Stratasys, a specialist in polymer 3D printing solutions, is launching two new software
packages, GrabCAD Streamline Pro and a new version of GrabCAD Print Pro for PolyJet.
The first version of GrabCAD Print Pro for FDM and SAF has increased hardware usage
among some customers by 30-50%. Customers can better organise the front and back end
of moving and processing parts, giving them more opportunity to scale up their additive
manufacturing (AM) capabilities. They can also accelerate time-to-market by facilitating
rapid design iterations and reducing dependency on physical prototyping; reduce costs by
eliminating expensive tooling and moulds needed for traditional manufacturing; and
remove geometric complexities that are not feasible with conventional methods.

These new software packages help customers across multiple industries, including
automotive, aerospace and healthcare, take advantage of the complete Stratasys offering of
solutions across hardware, software, and materials.

The new GrabCAD Streamline Pro is a comprehensive workgroup software suite, powered
by GrabCAD Print. Designed to connect people, parts and printers, GrabCAD Streamline Pro
reduces the effort in managing a company’s entire fleet of Stratasys 3D printers from one
platform. It creates the opportunity for secure, centralized software workflows for efficient
part production at any scale, regardless of the number of printers or types of parts printed.
Building off the successful launch of GrabCAD Print Pro for FDM and SAF, Stratasys is
bringing the GrabCAD Print Pro package to its PolyJet technology. With GrabCAD Print Pro,
manufacturers have advanced capabilities to allow for more large-scale AM. GrabCAD Print
Pro also has advanced features that support workflow automation, which leads to more
sustainable repeatability, more consistent part accuracy and reduced prep time.
For more information www.stratasys.com

PTC has released the 11^th version of its Creo CAD software and the latest version of its Creo+ SaaS CAD solution. The launch enables engineers to deliver their best designs in less time and enjoy a wide range of enhancements for electrification, composites, model-based definition (MBD), simulation-driven design and manufacturing.

“Creo 11 and Creo+ deliver enhancements that design engineers will use every day,” says Brian Thompson, general manager of Creo at PTC. “Improvements to our AI-powered generative design and integrated Ansys-based simulation gives customers the opportunity to employ simulation-driven design earlier in the development process to improve time to market, initial product quality and manufacturing cost. PTC has continued to invest in Creo’s capabilities for MBD, composite designs and advanced manufacturing.”

For instance, optimised additive and subtractive manufacturing tools ensure greater efficiency and versatility in the manufacturing process. Improvements include enhanced lattice structure creation and smoother operations, such as four-axis rotary milling and area turning.

More powerful MBD tools enable teams to organise design data easily in simple tables that can be read by humans and machines with user-defined text, parameter callouts and semantic references.

As a further point of note, Creo 11 introduces new simulation-driven design capabilities for better design ideation, guidance and validation. Its generative design has been enhanced with minimum limits on feature size, bearing load support and constraints for planar symmetry.

In addition to the release of Creo 11, PTC is releasing the latest version of Creo+, which allows users to leverage the power and proven functionality of Creo in a SaaS solution with cloud-enabled collaboration and entitlement tools.

For further information www.ptc.com

AMS (Architectural & Metal Systems), a manufacturer of aluminium extrusion and façade systems, has achieved a 19% improvement in machine utilisation and identified annual efficiency and sustainability improvements worth more than €30,000 within three months of installing machine monitoring technology from FourJaw Manufacturing Analytics.

AMS, which employs more than 300 people at its 400,000 sq ft facility in Cork, introduced FourJaw’s plug-and-play machine monitoring system in December 2023 to measure machine utilisation and support its move to shift-based working patterns. AMS wanted to provide site managers with an objective view of production visibility during lights-out manufacturing and improve its ability to deliver products to customers within short lead times.

FourJaw’s platform, which AMS installed initially on several CNC machines, immediately provided reliable real-time data on machine utilisation, enhancing resource planning and enabling the manufacturer to identify areas for process improvements and cost reductions. Enhanced communication between managers and machine operators, and interventions inspired by analysis of downtime data, are enabling AMS to reduce time lost on each monitored machine by an average of 20 minutes per shift.

AMS is also improving machine utilisation levels, which ran at an average of 39.8% at the time of installing FourJaw, to 52.9% within three months. AMS calculates that these initial efficiency improvements are worth between €19,000 and €28,000 a year.

Analysis of energy consumption data recorded by FourJaw is also identifying opportunities to reduce energy use by as much as €8000 a year on some machines, as well as further savings worth €12,000 per annum by reducing energy wasted on machines that were not isolated correctly.

Chris Ryan, continuous improvement manager at AMS, says: “FourJaw was an easy investment to make and a giant leap forward in our digitisation journey.”

For more information www.fourjaw.com