A solution that provides easy access, quick and right selection of machines and materials for 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing is definitely a great move. And this is what Granta and Senvol’s partnership is all about. The teaming up announced that the first and most comprehensive database of Additive manufacturing (AM) materials and machines, Senvol Database™ will be available within Granta’s industry-leading materials software, GRANTA MI™ and CES Selector™. With this initiation, development teams will be better able to find valuable AM data and easily identify the best machines and materials for their projects. The new solution is to be previewed at this week’s RAPID 3D Manufacturing Event in Orlando, FL, (Granta is at Booth 637, Senvol is at Booth 775) and will be demonstrated at a web seminar on May 31 – details at www.grantadesign.com/events.
In the fast-evolving and emerging landscape of 3D printing and Additive Manufacturing where new products are coming out weekly and hundreds of industrial AM and compatible machines are in existence, picking the best options for a manufacturing or research project can be a tough call and a wrong direction can be very costly. Details of over 550 machines and over 700 materials are to be found within Senvol Database™ whilst users can search and compare material based on properties, type, or compatible machines using Granta software. In addition to this, identification and comparison of AM machines is based on supported processes, manufacturer, required part size, cost, or compatible materials (and their properties). It is also easy to find new ideas when researching AM options while focusing on the most productive route for a project.
Granta MI: Additive Manufacturing Package
Using GRANTA MI™ companies can create single, easily-accessible ‘gold source’ for all corporate materials data—both proprietary intellectual property (IP) and data from trusted reference sources. The GRANTA MI:Additive Manufacturing package provides best practice data structures and tools to manage AM data, capturing valuable IP for re-use, avoiding wasted effort, and building the knowledge base required to understand and improve AM processes. . Integration within this system makes the Senvol Database™ instantly accessible and searchable for scientists and engineers through the same web browser interface that they use for routine access to their proprietary AM data and their company’s wider materials and process information.
CES Selector™ software is an easy-to-use PC tool for plotting, comparison, and materials selection using materials data. Now its powerful charting tools can analyze and present data from the Senvol Database™—for example, quickly generating a plot to compare the properties of all Ti-6Al-4V materials that are compatible with a specific machine. CES Selector systematic selection features can filter machine and material options based on their properties and help the user to assess trade-offs in order to identify candidate machines and materials for a particular application.
CES Selector Sample Chart
Within both Granta products, the Senvol Database™ becomes part of a comprehensive, integrated library of materials data covering metals, composites, plastics, ceramics and more.
The latest Senvol Index is for Arcam (AP&C) Ti6Al4V powder processed on the Arcam Q20 additive manufacturing (AM) system, shown here. It includes data such as material properties, process parameters, powder characteristics, and the effects of hot isostatic pressing. The datasets were created for engineers who want to do AM material characterization for end-production.
(Source: Arcam)
“We’re pleased to be working with Senvol to further extend Granta’s solution for Additive Manufacturing,” said Dr Patrick Coulter, Chief Operating Officer at Granta Design. “The Senvol Database provides us with the best available Additive Manufacturing reference information, which both adds to our solution in this area and reinforces Granta’s strategy to provide the best single source of materials data across the broad range of engineering applications.”
Senvol President Zach Simkin added: “We’re extremely excited to announce this partnership with Granta. Granta is one of the clear leaders in materials information technology, and through their platform, for the first time ever engineers will have the ability to compare additive manufacturing data against conventional manufacturing data.”
