GROW software US patent
GROW, a UK-based software developer, has been granted a patent for a software solution which allows users to securely manufacture an additive design consistently.
The company has noticed the increasing growth in use and development of 3D printing technologies, in such industries as aerospace and healthcare, and sought to ensure the safety of the products born from it. GROW has considered the potential for users to accidentally intervene with a design, looked to guarantee that highly parameter-sensitive medical implants are made correctly, and avoid the need for quality assurance at every turn.
After years of research, development and refinement, GROW applied for the US patent (Publication No. US9604406) in 2012 and was officially granted it in June 2017. The company believes it has developed a software with security solutions, and the capabilities to erase opportunity for human error. It hopes the program will have a strong influence on the industry far and wide as it enters the ‘next phase’ of its growth.
The solution combines the machine process it is working in conjunction with and the 3D model to create an additive design file, which holds all the information and data required to print the object. This file can then be transferred to the manufacturing location, without allowing access, and exactly how the designer intended. When the part is printed, it should meet the designers’ specifications.
A post on Grow’s website expands: “GROW’s solution provides security from designer to client, at every step of the manufacturing process. No party can access any product geometries or intervene with the original design at any stage. The whole process is safe, secure, and protected from human error.”
Additionally, the consistency of output is ensured thanks to the setting manufacturing process instructions, no matter when or where you build the parts. Users can track each build, receive automated updates and access all necessary information to assure the quality of the print.
GROW has long been committed to impacting the additive manufacturing industry with its products. The company’s technology was developed inside Within Labs and since integrated with EOS and Arcam 3D printing machines. Part of Autodesk since 2014, Within Labs was set up to engineer design software and help progress the additive manufacturing market. GROW’s product looks set to continue in that spirit.
