Then there are the corporations that have taken the metal additive manufacturing trend and, well, owned it. That’s the best way I can think of to describe what companies like Additive Industries have done as metal has taken over. Far from just developing a few metal 3D printers, the Netherlands-based company created “the first integrated industrial 3D metal printing system” in the monstrous MetalFAB1. Officially unveiled in November, the MetalFAB1 is like a factory in a box. While the giant printer is still currently being beta tested by selected customers, the company is preparing for series production, and in the meantime they’re keeping us interested with a steady flow of news about the system’s development.
Additive Industries’ latest announcement involves the Additive World Platform, the comprehensive software platform the company has developed to support the MetalFAB1. At the Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG) Conference, currently taking place in St. Louis, the company announced that they have signed a machine manufacturer partnership agreement with 3DSIM, developer of software for metal additive manufacturing production and research. Additive Industries will integrate 3DSIM’s exaSIM and FLEX tools into Additive World, making them the first company to adopt the software tools, which are still in beta.
“We believe 3DSIM’s physics-based software tools will revolutionize the way future products are designed, produced and qualified,” said Brent Stucker, CEO of 3DSIM. “By seamlessly enabling our customers to manage parts and builds in the Additive World platform, simulate production in 3DSIM’s software and finally producing that build on a MetalFAB1 machine, we are creating the tools needed for a truly integrated and predictable metal additive manufacturing process.”
“The 3DSIM software will allow us to speed up the development of our MetalFAB1 system and help our customers to increase productivity, speed up process qualification and reduce the cost of printed parts,” said Mark Vaes, Technology Manager of Additive Industries.
3DSIM is still looking for additional beta customers for FLEX and exaSIM. If you’re a manufacturer interested in learning more, you can download brochures and contact the company here. What are your thoughts on the new partnership? Discuss in the 3DSIM Beta 3D Software Testing forum over at 3DPB.com.