Simulate the build process for additive manufacturing applications.
The additive manufacturing (AM) process is changing the way products are made. It is a manufacturing method in which products are built up layer-by-layer by a specialized machine. Today, AM is still mainly a research and development activity as this process remains expensive and slow, preventing its use for large projects such as in the automotive industry. However, industrial applications are already linked to the printing of complex parts, which are difficult to produce by traditional methods. The primary goal is to create parts that are lightweight and have good mechanical properties. Repairing parts previously produced by traditional processes can also be a valuable application of AM due to the unique nature of each component. New revolutionary machines and processes are rapidly pushing AM from the prototype environment onto the production floor.
The additive manufacturing simulation capabilities in Simcenter can help you predict distortions and defects before parts are printed, thereby reducing the number of test prints and improving the quality of the final print.
Simulate the AM build process for powder-bed fusion using the selective laser melting (SLM) process. The setup from a part in the built tray, including support structures, is used as a basis. The user selects the parts to simulate and define printing process parameters (material, number of parts, layer slicing, laser parameters, etc.) and runs the simulation. The result is the temperature distribution and distortion of the part.
Simcenter computes the distortions of parts during the additive manufacturing process. Calculated distortions can be used to compensate for the part prior to the printing process. The initial geometry can be automatically morphed into the pre-compensated shape and replaced in the build tray for further analysis, or it can be sent directly to the printer to be printed correctly the first time.
