Software to be enabled later this year
Today, the Altair Partner Alliance (APA) announced that 3-matic STL by Materialise will be available through the program in 2014. This software enables design modification, remeshing, and the creation of 3D textures, lightweight models and conformal structures, all on STL level. 3-matic STL is used to quickly prepare computer-aided design (CAD) files from topology optimization, as well as to clean them up for 3D printing.
"We are very pleased to join the Altair Partner Alliance. We believe that our technologies are complementary and thus strengthen each other," said Lieve Boeykens, Brand Manager for Materialise. "We are happy that we can offer Altair's customers a more complete solution when they are working with topology optimization, and look forward to welcoming them as our own customers. Together, Altair and 3-matic STL offer a complete toolbox to materialise topology-optimized files into real parts."
With 3-matic STL, design modifications may be made directly on the STL, the scanned model or the CAD data. Rough STL files can be smoothened, reconstructed and simplified, creating a cleaner part. Making changes at this level ensures that the file is immediately ready for further finite element analysis or 3D printing. Additionally, 3-matic STL can add lattice structure to the design, saving even more material.
"The combination of topology optimization and additive manufacturing methods not only creates expanded possibilities for design but also introduces interesting new challenges," said James Dagg, Chief Technology Officer at Altair. "By working as partners, Altair and Materialise can help the engineering community overcome these challenges, drive innovation and leverage the full potential of additive manufacturing."
Belgium-based Materialise will be visiting Detroit for the upcoming Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) RAPID Conference and Expo, taking place June 9-12 at Cobo Center. The conference is the longest-running exposition dedicated to additive manufacturing and rapid prototyping, including 3D printing and scanning.
Materialise teams up annually with SME to host an evening networking reception during RAPID, to which Jim Scapa, Altair's Chief Executive Officer, has been invited as a guest of honor in 2014. During the reception, Materialise will host a slot car competition to promote 3D printing and the Motor City. Altair's solidThinking team will participate with an entry developed using solidThinking Inspire® software.
Materialise will also be sponsoring the 2014 European Altair Technology Conference taking place in Munich, Germany from June 24-26.
3-matic STL is expected to be made available through the APA program for Altair HyperWorks® users later this year.
