Additive manufacturing is revolutionizing how production parts are being conceived and produced. A digital thread that connects, integrates and intuitively captures design, materials and manufacturing parameters is key for the production of functional parts. Additive manufacturing applications in 3DEXPERIENCE enable and accelerate the digital transformation by providing a single, unified environment for designers, manufacturing specialists and simulation analysts to collaborate on for generative design, build planning, virtual printing and post-processing.
Concept Design
With the function driven generative design applications on 3DEXPERIENCE engineers can create parts that are optimized for specific applications. Easily create a general design space, add loading parameters and materials to the model using the step by step guide. Generate and validate optimized shapes for the specified constraints and create trade off studies to select the best design for the chosen manufacturing method. Generate detailed geometry and perform functional validation on the final design.
Processing Planning
The additive manufacturing fabrication applications allow you to design and plan out the additive process. For your machine of choice you can create a build volume and build plate. Automatically nest parts to maximize build volume usage and minimize supports. Set custom rules for slicing, scan patterns and process parameters for the entire build or individual parts. Finally visualize the scan path for diagnostic checks.
Process Simulation
The additive manufacturing process simulation applications allow you to create detailed simulations of the printing process. Simulating the printing process allow engineers to predict the behavior of parts during the manufacturing process. By understanding the thermal distortions and residual stresses, engineers can avoid time and material costs from the actual print process and even plan for build failures such as recoater collisions. Using a guided workflow AM engineers can configure the user interface to reflect the chosen manufacturing method such as direct energy deposition, selective laser sintering, or polymer extrusion.
Post Processing
Further, with access to manufacturing support definitions and their design parameters such as spacing, thickness, envelopes, and anchors, support variants can be quickly configured and then studied to determine the optimal amount of support necessary to ensure build success. All of the acquired knowledge can then be capture in rules that help guide support structure strategy. After the build is complete, simulations can be used to look at build plate removal, heat treatment and other Post-processing affects. Here, the reverse shape optimizer application is used to digitally morph the original part design to compensate for thermal distortions during the manufacturing process. With this compensated geometry the “as-manufactured” part is equivalent to the “as-designed” part.
Conclusions
The Additive Manufacturing applications on 3DEXPERIENCE enable you to design, prepare, simulate and compensate for your additive manufactured parts to achieve predictable and reliable part builds. Engineers can accelerate development rate, optimize production time and minimize cost by fully harnessing a digital end-to-end additive manufacturing workflow.
More technical details can be found in our on-demand eSeminar: Print to Perform.
What to learn more about Dassault Systèmes’ simulation solutions for additive manufacturing? Visit: go.3ds.com/Print2Perform
