Materialise, ECN and Simufact Present 3D Printing Software and Metal Solutions at formnext

In less than two weeks, formnext will be kicking off in Frankfurt, Germany. Many of the big players in the 3D printing industry will be there, and they have a lot to showcase in the three days that the conference is running. For Materialise, much of that comes in the form of software.

The company will be showcasing its full Materialise Magics 3D Print Suite at formnext, and there will be demo sessions of the new Magics 22, as well as Inspector and Materialise Control Platform 2.1. It will also be launching a brand new metal 3D printing software. Materialise also intends to demonstrate its solutions for the entire value chain of metal additive manufacturing. Supply chains are much of the company’s focus this year, and it will be presenting multiple case studies that show its success in designing and implementing end-to-end digital supply chains.

Those case studies include its partnership with Tailored Fits for partially 3D printed ski boots as well as a multi-company collaboration for 3D printed eyewear. It will also present a case study involving the creation of 3D printed production tools with Philips Lighting in order to demonstrate its overall additive manufacturing capabilities. Several other partners including Siemens, HP, EOS, and SAP will give presentations on their work with Materialise, as well.

Materialise will be in Hall 3.0, Booth C48.

ECN is going to be focusing on metal at formnext, showcasing a process and powder bed approach that creates high quality products without internal stress. The LASERFLEX Conflux for Direct Multi Metal 3D Printing through exceptional Powder Bed Fusion Processing was developed by ECN and offers several advantages over conventional Powder Bed Fusion. Those advantages include, according to ECN:

• Low internal stress build-up during densification, resulting in low residual stress and improved resolution
• Homogenous microstructure, resulting in high quality material properties without annealing
• Safe and environmentally friendly operation, with precise powder handling
• Multi and/or functional graded material build-up in one build process

LASERFLEX Conflux offers better material quality and finer features than conventional Powder Bed Fusion, plus multi-material capabilities.

ECN will be in Hall 3.1, Booth B80.

Simufact, meanwhile, will be showcasing Simufact Additive 3, the latest version of its metal additive manufacturing simulation software. The company introduced the original version last year. This new version features a thermo-mechanical calculation method, which shows the effects of thermal energy on the 3D printed part. It allows users to determine deformation as well as the influence of the base plate to the component. Simufact will be giving live demonstrations of the software at formnext.

Simufact will also be presenting the results of the LightHinge+ project, which was undertaken in cooperation with EDAG Engineering and voestalpine Additive Manufacturing Center. LightHinge+ is a 3D printed hood hinge that offers light weight and increased safety.

Simufact and e-Xstream will share a booth under the umbrella of Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence in Hall 3.0, Booth F27. Digimat-AM is e-Xstream’s solution for the simulation of 3D printing processes in plastics and composites. The two companies are both part of CAE specialist MSC Software, which was acquired by Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence earlier this year.

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