HP and Siemens PLM recently joined to create a new additive manufacturing software module, Siemens NX AM for HP Multi Jet Fusion, now available from Siemens PLM Software.
The new software model will enable NX customers to combine design, optimization, simulation, preparation of print jobs, and inspection processes for HP Multi Jet Fusion 3D printed parts in a managed environment. The HP system is a production-ready commercial 3D printing system
Users can develop and manage parts within the software for their HP 3D printing projects, avoid data conversions and third-party tools, and improve their overall design-to-finished-part workflow efficiency, according to Siemens.
NX users can now also load multiple 3D part models auto nest and submit them to an HP 3D printer, all in a single NX environment and with a minimum of steps.
The Siemens NX and HP Multi Jet Fusion integration also eliminates the need for data conversion between software applications or process steps and, in the future, is intended to allow unprecedented control, including material characteristics down to the individual voxel-level. This will result in the ability to print parts with variable textures, density, strength and friction, and thermal, electrical, and conductivity characteristics.
Siemens PLM has also carried out other initiatives to move toward its additive manufacturing goals, said Andreas Saar, vice president of manufacturing engineering solutions at Siemens.
The company has combined Siemen’s NX software, Simcenter simulation software and test solutions, Teamcenter product lifecycle manufacturing software, and elements of its manufacturing operations management portfolio for manufacturing automation.
The combined system uses smart product models without the need for data conversion between applications and processes, giving users a more effective way to redesign products, re-engineer parts with increased strength-to-weigh ratios, apply advanced integrated simulation and analysis to predict design performance, prepare the print process for the selected device and manage the entire process from design to 3D printed finished part, Saar said.
Over the past year, the company also delivered eight new NX based additive manufacturing software modules. Users now have access to modules for additive manufacturing design, lattice design, topology optimization, NASTRAN optimization, simulation, and printing–including build-tray configuration, and support structures and nesting, he added.
Siemens is also developing a digital-part manufacturing platform to connect all members of the global manufacturing community to grow expertise and expand business opportunity.
“We are creating the platform because part buyers need to connect to qualified manufacturers offering the latest digital and industrial 3D printing technologies and expertise,” Saar said. “At the same time, highly skilled manufacturers need to create a pipeline of job orders for next generation designs that lend themselves to industrial additive manufacturing.”
