Page 22 - 3D Metal Printing Magazine Winter 2022

3D Formnext 2021
Partnership Brings Cads Support-Structure Tech. Into Hexagon’s Simufact Additive
Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division has partnered with Cads Additive, a manufacturer of data-preparation and data-management software, with the goal to reduce waste and improve additive- design-for-manufacturing productivity.
Hexagon’s new version of metal-AM
or block supports using Cads Additive, and achieve further optimization of material utilization with access to high-stiffness “heart cell” support structures and metal- optimized tree supports. These support structures can be added to parts using a native Simufact Additive interface that uti- lizes all of the features of the Cads Additive technology. This integration reportedly pro- vides users with complete control over sup-
port-structure parameters and enable simulation of the support structure and part build with- out any additional steps or software.
Also new in Sim- ufact Additive 2021: the ability to simu- late subtractive- manufacturing processes in order to predict the distor- tions after a machining process; enhancements to the Metal Binder Jet- ting module that include a new and
faster solver and a new, dedicated com- pensation algorithm; an extended cali- bration algorithm; and increased speed of support generation and slicing—as much as 10 times faster than in the pre- vious version.
And, under the partnership, Cads Addi- tive also has licensed build-process-sim- ulation capabilities from Hexagon that will be embedded in its AM-Studio soft- ware, enabling users to validate their build feasibility and predict distortions to avoid print issues.
Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence/Simufact Additive: www.simufact.com
Cads Additive: www.cads-additive.com
Cloud-Based Process- Management Software
for GE Additive AM Machines
GE Additive debuted its Amp cloud- based, process-management software
platform for users of the company’s AM machines, while also announcing limited release of the first two modules; Print Model and Simulation & Compensation, for Concept Laser M2 machine users, with wider release planned for this spring.
Gleaned from the knowledge of experts at GE Additive, GE Aviation and GE Global Research, Amp integrates tools needed to manage, process and manufacture metal- AM parts on one platform. From devel- opment to print production, Amp offers a flexible, streamlined workflow so that manufacturers can improve part produc- tion and significantly reduce trial and error needed to develop print-ready parts, according to company officials.
Amp reportedly breaks down silos between CAD, build prep, simulation, compensation and inspection data to help improve part production. With centralized data, users can access tools that simulate how the manufacturing process unfolds in real time and see the estimates for cost and time for a part throughout the process.
Amp uses a single database that sup- ports seamless data transition between one task and another. In addition to the database, Amp also incorporates, accord- ing to company officials, the industrial knowledge, best practices and workflows, and time/cost analyses that GE has pio- neered over the past decade.
Calculations for all of these tasks depend on the material and the additive machine being used. Amp addresses this dependency by closely tying Amp to GE Additive’s own laser printers, initially the Concept Laser M2, then the M Line and Binder Jet solutions and eventually other laser and EBM systems. By combining this with GE’s knowledge of material proper- ties, Amp offers recipes that have been pre-populated with all the parameters needed need to print a part.
GE Additive: www.ge.com/additive
New 3D Systems Software Boasts Robust Topology Optimization, Machine Learning
For users of 3D Systems’ DMP AM- machine portfolio, the company has released Version 17 of its 3DXpert software,
build-simulation software, Simufact Addi- tive 2021, highlighted at Formnext, includes support-structure technology provided by Cads Additive that reportedly enables users to further reduce their man- ufacturing preparation effort, material costs and build time. And, as part of the partnership, Cads Additive is integrating Hexagon’s build-simulation capabilities into its AM-Studio software.
Users employ Simufact Additive to pre- dict and compensate for distortion, resid- ual stress and temperature distribution throughout the printing, heat treatment, cutting, hot isostatic pressing and machin- ing processes virtually, before the part is manufactured via laser powder-bed fusion and metal binder jetting processes. This results in production of high-quality parts with minimal waste, according to Hexagon officials.
Users now can create lightweight, hol- low rod supports, complex line supports
20 | 3D METAL PRINTING • WINTER 2022
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