3D Systems Partnering with Link3D to Transform On Demand Operations

Boulder, Colorado-based company Link3D is well-known in the 3D printing industry for providing additive manufacturing execution and operating systems and several other important applications for scaling the AM ecosystem. This is mean to help its customers connect the digital world to their 3D printing workflow and production planning. Now, the company is announcing a partnership with 3D Systems so that the leading AM solutions company can complete a digital transformation of its On Demand manufacturing operations.

“3D Systems is recognized as a global leader in AM hardware, software, materials, and services. They are on the cutting edge when it comes to producing additive parts. Link3D is honored to have been awarded the contract with 3D Systems,” Shane Fox, Link3D’s CEO, and Vishal Singh, the company’s CTO, stated in a press release sent to 3DPrint.com. “This partnership strengthens Link3D’s vision for distributed manufacturing by providing an operating system to the industry and driving value to 3D Systems customers.”

3D Systems’ On Demand services allow companies to augment their existing workflows with both traditional production processes, like injection molding and urethane casting, and additive manufacturing technologies, offering close to 20 different materials for use.

The On Demand site states, “Whether you need a prototype, verification of a design or an appearance model, or are looking for low-volume or bridge manufacturing, 3D Systems On Demand can help you with parts produced in as fast as 24 hours.”

As part of this new partnership, Link3D will be providing 3D Systems with its main software offerings, in addition to several newly released features, such as its ITAR and Export Controlled Deployment. ITAR stands for the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, wherein the US regulates and controls the manufacture, sale, and distribution of the space and defense-related articles and services which have been defined in the United States Munitions List (USML).

By having access to this feature, 3D Systems will be able to enjoy “controlled functionality” for regulatory compliance assurance, and features including:

• Permissioning and access control
• Government cloud deployment
• Ability to support routing to ITAR-approved facilities

Additionally, 3D Systems will have access to Link3D’s Post-Production Management App, which will ensure that the company can increase and optimize end-to-end processes by using the Production Dashboard. This Link3D dashboard keeps track of queued up, completed, and failed jobs automatically, which will allow 3D Systems to get rid of a lot of unnecessary paper and decrease how much time is spent focusing on its hundreds of daily On Demand orders.

By partnering with Link3D, 3D Systems will be able to set up one “single source of truth” for its AM value stream. It can get rid of manual and redundant systems by implementing Link3D, which will in turn increase customer satisfaction by making the entire 3D printing workflow compliance and post-production process, from job request all the way to delivery of parts, more efficient and transparent.

“3D Systems On Demand operates multiple additive manufacturing processes in-house.  As our offerings grew, we realized that a world class workflow automation solution was needed,” said 3D Systems On Demand Director of Operations Tracy Beard. “Partnering with Link3D helped us take our additive manufacturing offering to the next level, and the efficiencies gained from implementing Link3D are having an immediate impact on both on-time delivery and quality, with the benefits of real-time analytics. The onboarding process was very smooth and easy. The agility and willingness of the Link3D team to customize to our specific needs was something we’ve not seen from other software solutions.”

(Source: Link3D)