A collaboration between Renishaw, a world leading supplier of measuring systems and manufacturing systems, and Dassault Systèmes, has yielded a technology that is an advancement for additive manufacturing.
What is an additive manufacturing system?
An additive manufacturing system represents a complete technological setup that transforms digital data into physical three-dimensional objects through layer-by-layer material deposition. Unlike traditional subtractive manufacturing methods that remove material, these systems build parts from the ground up using various materials including metals, polymers, and ceramics.
The core components include specialized hardware such as powder handling systems, build platforms, and light sources, coupled with sophisticated CAD software for design file processing. Modern metal additive manufacturing systems employ powder bed fusion technology, where a high-power laser selectively melts fine metal powders to create complex geometry with high strength and dimensional stability.
These systems excel in producing lightweight components for industrial applications, particularly in the aerospace industry where weight ratio matters significantly. From rapid prototyping to final consumer products, additive manufacturing systems offer unprecedented design freedom while maintaining excellent mechanical properties and corrosion resistance across a wide variety of materials including carbon fiber composites.
How does this additive manufacturing innovation work?
Renishaw’s additive manufacturing systems now available within Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE® platform. Renishaw’s full range of RenAM 500 series of metal additive manufacturing (AM) systems and TEMPUS™ technology are now integrated into the 3DEXPERIENCE virtual machine from Dassault Systèmes. Users of the 3DEXPERIENCE DELMIA Powder Bed Machine Programmer Role can now set-up, program and analyse additive manufacturing processes for Renishaw AM systems.
A virtual machine is an exact representation of a machine in the virtual world, with all its parameters. You can launch a production run and make virtual parts; it’s unique in terms of quality validation,” said Jérémy Mossé, Team & Application Manager at Dassault Systèmes.
Productivity breakthroughs with TEMPUS technology
The 3DEXPERIENCE DELMIA Powder Bed Machine Programmer (APB) Role provides a 3D interactive environment that enables manufacturing engineers to optimise powder bed fusion manufacturing techniques. This now includes Renishaw’s TEMPUS technology – an innovative scanning algorithm, exclusive to the RenAM 500 series of AM machines. It enables the laser to operate while the recoater is in motion, achieving time savings of up to nine seconds per build layer without compromising part quality. As a result, overall build times can be reduced by as much as 50%.
This collaboration enables a unique approach to efficient metal 3D printing. The combination of Renishaw’s TEMPUS technology and the end-to-end unique solution provided by the 3DEXPERIENCE platform will break silos and open a new stage for additive manufacturing industrialization. Partnering with 3D printer manufacturers maximises efficiency by optimising build preparation and streamlining build jobs. This enables manufacturing at all volumes and levels of customisation, allowing users to scale production,” said Olivier Scart, DELMIA Alliances Director Partnerships at Dassault Systèmes.
The Advantages of an AM end-to-end solution
The DELMIA product range from Dassault Systèmes specialises in global industrial operations software focused on digital manufacturing and simulation. The DELMIA Additive Manufacturing tools facilitate effective data management throughout the AM process. The 3DEXPERIENCE platform provides an end-to-end solution that streamlines data collection and analysis, allowing manufacturers to ensure certification and replication capabilities.
TEMPUS™ technology offers key productivity advantages to Renishaw’s market-leading range of metal additive manufacturing systems.
“This technology allows the lasers to work continuously while the recoater supplies and positions each layer of powder, significantly increasing productivity and reducing the manufacturing cost per part. With TEMPUS technology, Renishaw has successfully solved an inefficiency in the traditional laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) production process, and paved the way for AM use in a broad range of applications where it wasn’t previously cost effective,” said Matt Parkes, AM Strategic Development Manager at Renishaw.
Thanks to the collaboration between Renishaw and Dassault Systèmes, the DELMIA Additive Manufacturing Software on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform offers a number of advantages to users of Renishaw’s AM technologies. These include part validation for the performance of the parts before they are 3D printed; part simulation of the AM process to virtually explore all the machine parameters specified for a build; part traceability between engineering and manufacturing to ensure an accurate replication of parts; and increasing 3D printer productivity to cut part build time without impacting quality.
Where to learn more:
- For TEMPUS technology, visit www.renishaw.com/tempus
- Further information about Renishaw at www.renishaw.com
- Read about DELMIA Additive Manufacturing at https://www.3ds.com/products/delmia/industrial-engineering/additive-manufacturing
Renishaw is a world leading supplier of measuring systems and manufacturing systems. Its products give high accuracy and precision, gathering data to provide customers and end users with traceability and confidence in what they’re making. This technology also helps its customers to innovate their products and processes.