Raytheon and Hexagon develop a new software tool that predicts 3D printing defects in metal.

Hexagon, a Swedish software developer and Raytheon Technologies, a aerospace firm, have created a program to allow metal 3D printer users predict and prevent defects before they happen. 

Developed using the firms’ joint software expertise, the program is said to allow designers to evaluate the outcome of an upcoming print, without having to go through painstaking trial and error. Designed to compliment Hexagon’s Simufact Additive platform, the software tool is said to be launching with a similar UI, so that users can access greater functionality but don’t have to relearn interfaces. 

“We’ve partnered with Raytheon Technologies to deliver an intuitive and accessible tool that will help engineers quickly predict and mitigate risks,” said Jeff Robertson, Director of Global Business Development at Hexagon. “The ability to evaluate full laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) parts on the meso-scale will reduce the effort to achieve part certification and thereby support industrialization.”

Raytheon’s 3D printing excursions 

Raytheon, an aerospace and defense multinational, is based in Virginia. As such, the firm’s R&D efforts span multiple industries and technologies, but it has maintained a longstanding interest in 3D printing, particularly on the aerospace side of its business. America Makes announced Raytheon as the winner in July 2020 of one of its Project Calls. It also received a $841,000 funding prize. 

The firm’s project submission, which included input from its Intelligence and Space, Missiles and Defense, and Research Center divisions, proposed the development of a revised LPBF software workflow. Using this, Raytheon said it’d be possible for adopters to easily create topologically optimized ‘exotic designs’ with conventional additive materials, like optimized 3D printed optical mounts for the US Air Force. 

Engine manufacturer and Raytheon subsidiary Pratt & Whitney is also a long-term adopter of the technology. GKN Aerospace announced at the International Paris Air Show 2019 that it has expanded its partnership with the company to 3D print GTF engine parts, including a Fabricated fan case mount ring and fan spacer. 

Complimenting Simufact Additive 

Hexagon’s existing Simufact Additive program is designed to enable metal 3D printer users to slash time spent on testing, by simulating builds before they’re printed. The platform is compatible with LPBF, Direct Energy Deposition, (DED), and binder jetting technologies. It takes a multi-scale approach to tackling problems, which includes mechanical checking to full thermal-mechanical transition analysis. 

The platform itself is based around numerical simulation specialist MSC Software’s MARC solver, a technology that covers a wide range of physical effects that’s been adapted for 3D printing. Simufact Additive allows users to minimize residual stress, compensate for distortions and identify potential part failures. It also allows them to assess post-processing impacts, optimize build plate nesting, and more. 

Essentially, the program does so by enabling adopters to simulate prints before comparing results to a build’s target geometry, in a way that makes defects clear, and then highlighting fixes through analyses. According to Hexagon, Simufact Additive ultimately reduces the learning processes of manufacturers, while ensuring they optimize employee productivity and minimize their products’ times-to-market. 

In its latest software innovation, Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division has worked with Raytheon Technologies’ Pratt and Whitney business, to develop a brand new simulation tool. The technology is complementary to Simufact Additive and will allow designers to evaluate print outcomes using a combination geometries, print processes, and materials.

It’s also said the similarity of the software’s UI will allow for its easy integration into existing manufacturing processes without the need for extensive training, something David Furrer, Pratt & Whitney’s senior fellow for materials and processes, adds will “help manufacturers with all levels of experience make better products with greater efficiency.”

Though there’s no doubt Simufact Additive has proven popular, as its clientbase includes the likes of Audi, Mercedes and Jaguar, it’s far from the only software in this space. ANSYS additive Print, for example, allows users the ability to determine how materials are affected by stress or distortion during a build. It also provides corrective steps to ensure that the parts are correctly done the first time.

Similarly, Riven’s Warp Adapted Model software allows users to capture and use full-part 3D data from an initial design to identify and correct errors in minutes. The FFF, MJF, and binder jetting compatible technology are designed to work with Authentise AMES. This allows for full contextual data capturing which can be used to identify divergences in part models. 

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Featured image shows Hexagon’s Simufact Additive platform being used to analyze a part. Image via Hexagon.