Page 10 - 3D Metal Printing Summer 2016

3D TECH UPDATE
Software Takes Engineering Design Optimization to New Levels
UK-based engineering software provider LimitState has launched
its LimitState:Form software package, a conceptual design tool aimed at
identifying new 3D-printed component designs that are often much lighter and more efficient than traditional forms. LimitState debuted the software at the UK’s Manufac- turing Technology Centre, home of the Mercury National Additive Manufacturing Centre, at a meeting of the Innovate UK supported Anvil Project.
LimitState:Form enables design engineers to generate high-fidelity optimized forms directly, while accelerating their optimization workflow. Use it to perform layout and geometry optimization in combination, and to directly manipulate the solution obtained. Rather than generating a mesh, as other software does, the software creates an optimized parametric geometry that can be inspected and edited directly using Ansys SpaceClaim. It also reports to the user just how close a solution is to the likely mathematical optimum, eliminating guesswork from the optimization process.
In use at the advanced manufacturing research centre, the software has produced significantly more efficient component forms than previously developed. Shown in the photo is an air-brake hinge, manufactured for the Bloodhound supersonic car, before (top) and after optimization.
“LimitState:Form generates consistent, repeatable results with no fudged parame- ters, and it’s easy to assess the lattice structures produced,” says Iain Todd, director, Mercury Centre, Sheffield, UK.
LimitState: www.limitstate3d.com
Norsk Titanium Partners with Bosch Rexroth on Automation/Control Platform
Norsk Titanium AS announced that Bosch Rexroth AG will now provide custom drive and control solutions for its Rapid Plasma deposition machines. Specifically, Bosch Rexroth MTX technology now will reside within the Norsk Titanium MERKE IV RPD machines, providing a robust PLC platform to support customer needs in the aerospace industry for precision.
Bosch Rexroth’s custom RPD motion-control system features 10 servo axes configured to control the titanium-part build platform; feeding and handling of titanium wire enter-
ing the machine; real-time control of multi- ple plasma-arc torches; and other features. Norsk Titanium AS: www.norsktitanium.com;
Bosch Rexroth AG: www.boschrexroth.com
EOS Debuts Small-Bed Direct Metal Laser Sintering Machine
EOS has intro-
duced the EOS M 100
direct metal laser sin-
tering machine, with a
smaller build size
(100-mm dia.) than its
EOS M 290 metal system. The M 100 focuses on the cost-efficient production of small quantities, according to compa-
ny chief mar- keting officer Dr. Adrian Kep- pler. For exam- ple, the system can produce approximately 70 dental crowns and bridges in 3 hr.
“Initially, the EOS M 100 can process two types of materi- als, EOS CobaltChrome SP2 (CE-certi-
fied, CE 0537) and EOS StainlessSteel 316L,” says Keppler, “depending on the specific application. EOS Titanium Ti64 remains in the development stage, and will be the next material to be made available for this system.”
Boston Scientific served as a pilot plant for the new machine.
The EOS M 100 features a 200-w fiber laser, and peripheral equipment designed to minimize powder contact, say EOS officials.
EOS: www.eos.info/en
8 | 3D METAL PRINTING • SUMMER 2016
3DMPmag.com