Hexagon
Hexagon's Manufacturing Intelligence division has introduced a new Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) module as it launches its Nexus Open Cloud platform.
The Nexus platform, with its apps and solutions, has been developed to end silos and facilitate faster innovation and time-to-market speeds. It is said to allow manufacturers to connect Hexagon and third-party ecosystem tools to enable real-time collaboration and feedback between engineering and manufacturing.
Hexagon has brought Nexus to market with four initial solutions and apps, one of which is its DfAM capability. Processes such as DfAM, Hexagon says, have traditionally been siloed with at least three different engineers and separate software applications often being used to solv problems in isolation. The company has thus endeavoured to address this lack of connectivity and the cost, time-consumption and loss of data that come with it.
Nexus' Design for Additive Manufacturing solution is a pre-configured solution that is said to make it easier and more efficient for teams to jointly develop optimal printed parts and prepare it for a successful print with the laser powder bed fusion process. Customers will be able to use the Nexus web interface to connect Hexagon's MSC Apex Generative Design and Simufact Additive process simulation software with AM Studio from CADS Additive and Materials Connect via the cloud. This, the company believes, will allow users to easily manage access to projects. At launch, partners include Oqton, which will connect DfAM and similar pre-production workflows to its Manufacturing Execution System (MES), allowing customers to leverage data to improve lead times, address quality issues and empower operators.
Ben Schrauwen, Founder and SVP, Oqton commented: “We’re happy to bring Oqton’s MES capabilities and IoT machine connectivity to Hexagon’s Nexus platform. Like Hexagon, we are strong believers in open platforms and are excited to offer customers the best tools in the market, with real-time data-driven workflows that span engineering, design, and simulation processes. This next generation platform blends design and manufacturing to reduce lead time while helping to improve outcomes and quality.”
“Companies across the world are pushing the boundaries of innovation, and Industry 4.0 is bringing ever more tools, technologies and data sources into view,” offered Parth Joshi, Chief Product and Technology Officer for Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division. “However, the industry has a problem – processes and data sources are often siloed and team members struggle to collaborate across disciplines. This is severely hampering progress. If companies are to reap the benefit of smart manufacturing, we need to change the way we work. With Nexus, our aim is simple – to bring innovative minds together across disciplines and empower them. By leveraging Hexagon’s expertise in innovation, and by connecting people, technologies, and data we can help businesses bring ideas to life faster than ever before. We’re excited to see what customers will do with the technology from today.”
The other apps to be launched as part of Nexus include:
- Metrology Reporting, a Nexus App: The app connects Hexagon and third-party metrology data sources in Nexus’ secure cloud environment so that companies of all sizes can immediately report on previously untapped quality control data from their equipment to spot trends and identify tolerance issues. Any user can generate interactive three-dimensional CAD-based reports and insightful trend plots, KPIs and compliance documentation and up-to-the-minute data with colleagues, customers or suppliers.
- Materials Connect, a Nexus App: An all-new, cloud-based library for material data, that empowers manufacturers or material suppliers to manage material data, physical test data and behaviour models for use in product Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) workflows.
- Materials Enrich, a Nexus App: A first-of-its-kind Enrich app, it uses the Nexus platform’s machine learning capabilities and cloud-accelerated material behaviour simulations to help users find and simulate optimal materials that may have never been made or measured, improving the performance and sustainability of their products.
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