Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/17873
CAD Industry in Slow Recovery Right along with the rest of the world, the computer-aided design (CAD) industry suffered severe setbacks in the reces- sion of 2008–2009. Fortunately, in 2010, world economies are recovering, and so are parts of the CAD industry. Because CAD tools are used in architecture, manufacture, plant design, assembly, tool design, mapping, and geographi- cal information systems (GIS), recovery is decidedly uneven. For example, the architecture industry was the fi rst to feel the recession, and it will take the longest to recover. On the other hand, the automotive industry, which saw a spec- tacular meltdown in 2009, is coming back more quickly. As with all recessions, there are benefi ts to be realized in a slowdown, and, in some cases, those benefi ts are already showing up this year. Jon Peddie Research (JPR) estimates the CAD software market to be $5 billion in 2009. This is a 23 percent decrease compared to 2008, when the market reached a high of $6.7 billion. All industries in all geographies felt the effects of the recession. The market will grow in 2009, but it will not recover to the high levels seen in 2008, which were unnaturally fueled by fi nancial bubbles. As diffi cult as the recession in 2009 has been and will contin- ue to be for many companies, it will serve as a jump-start for long-term growth, as many companies take the time afforded by a slowdown to move to advanced technologies and retrain workers. Inevitably, this same process is driving many workers out of the CAD industry. The contraction is tightest at the bottom NEWS: CAD Eyeon Ships Fusion 6.1 Eyeon Software rolled out Fusion 6.1, supercomputing compos- iting software for Linux and Windows platforms. Fusion 6.1 utilizes the powerful, low-cost GPU to create assets and layers in real time. The tool set imports scenes from 3D animation packages, allowing for a much tighter integrated workfl ow between departments and applications. This open fl exibility also increases industry support for technologies such as RenderMan and RED Camera Mysterium X. Relighting and sophisticated fi nishing offer more control and transparent collab- oration between the compositing artists. OpenCL supercomput- ing is a fresh and innovative use of today’s massively parallel GPU. By speeding up computationally extensive operations such as Defocus, Fusion 6.1 allows the artist to instantly visual- ize sophisticated mathematical operations that compile code on the fl y for use by the new generation of graphics cards. In other news, the company began shipping Rotation 6.1, a 8 PRODUCT: COMPOSITING August/September 2010 rungs of the CAD workforce, where CAD operators or CAD drafters move on to fi nd new opportunities. JPR estimates that at least 200,000 workers have left the CAD industry worldwide. In the coming years, there will be increased opportunities for CAD workers who can take advantage of new software capa- bilities to increase their companies’ effi ciencies. In the architecture-related fi elds, these opportunities will come to people who can help their companies move to a building information management (BIM) workfl ow. In manufacture, we are seeing new opportunities appear in improving product data management/product life management/customer relationship management (PDM/PLM/CRM) workfl ows and analysis. In all segments of the CAD industry, rendering is become a main- stream capability across the board as workers become inter- ested in creating their own visualizations. In 2010, the CAD market will grow to $5.4 billion, a modest increase of 5 percent, according to JPR. And, the consulting fi rm expects the CAD market to fully recover by 2013/2014. The “2010 JPR CAD Report” looks specifi cally at the CAD market, and includes information on worldwide CAD software revenues, market share, and information about the user base. The 2010 report includes forecasts for the major CAD segments: architecture, MCAD, process and power, civil, GIS/mapping, and others. In addition, the report looks at the growing interest in the Mac among CAD users, and breaks down CAD use in geographic areas. The CAD report is available now for $5000 for a single license and $7500 for a sitewide license. ■ focused tool set for rotoscoping, keying, paint and retouching, and clean plate and shot preparation. Rotation 6.1, which takes advantage of 64-bit computing, has been updated to include a plethora of new tools that enhance overall productivity, includ- ing signifi cant changes to the stereo conversion workfl ow.