Market Overview

The domestic CAD/CAM/CAE systems market for FY2021 grew by 5.6% from the previous fiscal year to 409,712 million yen (based on the shipment value at manufacturers).

A decline in FY2020 due to the impact of the novel coronavirus infection was smaller than anticipated. This largely owes to the rise of “DX (digital transformation)” in Japan, where user companies actively adopted IT to survive in the unprecedented crisis. Another driving factor was the stable growth of EDA as well as CAD for civil engineering and construction, as the business of the major users, electronics industry and construction industry, stayed strong during the pandemic. The expansion contributed to minimizing the negative influence, despite the decrease in capital investments among private companies that caused a drop in the sales of CAD/CAM/CAE systems for machinery industry.

Noteworthy Topics

Digital Twin

The term "digital twin*1 " has rapidly increased the presence in the market. In recent years, not only manufacturers of CAD/CAM/CAE for machinery industry, but also manufacturers of EDA and CAD/CAM/CAE for civil engineering and construction are launching digital twin software.

The digital twin came into the spotlight in line with the penetration of IoT


technology. As IoT captures real-time data automatically and continuously, it enabled digital representation of physical object, though there are still some limitations. With the emergence of IoT, big data analysis and AI for processing and analyzing data from the IoT, the digital twin has become practical software for the first time.

Today, digital twin is a key word in manufacturing. Use of 3D CAD and PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) for data management is indispensable for manufacturing nowadays. However, this alone has its limitations.

Manufacturers are required to correlate product information reciprocally and trace back the product lifecycle at any time. Demand is rising for having access to all information regarding the product, including requirement definition for product development, system design, intentions and process of decisions, product configuration (design, manufacturing, services, etc.). To achieve this, the makers need to adopt not only 3D CAD or PLM but also digital twin technology, which connects virtual model to the original physical object. This is exactly why digital twin is attracting attention.



*1 Digital twin is a simulation technology that enables creation/duplication of physical artifacts or phenomenon in the cyber world digitally, through massive data processing and modeling of data collected by precision measurement/observation.

Future Outlook

The domestic CAD/CAM/CAE systems market for FY2022 is expected to grow by 6.1% from the previous fiscal year to 434,689 million yen. The outlook for FY2022 is uncertain. Resurgence of COVID-19, soaring energy prices, and disruptions in the semiconductor supply chain are impacting the global economy considerably. Nevertheless, recovery of the U.S. market and weakening of the yen has been contributing to the growth recovery of Japanese domestic manufacturers, especially export-oriented industries. For this reason, domestic manufacturers are expected to increase investments in CAD/CAM/CAE systems hereafter.

Research Outline