An automatic pricing and secure part ordering tool allows users to directly submit part orders to internal facilities or approved vendors, using LINK3D’s automated pricing technology, with the assurance that their information is protected by 256-bit encryption – military-grade IP security. A digital part inventory management feature offers a centrally located order history and part documentation for real-time manufacturing orders, allowing users to easily re-order or re-bid parts and reduce inventory cost. They can also take advantage of LINK3D’s optimization engine for distributed manufacturing.
The company released the program on the last day of the TCT Show, and 3DPrint.com had a chance to talk to LINK3D CEO Shane Fox about it. Fox was formerly a partner at Within, now part of netfabb, and he has a background in microlattice optimization. Over three years on the road with tech, he noticed a problem – there was no streamlined process for the additive manufacturing industry. That led to the creation of On Demand, in which design engineers could submit RFQs to specialized agencies.
The Digital Factory came about when the company decided to create an autonomous workflow tool. So far, it’s going very well, Fox said. It’s mostly an autonomous tool – it’s partly manual because users need to click a few buttons, but it autonomously develops and repairs parts, reducing liability for manufacturing errors. Digital Factory isn’t taking anyone’s job, he added – it’s the middleman in the automation network flow.“It’s an automated, secure, streamlined workflow software utilizing your data, AI, advanced algorithms to enhance your additive manufacturing ecosystem,” he told us.
LINK3D has reason to be confident that additive manufacturing companies will warm to the platform, and things are going well for the company as a whole. It may be a young company, but its future looks bright, as does the future of Digital Factory.
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