Renishaw and Altair Collaborate to Bring Metal 3D Printing to Industrial End Users

Renishaw has joined forces with Altair for a series of projects aimed at bringing additive manufacturing (AM) into serial end-use production.

“Altair is a world leader in simulation-driven design,” says Stephen Anderson, AM business development manager of Renishaw Inc. “Research combining their software with our latest systems will give them practical insights that will lead to innovative improvements in their products.”

According to David Coates, senior program manager at Altair, “Working closely with Renishaw benefits the development and application of our software to optimize designs for functionality as well as for printability, accuracy and suitability for its designated purpose. This collaboration helps ensure AM part development, print cycles and scrap rates are minimized for our customers.”

Renishaw and Altair have worked closely together for many years, collaborating on multiple projects including working with the Robot Bike Co. on a frame that is uniquely customized for every rider, a “spider” bracket for architectural glass panels and a pivoting bell crank for the suspension system of a race car.

Altair’s simulation-driven software enables users to generate high-quality, reliable designs with confidence that will print “right the first time.” Through their association, Renishaw has been able to leverage Altair’s software products such as the Altair HyperWorks suite, which includes Altair Inspire and Altair OptiStruct. Meanwhile, Altair has been able to rely on using Renishaw’s range of metal 3D printing systems to successfully manufacture products from customers’ concepts.

Now the two teams are offering joint seminars, workshops and training events to customers that practically demonstrate metal AM production from powder to part, with emphasis placed on throughput and machine productivity.

In addition, customers can engage in AM design projects with Altair to develop designs ideally suited for function and printability on the Renishaw series of printers. Similarly, customers wishing to use Renishaw Solutions Centers to design and test out the manufacturing of metal AM parts, can rely on Altair software and expertise to help get the job done.

“Together with Altair, we are collaborating on customer-focused productivity projects, particularly in the automotive sector, which will lead to significant improvement in part volumes and lower costs per part,” Anderson says.

“With Renishaw’s help, we are learning about how to best generate and simulate products for multiple laser systems and are actively thinking about laser assignment strategies within our simulation models,” Coates says.