3D Printing Webinar and Virtual Event Roundup: February 21, 2021

This coming week is chock full of webinars, with three a day for three days running. So without further ado, let’s dive right in!

TriMech on Sweeps and Threads in SOLIDWORKS

First up, at 10 am EST on Tuesday, February 23rd, Stratasys and SOLIDWORKS reseller TriMech is holding a webinar titled “TriMech Tips & Tricks: Sweeps & Threads.” Michael Souders, a TriMech Application Engineer, will discuss topics related to the complex sweeps and threads models, such as how to create threads, use guide curves to create complex swept geometry, create and manage twist along a swept part, using the profile orientation to control the sweep, and more.

“The basics of creating a sweep are known to many SOLIDWORKS users; simply choose a profile and a path. While this works well to create basic shapes, anything more complex will require additional constraints called guide curves. We will go over how to create these curves in SOLIDWORKS, modifying the simplistic shapes of our original sweeps to something more refined.

You can register for the webinar here.

NVIDIA: Using Cloud Simulation Tools

Image courtesy of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture

Architecture companies usually have tight deadlines in which to create and deliver their project concepts, and Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architects (AS+GG) validate their early design proposals using a CFD software, based on SimScale’s LBM method, that’s accelerated with a GPU (invented by NVIDIA). The cloud-based software helps the firm’s architects create their designs faster than before, and during a webinar, called “Optimizing Building Designs,” on Tuesday the 23rd at 12 pm EST, you’ll hear from SimScale co-founder David Heiny, AS+GG architect Anthony Violoa, and NVIDIA’s AEC Industry Marketing Strategy Lead Andrew Rink about just why that is.

“Learn how Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architects (AS+GG) use GPU-accelerated, cloud-based CFD simulation to rapidly iterate on and test building designs. With early and frequent simulation, the firm is able to submit optimized proposals for concepts and project competitions/bids far more quickly.”

You can register for the webinar here.

Electromechanical Design with SOLIDWORKS

At 1 pm EST on the 23rd, SOLIDWORKS ECAD Business experts will discuss how to help organizations use SOLIDWORKS Electrical to identify and fix inefficient communication bottlenecks through the use of an integrated mechanical and electrical engineering tool set, in a webinar titled “Electromechanical Design – The Business Case.” In addition to learning how to create a personalized ROI and some of the most common causes of lost time, attendees will also get to hear about business metrics and customer success stories as well.

“Engineering teams struggle to coordinate electrical and mechanical design efforts while developing modern, technically complex products. By applying innovative SOLIDWORKS solutions to this 21st century problem, our customers have been able to get their products to market faster and with higher profits, while actually improving quality.”

You can register for the webinar here.

TriMech Provides Intro to Polymer 3D Printing

At 10 am EST on Wednesday, February 24th, TriMech is holding another webinar, this time called “An Introduction to Polymer 3D Printing,” which should be pretty self-explanatory. TriMech Additive Manufacturing Application Engineer Andrew Sink will discuss a variety of polymer printing techniques, such as Digital Light Processing (DLP), Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), PolyJet (PJ), and Stereolithography (SL), and explain how they work and the differences between them, in addition to describing their strengths, weaknesses, and use-cases, such as prototyping and end-use parts.

“The possibilities of what you can create with additive manufacturing may seem endless, but picking the right technology can be a critical factor in the success of your final part! Looking to find out what your options are? This is the perfect crash-course for anyone interested in learning about 3D printing with polymer materials.”

You can register for the webinar here.

GE Additive on Reusing Metal Powder

The latest in GE Additive’s Webinar Wednesday series will be held at 10 am EST on the 24th, titled “Understanding Metal Powder Reuse and Effective Reuse Strategies for Additive Manufacturing.” GE Additive engineers Alfred Okello and Victor Samper will provide a holistic view of metal powder reuse, which is really important when it comes to a good business case for industrializing metal AM. Attendees will learn about different powder reuse strategy options, and the comparisons between them based on process quality, cost, and ease of implementation.

“Additive technologies are showing promising signs of success in offering alternatives to conventional methods. Even though powder-based additive processes can reduce waste compared to subtractive manufacturing, the cost of powders as raw materials can be expensive, translating into prohibitive costs of process and parts. Significant efforts have been made by industry, academia and government research agencies to understand the effect of multiple uses of different powder alloys on the powder attributes, process and the properties of final parts. Additionally, production demands within the industry have found it necessary to view powder reuse as an integral part of building a winning business case in industrialization of powder-based metal additive manufacturing.”

You can register for the webinar here.

Essentium Talks 3D Printed Blow Molding

For those who might now know, blow molding is a less costly manufacturing process that is used to create hollow plastic parts by inflating a heated plastic tube until it fills a mold and forms the desired shape, whether it’s an aircraft duct, a bottle, or a double walled part, to give a few examples. At 11 am EST on Wednesday the 24th, Essentium will hold a webinar, “An Introduction to Blow Molding Production Using Additive Manufacturing,” that will teach attendees to use additive manufacturing to enhance blow molding capabilities in three different use cases. The webinar will discuss the design, material selection, slicing, and post processing used to print good blow molding tools.

“We will briefly cover the different blow molding processes and the common polymers used to make blow molded products. To do so, we will cover the benefits and weaknesses of using additive manufactured molds within the blow molding process and walk through reasoning behind material selection: choosing Carbon-Fiber Filled High Temperature Nylon (HTNCF) and Carbon-Fiber Filled Polyamide (PACF). Then, we will share tips for slicing and post processing in order to produce high quality parts. Finally, we will walk through three relevant use cases for AM molds: a prototype bottle design, a double walled chair with metal inserts, and ducting replacement as applied to legacy aircraft.”

You can register for the webinar here.

nTopology Automotive Applications Training

On Thursday, February 25th at 10 am EST, nTopology will be holding a virtual workshop called “nTop Training: Automotive.” Attendees will learn how to use nTopology to their advantage for a variety of automotive applications, including design exploration, lattice structures and 3D printed foams, and design exploration. The training will be broken up into four sessions—Architected Materials for Seat Cushions, Surface Textures & Patterns for Car Design, Topology Optimization & Post-processing, and Recap & Live Q&A—and all eligible participants will receive a free trial license of nTopology, which will be issued the same day as the training.

“Through hands-on exercises, you will gain an in-depth understanding of the different latticing, texturing, patterning, and topology optimization capabilities of nTopology. You will also learn how to use Field-Driven Design techniques to control your designs in every point in space.”

You can register for the virtual workshop here. Registration closes on Tuesday, February 23rd, at 5 pm EST, so don’t wait!

HP Experts About 3D Print Post-Processing

At noon on the 25th, HP is holding a live session of “Ask the Experts,” focused on everything you want to know about post-processing 3D prints. Attendees will learn about HP’s Multi Jet Fusion technology and how it works, as well as get answers to some of the most popular questions when it comes to post-processing, and explore some of the many different post-processing techniques out there.

“Do you have specific questions about additive manufacturing? Join our live session of ‘Ask the Experts’ during which we will review the basics of HP Multi Jet Fusion technology and dive into your most frequently asked questions on the topic of post-processing.”