All articles Manufacturing Medical Software
Philip Buchholz, process engineer

Digital, Interconnected, and Automated: 3D Printer Control for Industry 4.0

Solutions: Magics 3D Print Suite, Streamics

Since it opened in April 2016, Materialise’s production site for metal 3D printing in Bremen has expanded to include more new 3D metal printers. Materialise Streamics software ensures optimum, cost-saving management of the printers and the orders completed with them. Process engineer Philip Buchholz explains how Streamics has been modified to meet requirements from a growing pool of printers to diverse customer needs.

Lightning McQueen car by IPC for Smoby Toys

Lattice Structures Enable Optimized Tooling Design for Smoby Toys

Solutions: 3-matic, Build Processor, Metal 3D Printing

Smoby, the number one toy manufacturer in France, makes merchandise featuring the Lightning McQueen car. Some of their toys are produced by IPC, a research center with significant expertise in 3D printing technology. To produce miniature versions of Lightning McQueen, IPC decided to print a metal mold that would perform better than ever before thanks to cooling channels that follow the exact shape of the car.

Materialise Prints Life-Size Mammoth Skeleton

3D Printing Meets Prehistoric Preservation: Materialise Prints Life-Size Mammoth Skeleton

Solutions: 3-matic, Mammoth Stereolithography, RapidFit+, Stereolithography

When it comes to producing an exact replica of a mammoth, one thing is clear. Size matters. Recreating over 300 bones, some of which are over 2 meters in length (bigger than a fully grown adult!), is no small feat. Coupled with the need to avoid any invasive or potentially damaging work on the original bones, this project presented a unique challenge.

CT scan image

Materialise Software and GE Sensing Technology Push the Qualification of AM

Solutions: Magics

Without a fast, high-quality and automated AM process, companies can’t scale up production successfully. This qualification process should be as cost-effective as possible, meaning that the Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) costs of AM should be as low as possible. But how can you ensure consistency and repeatability throughout the entire manufacturing process? It’s all about machine learning, or leveraging large amounts of data to deeply understand the hardware.

How Nissan Reduced Data Prep Time by 50%

How Nissan Reduced Data Prep Time by 50%

Solutions: Laser Sintering, Magics

Nissan uses 3D printing technology to create prototypes and experiment with new vehicle shapes. This involved a lot of manual work. Thanks to Materialise software, they managed to change the entire process and make it much more efficient. Data preparation time was reduced from months to seconds.

Hyundai Motors Improves Production Efficiency with Automation Software

Hyundai Motors Improves Production Efficiency with Automation Software

Solutions: e-stage, Streamics

By relying on 3D Printing, Hyundai Motor Company can create new products in a fast and cost-effective way, and experiment with designs with almost no design limitations or material waste. But how do they efficiently manage their Additive Manufacturing (AM) production?

Sambon headphones

Smoothing the Flow: How Sambon Saves 3 Hours on Data Prep per File

Solutions: Magics, STL

Sambon Precision & Electronics manufactures audio devices (earphones, headphones and speakers) and keypads for distribution in South Korea and oversea. When developing a new product, producing a prototype is a mandatory step in the development process. Sambon 3D prints the prototypes since it’s a fast and flexible method. Unfortunately, their 3D printing workflow wasn’t that smooth, and took up a lot of time for the data preparation team. Using Materialise Magics software, they were able to reduce file repair and platform preparation time significantly.

Honeycomb structure Magics 22

Midwest Prototyping Reduced the Weight of SLA Molds by 42% Using Honeycomb Structures

Solutions: Magics

The new honeycomb structure in Materialise Magics22  allows companies to reduce material usage and printing time. As a beta tester of Materialise Magics22, Midwest Prototyping was one of the very first to try out the new feature.

Volum-e Reduces Metal Support Removal by 50% Using Materialise e-Stage

Volum-e Reduces Metal Support Removal by 50% Using Materialise e-Stage

Solutions: Aluminium, e-stage, Metal 3D Printing

Automation, speed, quality and cost reduction are all important drivers for improving the 3D printing process. Discover how volum-e increased their efficiency of their highly complex metal production. 

Simulated deformations after removal from the support structure

AM Simulation: A Guide to the Best Part Orientation and Support Configuration

Solutions: FEA, Magics, Magics 3D Print Suite, Metal 3D Printing

In this case study, we investigate different part-support configurations of a patient-specific CMF implant, and determine which configuration is most suitable for the AM process. We do this by simulating deformations via inherent strain method and comparing the final deformations of the parts after support removal. 

Tata Motors team

Tata Motors Improves the Efficiency of Their Prototype Production

Solutions: 3-matic, e-stage, Laser Sintering, Magics, Stereolithography

With over 9 million manufactured cars, buses, trucks and other vehicles, Tata Motors is leading the automotive industry in India. And by producing the majority of their output in their own country, they contribute to the ‘Make in India’ policy of the Indian government, launched to stimulate the country’s growth. As drivers of the Indian automotive landscape, they ventured to intensively apply 3D Printing as a new technology for their prototype development, using both Laser Sintering and Stereolithography machines. But how do they make sure they use these technologies in the most efficient way?

The 3D-printed Titanium insert

Predicting Deformations of Titanium Inserts: The Power of Simulation Software

Solutions: Magics

Sandwich panels are used in aeronautics and aerospace applications where high structural rigidity and low weight are required. Together with ATOS, a global leader in digital services, we have developed a lightweight titanium insert design for a sandwich panel. The insert design was specifically developed for production with Additive Manufacturing (AM) and allowed for a 66% weight reduction of the traditional insert design, which has a brick-like shape.