Helio Additive
3D printing materials company Polymaker has invested in a Chinese start-up that is bringing to market a physics-based analysis software tool for slicing.
Helio Additive was founded in 2020 in Changshu, China, and believes it has the potential to ‘supercharge polymer and composite 3D printing’ by enhancing price performance, reliability and speed.
The company has developed its software after recognising the challenges of moving from prototyping to production. Harnessing its machine learning and physics simulation capabilities to link the printing process and required outcomes, Helio is seeking to improve the repeatability of 3D printing processes.
Helio’s software works to break down 3D models into individual voxels to plot the stress relaxation and thermal history of each voxel. Since some materials like PC and PA have higher co-efficients of thermal expansion than other polymers, the effects of the printing process on the parts differs depending on the material. By helping users adapt the way they slice parts, Helio believes its physics-based engine can compensate such effects, as well as manage warping and improve layer adhesion.
“In the last five years, hardware in 3D printing has outpaced the growth of software capabilities leaving a bottleneck for companies ready to adopt additive in their workflow,” commented Helio Additive CEO David Hartmann. “At Helio, our aim is to diminish the void between software and hardware and ultimately increase the output and reliability of 3D printed parts in production.”
Helio is currently working with Polymaker and AMESOS, who announced their partnership earlier this year to co-develop Fused Filament Fabrication 3D printing solutions. The company intends to bring an alpha software product to market later this year.
