Hamburg/Georgensgmünd, Germany, September 13, 2017: In order to dramatically improve its service to its customers, full service 3D metal printing provider toolcraft has selected Simufact Additive. Additive manufacturing processes will be simulated before the physical build process in order to move from trial-and-error to a more predictive production process.

Optimize 3D printing processes before the physical build process

Using simulation software, toolcraft is able to optimize manufacturing processes and make them more efficient and more economically viable. “We have tested Simufact Additive extensively and saw that the solution is going to help us in our daily practice”, states Christoph Hauck, Managing Director of toolcraft. “Our clients expect us to examine the feasibility of 3D printing orders in the early project phase – the simulation of the manufacturing process is the key to this. In the course of further optimization of additively manufactured parts, simulation supplies us with fast and economical indications on how the printing process with different support structures, different orientations within the build space as well as changed machine parameters behave”, adds Hauck. Simufact Additive calculates distortions and residual stresses within the component, shows the risk of build job abortions and enables users to minimize the number of physical attempts required to achieve a successful build.

Simulating additive manufacturing processes – the shortcut to production readiness

Simufact Additive is a highly efficient and scalable software solution for the simulation of metal additive manufacturing processes. The simulation of 3D printing processes predicts distortions and residual stresses within the component and thereby provides the basis for the development of suitable countermeasures before the first piece is ever printed. Simufact Additive covers the entire manufacturing-related process chain for powder bed fusion processes and simulates the initial build job as well as post-processing including heat treatment for stress relief within a component, the cutting off the base plate, the removal of support structures as well as the hot isostatic pressing (HIP). Simufact Additive is mainly being used in companies within the aerospace and automotive sectors, their respective suppliers, as well as service providers.

Experience driven software development

“Simufact and toolcraft will continue to collaborate very closely on best practices to optimize the metal additive manufacturing processes, said Michael Wohlmuth, Managing Director and CEO at Simufact. “With toolcraft we found a partner who is an expert at the additive manufacturing process and shares our goal to dramatically improve the process”.