nTopology and EOS have partnered to address a significant bottleneck in additive manufacturing workflow. They have developed a new capability called “Implicit Interop,” aimed at reducing the size of 3D design files and expediting the manufacturing process. Traditionally, 3D design files for printing can be extremely large, often exceeding tens of gigabytes. However, nTopology and EOS claim that their new nTop Implicit File can reduce file sizes by up to 99 percent, generate files 500 times faster, and load them 60 percent quicker.
This breakthrough has garnered enthusiastic responses from nTopology’s partners and customers, showcased during the Formnext industry event. To demonstrate the efficiency of their technology, the companies presented a proof-of-concept: an industrial heat exchanger designed by Siemens Energy. Converted into an nTop Implicit File within seconds, the design required less than 1 megabyte of storage space and was effortlessly imported into EOSPRINT for 3D printing.
To further promote the adoption of Implicit Interop technology, nTopology and EOS are collaborating with the 3MF Consortium to standardize the Implicit File format. This integration is anticipated to be included in a future update of the 3MF industry-standard 3D printing file format.
The CEO of nTopology, Bradley Rothenberg, emphasizes the significance of their partnership with EOS, enabling engineers to design and produce more complex parts. Alexander Bockstaller, a software product line manager at EOS, acknowledges the rising complexity of part geometries and highlights the need for standardization to handle large and intricate meshes effectively.
Siemens Energy’s head of engineering services for additive manufacturing, Ole Geisen, commends nTopology and EOS for their technical development and urges the rest of the additive manufacturing ecosystem to catch up with these advancements. As topology optimization, generative design, and design for additive manufacturing progress, exchanging complex geometries using traditional data formats becomes increasingly challenging, hindering innovation in thermal management.
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