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Eiger Simulation.
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Eiger Simulation.
Markforged has announced the release of new Simulation features within its Eiger software platform following its acquisition of Teton Simulation.
A Simulation workflow in the Eiger software is now available to Markforged users as a free trial until April 2023, after which the new tools will be accessible via a paid subscription. It represents the completion of Teton Simulation’s integration into Markforged, just over six months after the Boston-based additive manufacturing company bought out the software firm.
With the introduction of Simulation capabilities in Eiger, Markforged believes it is replacing the slow and costly design/print/break testing cycles with virtual testing. This, the company believes, will help users to accelerate their adoption of Markforged 3D printing technology, by allowing them to achieve the learnings that come with design iterations with less time and less waste.
By harnessing Eiger’s new Simulation capabilities, users can validate part strength and stiffness through virtual testing by identifying anchor and load surfaces, before entering values for loads, safety and maximum deflection. Parts can then be optimised by automatically determining print settings for floors, walls, infill and, now, fibre reinforcement.
Speaking to TCT, Doug Kenik, the Director of Software Product Management at Markforged and former Teton Simulation CEO, said Markforged has been able to replicate the ‘power of Teton Smart Slice technology’ as it was as a plug-in to Ultimaker’s Cura, but with more control. When Teton Simulation first came to market, Smart Slice was made available as a plug-in to software platforms like Cura, but as reported by TCT earlier this year, the capabilities are now exclusive to Markforged.
The Smart Slice software now lives within the Simulation workflow inside Eiger, working to virtually test the performance of part designs against a black interface (in line with Markforged’s branding) as opposed to the white interface of earlier product versions. Simulation provides design guidance, assisting users as they input strength and safety requirements, while also giving designers access to surface selection tools and part displacement simulations. Notifications appear in red if they’re not going to meet the spec, and green if they are. Feedback around cost is also available.
Aligning with Markforged, Teton’s Smart Slice has needed to provide such guidance to continuous fibre reinforced components, which – by harnessing material data and some prior experience – has been done without a hitch.
“The code base that we had built out to run in Smart Slice was fully capable of continuous fibre composites,” Kenik told TCT. “The other interesting part of that, though, is the optimisation strategy because now you have more variables. When we’re optimising as Teton, you have control over infill density, you can locally reinforce if you want with chopped fibre-reinforced plastic, which adds another degree of freedom. So the optimisation strategy has had to contend with that and we’ll continue to build that technology out to selectively reinforce where we put carbon as we go, because carbon is expensive, and we want to make sure that users are getting the most value from it, while providing that critical information and performance that users need.”
Markforged
Steering wheel printed by Larsen Motorsports in continuous carbon fibre-reinforced Onyx.
Simulation is just the latest capability that Markforged users are able to benefit from inside Eiger. Its standard print preparation tools are enhanced with slice, simulation, MES capabilities from 3YOURMIND, and the AI-powered Blacksmith inspection tools. This array of tools work together, per Kenik, to give confidence that what was intended to be printed from a performance standpoint is what comes out of the printer.
“Now, with the combination of both [Blacksmith and Simulation] in Eiger, you have confidence that part is exactly what you wanted,” Kenik said. “You can save it in your digital file libraries, and you can reprint anytime you want, and Blacksmith will be telling you what you wanted is what you actually got.”
The Simulation capabilities are being made available initially via a trial period across the next six months, but they have also come through a beta testing programme. More than 30 customers in industries such as automotive, e-bike and jigs and fixtures have already been using the technology, with Larsen Motorsports the first public case study. Using Simulation, Larsen Motorsports printed a steering wheel in continuous carbon fibre-reinforced Onyx that matched the strength of its aluminium predecessor.
Explained: Why Markforged has moved to acquire Digital Metal & Teton Simulation
The steering wheel will be showcased at Formnext, while Markforged is keen to garner feedback from trial users through to April in order to continue developing the platform. This will involve monitoring failure rates, job errors, and usage of the software. There are currently around 50,000 monthly active users in Eiger, and though not all of them require assistance simulating structural applications, there is still a healthy number of manufacturers to support.
“Simulation enables our customers to adopt The Digital Forge deeper into their manufacturing operations by replacing more mission critical tooling and end-use metal parts with validated and optimised 3D printed advanced composite parts with continuous fibre reinforcement,” offered Markforged President and CEO Shai Terem. “Cloud-based software innovation like Simulation is core to our mission to bring industrial part production to the point of need.”
Markforged is exhibiting at Formnext in Hall 12.0, Stand D61.
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