Stratasys has released GrabCAD Print Pro 2025, an important update to its print preparation software designed to reduce time, complexity and cost across additive manufacturing operations.

The software update includes full integration of Fixturemate, a design automation application developed by Trinckle to simplify fixture design. Fixturemate allows users to generate production-ready fixtures in minutes – no CAD experience required. With full integration of Fixturemate,  and enhanced features like 3D textures, void body creation and multi-session support, the new version gives users more control over part functionality and throughput while simplifying production workflows and reducing reliance on traditional engineering resources.

Manufacturers increasingly rely on additive manufacturing to improve agility on the factory floor, but many still face bottlenecks caused by fragmented software workflows and the need for skilled engineering labour. GrabCAD Print Pro 2025 shifts the work of fixture design from design engineers downstream to AM operators – enabling users of the software to create fixtures independently within GrabCAD Print Pro instead of using different CAD tools by different users with specialised design skills. Simplifying this process reduces creating new fixtures from days to hours.

“Before GrabCAD Print Pro 2025, even a simple fixture might take a day or more and require CAD skills and a manufacturing engineer,” says Jeff McGarry, managing partner at Automation Intelligence. “With GrabCAD Print Pro 2025 and Fixturemate, we’ve dramatically accelerated our design workflow, turning concepts into printable CAD models faster than ever before.”

Adds Victor Gerdes, vice president of software at Stratasys: “GrabCAD Print Pro 2025 reflects our platform approach to AM – focused on eliminating workflow barriers while expanding material and printer support.”

More information www.bit.ly/46p2cJM

Rockets, artificial hearts, a Mars rover and vehicles including boats, jet-powered aircraft, cars and motorcycles were among the creations on display at the University of Bath’s recent 60th Engineering Design and Project Exhibition. Showcasing final year, individual and group design projects of students, the event highlighted the range of challenges Bath student projects seek to solve, from declining numbers of pollinators to drug delivery and sustainable urban mobility. Taking place for the 60th time in 2025, the exhibition pre-dates the University of Bath itself.

More information www.bath.ac.uk

Vision Engineering has unveiled its EVO Cam Halo, a 4K digital microscope that the company says redefines the standard for precision and clarity in inspection and measurement tasks.

Suitable for a wide range of inspection applications, EVO Cam Halo combines 4K image quality with adaptive illumination and new intelligent software.

Halo’s key features include 4K resolution, which reveals previously obscured details with clarity. A super-wide dynamic range ensures the user captures images with brightness and contrast, even in challenging lighting conditions. Additionally available with Halo is an enhanced Illumination package, including a quadrant light, panel light and white/UV light, to optimise illumination for a variety of inspection needs.

New intelligent hardware and software automatically detects lenses and adjusts magnification settings, ensuring seamless workflow and accurate results. Real-time insights are available that provide intuitive image capture, measurement and analysis tools, enabling faster and more informed decision-making. Vision Engineering’s established 360 Direct/Oblique Viewer also works with Halo, enabling users to inspect details from different angles, revealing hidden features that would otherwise be inaccessible.

Halo is suitable for a wide range of applications, including medical device manufacturing and testing, especially when inspecting translucent tubes, electro-polished devices or other medical components with enhanced clarity and accuracy. It is also effective at capturing fine details on small, reflective metal parts for precise inspection and quality control.

Commenting on the launch, Paul Newbatt, group sales and marketing director, says: “We’re delighted to bring EVO Cam Halo to market, improving the inspection performance available within digital microscopy. 4K image quality plus fully controllable lighting and flexible software available in multiple configurations means that our customers in a wide range of sectors can easily choose the most accurate and consistent digital system for their inspection requirements.”

More information www.bit.ly/457RoQ2

PTC has entered a strategic collaboration agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to
accelerate the growth of its Onshape cloud-native CAD software and product data
management (PDM) solution. The partnership will focus on product enhancements,
customer adoption programmes and AI initiatives, all of which are aimed at helping
designers and engineers create new, high-quality products faster and more efficiently.
The Onshape team and AWS will collaborate on several product and go-to-market priorities,
including the Onshape Discovery Programme, which allows qualified users to try Onshape
Professional at no cost for up to six months. This offer means engineering teams get to
experience the speed and collaboration benefits of the cloud-native CAD and PDM solution
for an extended period before making the decision of whether to adopt or not.

Another focus area is Onshape AI Advisor, which will allow users to design products faster
by cataloguing the vast resource library of text-based documentation and videos, and
answering questions or making recommendations during the design process. While
designing, users will be able to type a question in simple, conversational language and the
Onshape AI Advisor will respond with an answer or recommendation based on the resource
library. It will run on Amazon Bedrock.
Also, CAD and PDM conversion tools will expand intelligent data migration tool sets to
reduce the complexity of switching systems by preserving the parametric features and
sketch information of CAD models during translation.
“Onshape continues to disrupt the CAD and PDM market, with product companies of all
sizes choosing to switch and experience the speed, collaboration and productivity benefits
of the cloud-native approach,” says David Katzman, general manager of Onshape and Arena
at PTC.
More information www.onshape.com