News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
Optomec, a global supplier of production-grade additive manufacturing equipment and software, has announced the integration of its Huffman brand AutoCLAD vision system with its LENS metal 3D printer family. AutoCLAD is a proprietary integrated vision and software system that generates custom toolpaths for additively manufactured parts.
Process simulation software provider Simufact has announced the release of Simufact Additive 2020, a software solution for optimizing metal AM processes. The company, part of Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division, has also introduced a new simulation software solution to improve the quality of Direct Energy Deposition (DED) metal additive manufacturing. The software will be offered as a module within Simufact Welding 2020 software.
MSC Software Corporation, a provider of CAE simulation software, has launched a new design optimization solution, MSC Apex Generative Design, at Formnext. The program provides a high degree of automation for design processes and reportedly has the potential to improve productivity by up to 80% compared to more traditional topology optimization tools.
One of the keys to taking additive manufacturing to the next level in terms of industrialization is software. AM software advancements will not only unlock new designs and geometries, but will enable more efficient, connected and, crucially, automated production workflows. Fortunately, there are many software developers in the industry which are committed to improving the AM workflow, from end to end.
Siemens has signed an agreement to acquire Atlas 3D, Inc., a Plymouth, Indiana-based developer of software that works with direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) printers to automatically provide design engineers with the optimal print orientation and requisite support structures for additive parts in near real-time. Atlas 3D will join Siemens Digital Industries Software, where its solutions will expand additive manufacturing capabilities in the Xcelerator portfolio of software.
This week, we take a brief look at some new releases and announcements from materials company Royal DSM, 3D printer manufacturer Markforged and additive workflow software company Link3D.
At the recent AI Accelerator Summit in Boston, Additive Leader at GE Global Research Brent Brunell addressed the growing need for AI-enabled applications within the context of industrial metal 3D printing. With an audience made up of some of the leading hardware and chip innovators in the tech industry, Brunell explained that in order for metal AM to be broadly industrialized, the sector needs faster computing capabilities and more computational power.
PTC signed a definitive with Onshape, creators of the first Software as a Service (SaaS) CAD/CAE product development platform. As per the agreement, PTC acquires Onshape for approximately $470 million. The acquisition is expected to accelerate PTC’s ability to attract new customers with a SaaS-based product offering and position the company to capitalize on the inevitable industry transition to SaaS. Pending regulatory approval and satisfaction of other closing conditions, the transaction is expected to be completed in November 2019.
Evonik Venture Capital, the investment arm of German chemical company Evonik, has invested in Castor Technologies, a startup whose software is helping AM adopters to identify how and where to use additive manufacturing for production. Evonik says the investment in the Israel-based startup will allow it to expand its business beyond selling materials for the 3D printing market into services, enabling customers to test the printability of parts.
Product design and development company Altair has just launched Altair Inspire Studio, a new 3D design and rendering software solution. The software was developed for designers, architects and digital artists and offers a flexible and comprehensive set of tools for designing, visualizing and evaluating products.