Link3D Digital Factory
Additive manufacturing software developer, Link3D has introduced its latest product, Digital Factory, on the final day of TCT Show.
After 18 months of research and development, which included gathering huge amounts of data from customers of its On Demand solution, the Digital Factory has finally been released. It offers an array of capabilities which Link3D is confident will enhance collaborative workflows and result in better quality products and services.
"It's based on the loose definition of what a digital factory is. Our definition of a digital factory reflects the industry standard - it's making software and hardware connect with each other, automate and streamline processes. That's what our system does," Link3D CEO, Shane Fox told TCT. "We're like a new age. It allows companies to intelligently automate, streamline, and officially manage all additive processes and supply chain from the R&D stage, the metrology stage, to the materials side, all the way through to series production."
The Digital Platform has been brought to market to support global collaboration projects, doing away with the back and forth that partners have had to endure when working together. This is achieved by allowing all sides of a project access the same work inside Digital Factory, updating and saving alterations as they go.
"You can collaborate in real time, we have three-dimensional viewers, you can annotate on the drawings, you can set milestones, add permissions, so it’s one central place to collaborate," explained Fox. "What we’re learning with Industry 4.0 is a lot of engineers [want to be] centralised, or just big companies in general. You might have [people] in Ireland and the U.S. – how are engineers collaborating? Webinars, maybe they fly to see each other, maybe they talk on the phone, maybe they go back and forth in email. So what we do is we create this collaboration room, they all collate the drawing and they can all communicate in real-time and literally draw on it and annotate it."
Once happy with the design of the part, users can submit rapid prototype report orders, and based on their requirements, the order form will morph and the Digital Factory will intelligently route it, to the right facility and the right machine through its scheduling tool. For companies who require a quote internally, there is simulation for pricing. This tool simulates how long the part will take to build, and then an invoice is sent to the user's department, where at a click of a button the can schedule the part's production. This can be outsourced to a variety of service bureaux companies partnered with Link3D.
Digital Factory also boasts autonomous file repair tools and a digital part inventory to make easier the re-ordering or parts. Link3D is exhibiting at TCT Show from Stand B28.
