Page 29 - 3D Metal Printing Winter 2020

AM Benefits from More Powerful Process Simulation 3D
CGTech officials. It reportedly enables users to visualize realistic appearance of material deposition and machine features; supports five-axis milling, turning and additive laser sintering; and simulates G- code programs for hybrid machines. BeAM officials confirm these capabilities, while noting the difficulty inherent in applying techniques employed in sub- tractive machining for the complexities of AM.
For example, operators of five-axis CNC machining centers recognize the high col- lision potential on these machines as well as the complex programming required. With no way to see in advance every aspect of the machining cycle, catastroph- ic events may be unavoidable. AM only increases that possibility.
“With a traditional five-axis machining program,” Kron explains, “you might gen- erate as many as 20,000 lines of G-code. On the other hand, for AM builds we reg- ularly create programs with 70 million lines of code.”
AM Showcase
Hence the need for Vericut in BeAM’s AM processes, but the software imple- mentation brought hurdles related to the immense data needed for AM.
Although Vericut did as promised, elim- inating future crashes, the extreme num- ber-crunching needed for some of BeAM’s simulations took longer than expected, even after adding computing power. Ver- icut software engineers reviewed BeAM’s unique deposition strategies and respond- ed by implementing software advance- ments designed specifically to meet those needs.
“We were faced with a constant stream of five-axis G-code, millions of lines of it,” says CGTech product manager Gene Granata. “On top of that, additive parts ‘grow,’ creating more part geometry prone to collisions further along in the machine cycle, which is the complete opposite of subtractive manufacturing. Vericut’s unique Droplet technology records every- thing that happens during the part build, allowing users to come back later and
analyze the build if something isn’t quite right.
“While all of this takes place,” he con- tinues, “Vericut checks for collisions between the deposition heads and the constantly growing workpiece―no small task by any means.”
CGTech, resulting from the collabora- tive effort supporting BeAM engineers, expects to incorporate lessons learned into coming releases of its software for AM. And, arising from their use of the tool path simulation and verification software system, BeAM engineers now feel more confident that there won’t be any simple but very human mistakes when program- ming their machine tools.
CGTech’s Vericut team delivered a new release of the software to BeAM within a few weeks of the initial simulation-length concerns, and continues to work with the company on additional enhancements.
3DMP
Article supplied by CGTech, Irvine, CA; 949/753-1050; www.cgtech.com.
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