Simufact Additive is a scalable software solution for the simulation of metal-based additive manufacturing processes which focuses on powder bed melting and metal binder jetting processes. It is designed to predict and compensate for distortion, residual stress and temperature distribution throughout the printing, heat treatment, cutting, HIP processes and machining, such as milling and drilling, virtually before the part is manufactured by the 3D metal printer in reality.
The following top highlights are available in the new release of Simufact Additive 2021.
New process type machining enables the simulation of subtractive manufacturing processes
The forming history of a component can cause very high residual stresses. These are released by a machining process and lead to plastic deformations. A manufacturing process chain simulation that doesn’t take into account the forming history and the machining process can lead to an enormous form deviation.
Up to now, there is software on the market that, among other things, simulates and optimizes machining paths and predicts tool collisions. However, these solutions do not offer the prediction of the final shape of the component after the machining process.
Simufact Additive 2021 is the first solution that offers an application for subtractive manufacturing simulation, called machining. It now predicts distortions after the machining process, such as milling or drilling, which results from any preceding manufacturing step.
Enhancements to the Metal Binder Jetting module help to factor in setters during the simulation process and more
With the new release of Simufact Additive 2021, our users benefit from major enhancements to our Metal Binder Jetting (MBJ) module.
During the additive process simulation, setters can now be taken into account. They support the part during sintering to compensate for part shrinkage. With Simufact Additive 2021, the user can choose between a ceramic settler, which does not shrink, and a live settler, which shrinks during the sintering process. Furthermore, a specially developed solver for MBJ process simulation enables for a speed-up by a factor of up to 17x. As the third enhancement, there is a special new compensation algorithm for MBJ, that is more robust during the optimization of distortion compensation.
Enjoy faster, more stable and robust MBJ simulation thanks to the enhancements of the Metal Binder Jetting module.
Enhancements of calibration algorithm and base plate fixations
With the new version, we have implemented a new calibration algorithm for faster and more stable calibration runs. The calibration time is drastically reduced, while stability and robustness are increased.
Users of Simufact Additive 2021 also benefit from the enhanced base plate fixations based on a new and simple dialogue. They now define the fixations at any position, with any diameter, and with any combination regarding degrees of freedom. The direction of the fixations can now be defined from the top and bottom or only from one side. In addition to the user-defined base plate fixations, they now evaluate the fixation forces using the Time-History (THS) plot.
Speed-up support generation and slicing
The speed of support generation and slicing has been significantly improved, up to 10 times faster than in the previous version of Simufact Additive. The effect of increased speed can be seen clearly, especially when you have to simulate with finely meshed geometries and with filigree support elements.
“Simufact Additive is our solution for modelling and optimizing your metal-based additive manufacturing processes. Our top priority is to help our customers increase their efficiency and productivity by constantly improving our solutions with each release.”, says Dr. Gabriel McBain, Senior Director Product Management at Simufact. “With the new release of Simufact Additive 2021, we have introduced an application module, that allows our users to simulate the effects of subtractive manufacturing processes such as milling and drilling on the part geometry and the residual stresses. The metal binder jetting (MBJ) module received a huge enhancement where the calculation time was dramatically reduced and at the same time the distortion compensation was significantly improved. Look forward to many more new features and improvements, which will make your daily work easier!”
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