Manufacturing

From Design to Fabrication

A design is only as good as its manufacturability. The most elegant geometry means nothing if it can’t be cut, formed, printed, or assembled. The gap between what’s designed and what’s produced is where cost explodes, schedules slip, and quality fails.

AI that understands manufacturing doesn’t just draw shapes. It designs for production.

The Gap

Design and manufacturing speak different languages:

Design says: “Here’s the geometry.”

Manufacturing asks: “How do I make this? What’s the tolerance? Which operations? What sequence? What tooling? What’s it going to cost?”

Today, translating between these worlds is manual:

• Engineers review designs for manufacturability—slowly
• CAM programmers interpret geometry into toolpaths—manually
• Estimators calculate costs—based on experience and guesswork
• Problems discovered on the shop floor—too late

Every handoff is a chance for error. Every translation loses information.

What We Enable

Design for Manufacturability

AI that understands production constraints at design time.

Not a check at the end. Continuous feedback as you design:

• Process awareness — Does this geometry work for CNC? Sheet metal? Casting? Additive?
• Tolerance analysis — Can this be held? At what cost?
• Feature recognition — Holes, pockets, bosses analyzed automatically
• Cost implications — Design choices mapped to production cost in real-time

Catch manufacturability issues in design, not on the shop floor.

Intelligent CAM

From geometry to toolpath with AI assistance.

• Automatic feature recognition — AI identifies manufacturing features from solid geometry
• Operation sequencing — Optimal order of operations generated
• Toolpath optimization — Minimize cycle time, maximize tool life
• Multi-axis strategies — Complex geometry, intelligent approach

STEP geometry in. Optimized G-code out.

Process Planning

The bridge between engineering and production.

• Operation routing — Which machines, which sequence
• Setup planning — Fixtures, workholding, datums
• Time estimation — Accurate cycle times before cutting chips
• Resource allocation — Match work to available capacity

AI that understands your shop, not generic templates.

Additive Manufacturing

3D printing at production scale needs production thinking.

• Build orientation optimization — Minimize supports, maximize strength
• Nesting and packing — Fill build volumes efficiently
• Support generation — Intelligent placement, easy removal
• Process parameter optimization — Material-specific, geometry-aware
• Hybrid workflows — Additive and subtractive in combination

Additive as a real manufacturing process, not prototyping.

Quality Integration

Inspection isn’t an afterthought.

• GD&T interpretation — Geometric dimensioning understood natively
• Inspection planning — CMM programs generated from design intent
• In-process verification — Check critical features during production
• Statistical process control — Quality data feeding back to design

Design intent to inspection plan. Closed loop.

Shop Floor Connection

Design decisions meet production reality.

NATS JetStream connects design to the factory floor:

• Machine monitoring — Real-time status, utilization, performance
• Program distribution — Right program to right machine automatically
• Production feedback — Actual vs. planned, continuously
• Issue escalation — Problems surface immediately, not at shipping

Digital thread from design through production.

Open Standards

Your manufacturing data belongs to you.

STEP (ISO 10303) — The geometry exchange format manufacturing trusts. AP203, AP214, AP242. Full fidelity, no translation loss.

Native formats — Import from any CAD system. Export to any CAM system.

Open integration — Connect to your ERP, MES, quality systems via standard APIs.

No proprietary lock-in. Your designs, your toolpaths, your data.

Use Cases

CNC Machining

Mills, lathes, multi-axis centers. Where precision meets production.

• Feature-based machining from solid models
• Automatic toolpath generation
• Cycle time optimization
• Post-processor flexibility

Sheet Metal

Laser, plasma, punch, bend. High volume, tight margins.

• Flat pattern generation with bend compensation
• Nesting optimization for material yield
• Bend sequence planning
• Integrated costing

Fabrication & Welding

Structures, assemblies, weldments.

• Joint design and access analysis
• Weld sequence optimization
• Distortion prediction
• Assembly sequencing

Additive Manufacturing

Powder bed, FDM, resin, metal. Production additive.

• Build preparation and orientation
• Support optimization
• Multi-part nesting
• Post-processing planning

Assembly

Components become products.

• Assembly sequence optimization
• Interference and collision checking
• Tooling and fixture design
• Work instruction generation

For Job Shops

Every job different. Every quote a gamble.

• Faster quoting — AI-assisted estimation from 3D models
• Reduced programming time — Intelligent CAM cuts hours to minutes
• Fewer surprises — Manufacturability caught before commitment
• Better margins — Price accurately, produce efficiently

Compete on speed and precision, not just price.

For Production Shops

Volume demands consistency.

• Optimized processes — Every cycle time squeezed
• Quality built in — Not inspected in
• Continuous improvement — Production data driving design refinement
• Flexible automation — Adapt to product changes without starting over

Scale without sacrificing quality.

For OEMs

Design and manufacturing under one roof—or across a supply chain.

• Concurrent engineering — Design and manufacturing working simultaneously
• Supplier collaboration — Share designs without losing control
• Design for cost — Manufacturing cost visible in real-time
• Digital thread — Traceability from requirement to shipped part

Design what you can build. Build what you designed.

Industry 4.0

The factory of the future needs AI that understands space.

Not dashboards and buzzwords. Real capabilities:

• Digital twin of production — Your factory floor in the platform
• Predictive maintenance — Equipment health from sensor data
• Adaptive scheduling — Respond to changes in real-time
• Continuous optimization — AI finding improvements humans miss

Industry 4.0 built on spatial intelligence, not just connectivity.

The Architecture

Manufacturing-grade infrastructure.

Built for the demands of production.

Complete the Loop with Publish

Manufacturing runs on paperwork as much as machines.

• Work instructions — Step-by-step assembly guides generated from CAD
• Quality checklists — Inspection forms captured digitally or on paper, back to your QMS
• BOMs and cut lists — Parts documentation aligned with the 3D model
• Compliance records — Certifications, test results, traceability documentation

All from single source. All connected to your manufacturing data.

Explore Publish →

Get Started

Manufacturing is where design meets reality. Where geometry becomes product. Where precision matters.

AI that understands both design and production. That’s what we’re building.

Contact Us →