Simufact Additive 4 in the starting holes

Hamburg, Germany, November 8, 2018 – Simufact, an MSC Software Company, brings to market Simufact Additive 4 – the next generation of its solution for the simulation of metal additive manufacturing processes. Simufact Additive is a scalable, practitioner-oriented simulation solution predicting distortion, stress, and temperature effects. The software helps optimizing build preparation, build simulation and subsequent steps in the AM process chain, including Heat Treatment, cutting the base plate, removing supports and Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP).

“Our new version 4 underlines our ambitions to provide the best overall process simulation package – concerning speed, accuracy, functionality, and usability,” states Dr. Gabriel Mc Bain, Simufact´s Senior Director Product Management.

Automation and assistant functionality for investigation and optimization

“The software comes with a workflow-oriented user interface, which our customers report as the best-in-class GUI,” Dr. Patrick Mehmert, Product Manager Additive Manufacturing, says. “We will further strengthen our ease-of-use approach with new functionality available in Simufact Additive 4, which efficiently guides the user through the simulation process workflow and supports him with new automation and assistant functionalities.”

The software helps to identify the best build orientation, predict and completely compensate final part distortion automatically below a given threshold, optimize support structures automatically, identify overheated or not sufficiently heated zones and predict manufacturing issues such as cracks, shrinklines, and recoater contact – before they occur.

Consider more effects, gain more accuracy: Pre-heating and fully nested base plates

Users can now consider the effects of pre-heated base plates or build spaces and can achieve more accurate simulation results for fully nested base plates and build spaces. 

Integrated support generation technology

Support structures play a significant role in achieving first-time-right print results. Simufact Additive offers integrated support structure capabilities, based on Materialise’s expertise, which allows users to visualize the support structures and perform basic operations, such as adjusting the density and angle of the supports.”

AM process chain: More interoperability

Another focus point for the new release is to strengthen the process chain capabilities: “Our open software concept allows interfacing with third party solutions in the AM process chain, such as OEM build preparation software – Renishaw´s QuantAM is an example – and Materialise Magics,” Mc Bain says.

Furthermore, the software can export the simulation results in 3D universal format e.g. for structural analyses or fatigue calculation.