Dutch metal printer maker Additive Industries and Materialise have launched a new MetalFab build processor that cut a benchmark job’s processing time from 46 minutes to 6.
The Next-Generation Build Processor, developed with Materialise, the Belgian group that brings more than three decades of 3D printing experience to its software and printing services, keeps the functionality of the existing Additive Industries Build Processor and is available now to MetalFab customers. The benchmark compared it with the Classic Build Processor 2.6, and the speedup comes from multiprocessing and optimized algorithms. Beyond raw preprocessing speed, the software handles large and complex builds better, improves process stability and gives users more control over scan strategies.
MetalFab systems are aimed at industrial users in aerospace, automotive, high tech and energy, and the new processor is pitched at exactly those environments, where speed, reliability and repeatable quality are critical.
The release also enables many of the software-driven capabilities introduced with the MetalFab 420K. On that platform they include optimized laser load balancing, variable beam diameter control by vector type, ghost vectors for better thermal stability and advanced exposure strategy controls.
The processor works inside Materialise Magics for build preparation, configuration and job submission, and existing users can carry their settings across by importing profiles from the Classic Build Processor.
“The processing time reduction we’re seeing here directly impacts cost per part,” said Karel Brans, Senior Director Partnerships at Materialise. “It also connects directly into the CO-AM ecosystem, so that build data becomes part of a wider digital thread from design through production, unlocking further automation possibilities.”
The software went through a beta phase with customers before release. “The Next-Generation Build Processor opens up clear opportunities to improve workflow speed and make print preparation more efficient,” said Lionel Simon, Manufacturing Engineer at Swiss space hardware maker SWISSto12, who tested it during the beta.
Additive Industries CEO Rik Bakker frames the launch as another step in a strategy to maximize productivity and process performance. The unlocked MetalFab 420K features are meant to let manufacturers produce more parts, more efficiently and with greater process consistency. Bakker also points to the continuing collaboration with Materialise as part of making industrial additive manufacturing work end to end. For MetalFab owners the practical upshot is finer control over how lasers are loaded and how each vector is exposed, with production-ready build files generated straight from the new processor and tied into the Materialise software they already use for build preparation.
Source: Additive Industries
