Fraunhofer research applied to the ELISE platform

In the future, the young software company ELISE will implement research results on 3D printing from the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Additive Production Technologies IAPT in its software. On the open ELISE platform, development engineers can thus apply the pioneering methods of the IAPT researchers in real-world applications. The innovative ELISE software automates the entire process of developing technical components. Through the cooperation with the IAPT, the costs of new 3D printed components can be precisely estimated there at an early stage of development.

The IAPT application is integrated as an app into the ELISE open platform. There, it provides a cost comparison between different manufacturing processes and machines for developments in 3D printing. Daniel Siegel, one of the ELISE founders, on the benefits for corporate customers: “With this app, it is possible to take subsequent manufacturing costs into account as early as the design stage. We are convinced that this early cost assessment in the design process adds a lot of value.” The research institute’s app makes use of the design and price data available in the development process and links them into a total cost block. In connection with ELISE, this brings significantly more speed and efficiency to the development process.

The ELISE platform has completely automated the development of technical components – from design and simulation to manufacturing simulation and cost evaluation. The software thus revolutionizes a process that was previously still characterized by manual iteration loops with time-consuming coordination steps. Through automation, engineers are relieved of such tasks and can develop better products in less time.

Fraunhofer IAPT is one of the leading research institutions in the field of additive manufacturing in Europe. The collaboration enables ELISE to further develop its own software platform based on the latest research results for customer requirements. As a first step, IAPT developed a laser beam melting (LBM) cost component for ELISE. It is based on experience gained by the IAPT in numerous part screening projects. Efficient cost determination is always a high priority.

The IAPT app provides a fully comprehensive cost calculation block for parts to be manufactured additively already during development. The research knowledge was digitized and transferred into algorithms for this purpose. When using the tool, developers can determine in detail the production costs for their design in order to react in terms of design-for-cost.

Such an exact cost assessment of 3D printed components has been very difficult until now because a lot of process-specific data is required. The app developed by IAPT enables engineers to efficiently estimate costs in real-time while the part is still being designed. This cost determination takes into account influencing variables such as the choice of material and machine, labor costs, the position and orientation of the component in the overall system, or even the price of reworking.

Integration in the ELISE development software opens up a wide range of options for optimizing components. With the new Generative Engineering procedure, ELISE automates the entire development process. The engineer, therefore, receives a large number of possible variants in a short time, all of which meet the specified requirements.

In the long term, ELISE’s generative engineering technology is to be expanded in cooperation with the Fraunhofer IAPT to include further components for additive manufacturing.
www.elise.de

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