Belgian software and 3D printing service provider Materialise, has announced partnerships with HP, Nikon, and Essentium at RAPID + TCT to improve productivity and connectivity for industrial additive manufacturing.
The company also declared the scheduled release of its latest 3D printing operations management software, Streamics 8, next month. Fried Vancraen, Founder and CEO of Materialise, said:
“To take advantage of large-scale 3D printing in an increasingly cost-competitive environment, manufacturing companies require increased productivity and efficiency and seamless integration of 3D printing into their existing and proven production processes.”
“Overcoming some of the remaining limitations attributed to 3D printing will require continued innovation and collaboration to create a more open market model with more control, more choice, and ultimately lower cost.”
Materialise and HP
Earlier this month, HP and Materialise announced an alliance through its Digital Manufacturing Network following its launch of a new line of Jet Fusion 3D printers, the 5200 series and Fusion 500/300 Series.
Now the partners are expanding its collaboration to provide its customers with a seamless connection between the Materialise Magics 3D Print Suite and HP Jet Fusion printing systems. This allows for advanced data preparation and operation management in additive manufacturing processes. Furthermore, a Materialise HP Build Processor 2.0 is integrated into such HP machines to retrieve operational data for improved production monitoring.
This works in tandem with Materialise Streamics software to store relevant build- data for improved traceability. The Materialise HP Build Processor 2.0 is set to be available in the second half of the year. Additionally, Materialise is developing innovative solutions for HP’s new certified thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), ULTRASINT developed by BASF.
Nikon, Essentium and Materialise
Materialise has also chosen to partner with Nikon, a Japanese multinational supplier of advanced optoelectronics and precision technologies, to gain further insight into the 3D printing build process. This research is supported by Materialise software and the Materialise Control Platform.
Similarly, the company and Essentium, the Texas-based developer of the High Speed Extrusion (HSE) FDM 3D printing platform, announced a strategic partnership, which has been active since November 2018, to jointly advance and scale industrial 3D printing. As such, the companies have announced the integration of Materialise’s Magics Essentials software with the HSE 3D Printing Platform.
Materialise Streamics 8
In the collection of announcements, Materialise has detailed its Streamics 8 software which intends to increase connectivity with the industrial factory floor. Stefaan Motte, Vice President and General Manager of the Materialise software division, explained, “Despite increased awareness about the potential of connected, industrial-scale 3D printing, in-house 3D printing production processes are often still isolated hubs.”
“With the introduction of Streamics 8, our software tool to manage and streamline 3D printing operations, Materialise wants to transform those isolated hubs into productive and integrated production facilities, by connecting to existing production management systems and adding specific additive manufacturing execution capabilities.”
To learn more about Streamics 8 attendees at the RAPID + TCT Conference can visit Materialise at booth 1417.
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Featured image shows a factory floor powered by Streamics 8. Photo via Materialise.
