Materialise has just showcased their new simulation technology for more optimising metal printing technology. The new feature will be part and parcel of their Materialise Magics software, allowing user to preview their prints. The metal printing simulations aim to make the notoriously unpredictable process far more effective.
Materialise showed off this new feature at TCT 2018. While metal 3D printing is great, it runs the gamut in terms of costs when it comes to tests and failing prints. This is especially the case with powder bed technologies. As a result, Materialise has ceased on the opportunity to allow users to avoid unexpected warpage, cracks, gaps or other such problems associated with the technology as it stands today.
The software helps map out various features like support generation and part orientation. It also integrates calibration features helping users determine the correct simulation settings for a given machine. This is fitting, considering how a large part of Materialise’s work as of late has been about developing tools that can operate effectively with versatility in regards to a large number of machines. This makes them an ideal candidate for creating a software requiring such broad capabilities. Therefore, it’s easy to assume that the simulation software will operate with any system that Materialise currently understands.
Mapping Out Print Simulations
The idea of creating a predictive simulation for metal printing isn’t entirely new. Other companies like ANSYS acquired 3DSIM to develop its own metal 3D printing simulation platform. Similarly, Velo3D has also worked along the same lines for their own software technologies. In fact, Materialise’s version is based off of Simufact Additive Solver from MSC Software.
There are notable things about this software. The company has stated that a high-end processor is not required to use it, for example. Users can employ the module alongside other computer-aided engineering software. It also uses Materialise’s massive expertise and database along with Simufact’s software.
With various solutions and software constantly coming out for the metal AM market, we can see the maturing of the industry. While there’s still a long way to go, companies are definitely beginning to see the value and investing towards it. This metal printing simulation software is going to take the applicability of the technology very far.
Featured image courtesy of Materialise, retrieved via Engineering.com
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