3D Printing/ Additive Manufacturing
Article

How Simulation Can Provide Confidence in Additive

by
The Engineer
January 17, 2023
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Summary

Virtual testing can provide manufacturers with a better system for adopting additive manufacturing than trial and error alone. Validating part strength and stiffness through advanced simulations gives engineers the power to see where parts fail and where they can save on material costs.

When it comes to manufacturing parts, confidence is everything. Engineers understand that additive manufacturing (AM) can be used to print jigs, fixtures, tooling and production components. Whether they choose to use the technology for critical end-use parts and applications, however, generally comes down to their level of confidence in whether or not the part is stiff and/or strong enough to withstand the rigours of use.

Finding a definitive answer to the question ‘how strong is strong enough?’, however, hasn’t always been easy to quantify. Traditionally, the best way to determine strength has been through one of two options: (1) trial and error - to print, test and iterate each design – or (2) to overdesign the part and hope that will work. Neither approach is ideal and both result in wasting valuable time, materials and throughput, all adding up to increased costs and significantly narrowing any advantages AM has over traditional machining.

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The Engineer
The Engineer

Founded in 1856 by Edward Charles Healey, The Engineer is a London-based monthly magazine covering the latest innovations in engineering and technology in the UK and internationally. Healey was an entrepreneur and engineering enthusiast with financial interests in the railways whose friends included Robert Stephenson and Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

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