create digital twins from 3D scan data. These 3D parts can then be manufactured by CNC machining or 3D printing, allowing companies to fabricate spares on-demand and at the point of need. As such, equipment can be repaired and upgraded more quickly, reducing downtime and cutting costs.
Targeting factory maintenance and automotive production lines, Backflip’s new AI offering has been incorporated into two new software tools. The first, a plug-in for popular CAD software SOLIDWORKS, can translate scanning data into fully-featured, native-format-compatible parts. The second is a web app that converts 3D scans into editable, parametric CAD files.
According to Backflip, industrial manufacturers lose over $50 billion annually due to unexpected downtime. The company’s new tools seek to overcome this by simplifying traditionally expensive and complex processes into fast and user-friendly workflows. By accelerating CAD creation, Backflip claims to cut downtime in half, bringing operations back online faster.
“3D scanners map the surface of an object with incredible precision, quickly generating millions of data points, but they produce micro surface textures that can’t be manufactured with traditional tools,” explained Mark. “Our technology automatically converts these intricate surfaces into clean geometries designed for existing 3D CAD and manufacturing software.”
Backflip’s new AI offerings are set to be released soon. Interested users can join the Scan-to-CAD waiting list on the Backflip website.
Backflip unveils new AI capabilities
Backflip launched from stealth earlier this year after raising $30 million in a funding round led by venture capital firms NEA and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). Backing also came from Microsoft CTO and LinkedIn Co-founder Kevin Scott, Android Founder Rich Miner, and Essential AI CEO Ashish Vaswani.
The US tech firm’s debut AI offering, “Idea to Mesh,” allows users to generate mesh-based 3D models from text prompts or images. These models can then be exported as STL, OBJ, GLB, and PLY models for 3D printing or editing with external software. This tool reportedly allows complex designs to be generated in minutes.
Backflip’s new AI model was trained on the company’s synthetic 3D data set. Billed as the “world’s largest” data set of its kind, it features over 100 million unique 3D geometries. Logan Ford, Head of AI at Backflip, claims these capabilities are the result of “Backflip’s continued R&D investments in neural representation of 3D data.”
He explained that the company paired “state-of-the-art” AI and ML techniques with a “deep background in manufacturing” to create a powerful technology foundation. Backflip’s focus on resource-efficiency has allowed the firm to “advance rapidly” and unlock “60x more efficient training, 10x faster inference and 100x the spatial resolution of existing leading methods,” Ford added.
AI Scan-to-CAD tools reduce manufacturing downtime
The San Franciscan software startup hopes to tackle industrial manufacturing downtime with its new AI-powered 3D scan-conversion capabilities. When a part breaks in a production line, replacements often need to be made from scratch and shipped from an external production facility. This time-consuming process translates to operation delays and lost revenue.
Backflip emphasized that the automotive market is especially vulnerable to these risks. Car production lines rely on tens of thousands of components and machines. A single broken part can bring the entire operation to a standstill, costing up to $3 million per hour in lost output, according to Backflip.
Greg Mark’s software company also points to factory maintenance challenges in the $44 trillion global manufacturing sector. Many production lines are built by third-party integrators who don’t provide CAD models, while some parts become obsolete or were never digitally designed. As a result, manufacturing teams often face the tedious task of manually converting physical components into digital models. Backflip claims its new AI tools streamlines this process, automatically creating digital CAD files in minutes.
The company’s SOLIDOWORKS plug-in is located in the software’s sidebar. It provides a step-by-step view of the 3D model creation process and generates a customizable feature history for greater flexibility. This streamlined workflow helps simplify CAD design, making it more accessible to a wider range of designers. Using Backflip’s web app, users can upload 3D scan data and automatically generate a downloadable STEP file, which can be edited in third-party CAD software.
The growth of AI 3D printing software
Amid rapid AI growth and the increasing accessibility of large-language models like Chat GPT, more companies are developing AI software for 3D printing applications.
Indeed, Backflip is not the only developer working to reduce manufacturing downtimes with AI. Last year, French software start-up Spare Parts 3D (SP3D) launched the bet program of Théia. This digital tool can automatically convert technical drawings into 3D printable models. Integrating the Parisian company’s AI-driven DigiPart software, Théia reportedly reduces conversion times from days to minutes. SP3D claims its AI tool can collectively save companies $34 billion a year through inventory digitization cost savings.
Elsewhere, Los Angeles-based Zoo offers an open-source AI text-to-CAD tool that can generate CAD files from simple text prompts. Leveraging the company’s KittyCAD design API and ML-ephant machine learning API, the platform generates 3D models by programmatically analyzing training data. Headed by Relativity Space Co-founder Jordan Noone, Zoo’s design ecosystem is free to access. AI generated models can be exported as STL, PLY, OBJ, STEP, GTLF, GLB, and FBX files, which can be 3D printed or edited on third-party CAD software.
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Featured image shows a designer using Backflip’s Scan-to-CAD tool. Photo via Backflip.
