nTopology, a developer of engineering design software, and EOS, a manufacturer of industrial 3D printers for metal and powdered plastics, have announced the continuation of work on a new feature called Implicit Interop. The solution aims to remove one of the major bottlenecks in the additive manufacturing workflow by allowing complex designs to be uploaded in files of tens of megabytes, significantly reducing the time needed to complete the manufacturing process.
The first presentation of this feature took place in November 2022, and according to nTopology, it was enthusiastically received by the company’s partners and customers. The size of files intended for 3D printers can exceed tens of gigabytes, but the new nTop Implicit File format, developed in cooperation with EOS, can allow for up to 99% smaller file sizes, 500 times faster generation and 60% faster loading times.
The Implicit Interop plug-in for EOS clients, compatible with EOSPRINT 2.14, is expected to be available in June 2023. As part of the technology development presentation, a large industrial heat exchanger, developed by Siemens Energy, was shown. The project was exported to nTop Implicit File in just a few seconds and required less than 1MB of disk space. The file was then easily exported to EOSPRINT and used to fabricate the heat exchanger on an EOS M 290 industrial 3D printer.
EOS and nTopology are also working with the 3MF consortium to standardize the Implicit file format. The companies plan to further implement this technology into the industry standard 3D 3MF file format.
The introduction of the new Implicit file format can accelerate innovation, especially in areas such as topology optimization, design generation, and design for additive manufacturing. Complex part geometries are increasingly difficult to exchange using traditional data formats, which is a major hurdle to innovation in this area.
Source: www.tenlinks.com
Photo: www.ntopology.com (press materials / all rights reserved)