At the beginning of May, HP and Siemens announced that they would be intensifying their additive manufacturing alliance. One aim of the strategic partnership is to support their customers, primarily from the automotive and industrial sectors, on the path to industrial additive manufacturing. This also includes making the manufacturing process more efficient, from design and simulation to production planning, execution, quality and control. To achieve this, the two companies are expanding their offering and integrating new systems and software solutions into their portfolio.

HP's 3D printing and 3D data platform will be combined with Siemens' digital industries software, including Siemens NX CAD/CAE, NX AM for the HP Multi-Jet Fusion software module with a direct printer interface, Teamcenter for PLM, Tecnomatix Plant Simulation, Simatic IT for manufacturing execution and MindSphere for performance analytics and Industrial IoT. The combination of the digital twin of product, production and performance with MindSphere will enable the series production of plastic parts in medium quantities. In addition, the new industrial 3D printing system JetFusion 5200 from HP will be integrated into Siemens' digital enterprise offering.

The expansion of the strategic collaboration was announced as part of the expansion of the Siemens Additive Manufacturing Experience Center (AMEC) in Erlangen to include a new Polymer Competency Center. There, both companies want to develop product designs together with automotive and industrial customers in order to bring 3D printed parts to market faster. HP also used the opening to present the Jet Fusion 5200 3D printer for industrial use.

Materials for additive manufacturing

In the field of materials for additive manufacturing, BASF 3D Printing Solutions is working together with Paxis LLC. The latter is currently developing the WAV process (Waved Applied Voxel), a new process that is fully scalable in the X, Y and Z axes and can be used to quickly produce very large or many small components. Several materials with different viscosities can be used within the same component. The WAV process was developed from an end-user perspective to solve problems with trapped volume within liquid resin-based technologies. The two companies are now working together with end customers to customize the materials for the final application.

The photopolymer materials in the Ultracur3D ST series are suitable for WAV technology due to their tough material properties and are qualified for early development access. They include proven and new photopolymers for various printing processes such as digital light processing (DLP), stereolithography (SLA) or with liquid crystal display (LCD).

Paxis focuses on end applications in the aerospace, automotive, dental and medical sectors, as well as identifying potential vertical markets that are not addressed by existing technologies.

Deutsche Edelstahlwerke, or DEW for short, is an ideal partner in the field of metal printing. The Schmolz + Bickenbach Group company offers application-specific materials in addition to classic metal powder alloys. The requirements are discussed with the customer during the prototyping process and the appropriate material and manufacturing process are selected. If none of the classic metal powder alloys are suitable for the application, application-specific materials are developed. In addition to aviation, target markets include medical technology, mechanical engineering and toolmaking as well as lightweight automotive construction.

Integrating additive manufacturing into the factory floor

Materialise entered into several collaborations. The manufacturer of software solutions and services for 3D printing has intensified its collaboration with HP and developed a new version of the Build Processor. This supports HP's Multi Jet Fusion 3D printers, including the Jet Fusion 5200 and Jet Fusion 500/300, providing users with a seamless connection between the Materialise Magics 3D Print Suite and HP's Jet Fusion printing solutions. In addition, the Materialise HP Build Processor 2.0 allows users to retrieve operational data from HP printers. In combination with the Streamics software, relevant part data can be stored for better traceability.

Materialise has also entered into a partnership with optoelectronics specialist Nikon to improve insight into the 3D printing process. The research activities are supported by the Software and Control Platform. The aim of the collaboration is to increase the analysis and control options of the construction process and thus boost productivity.

With documents from Siemens, Materialise and Deutsche Edelstahlwerke / ag