Magics 26 Offers New CAD, Mesh Capabilities for Part Editing, Preparation

Materialise’s Magics 26, the latest version of its data and build preparation software, is said to combine support for native CAD workflows with its existing mesh capabilities. This is said to provide users with the best of both worlds, enabling them to boost productivity while maintaining quality by choosing the optimal workflow for each 3D printing project.
  
It is said Mesh and CAD each offer unique benefits when editing and preparing files for 3D printing. CAD offers a higher resolution than mesh for part editing. Mesh offers a consistent file format that ensures quality and compatibility with today’s industry standard 3D printers, especially during build preparation. The mesh file format is said to contain all of the information about the inside and outside of 3D models necessary to slice parts and begin 3D printing. 
 
Materialise believes the way forward is to combine mesh and CAD for data preparation in 3D printing, with the software designed to provide the optimal workflow for each 3D printing project. One enhanced feature is Part Scene which enables users to edit CAD-based parts in addition to mesh-based Part and Platform Scenes for editing, fixing, analyzing and build preparation. Users can choose the preferred workflow based on their 3D printing project requirements and edit their parts in mesh or in CAD format.
 
The CAD-workflow for part editing is said to support users who have projects that demand a close alignment or frequent exchange between design and data preparation. Editing and saving parts in a CAD-native format enables Magics users to maintain part integrity and to use cleaner, high-resolution CAD-files. This helps to reduce time between design iterations, and improves stability and repeatability by preventing errors that may occur in transitions between file types, the company says. It is said the CAD workflow enables users to adapt and edit parts up to the point when they are optimized and ready for 3D printing before switching to build preparation.  
  
Magics 26 is also said to offer new mesh capabilities with improved support generation and advanced automated nesting help to lower the scrap rate and increase productivity. Flexible cone and tree supports can be enhanced with braces to improve the stability of prints. The advanced automated nesting enables a higher part density and offers the option to generate supports between parts when producing with electron beam melting and binder jetting. It is said the supports improve heat dissipation to decrease warping and prevent parts from fusing together during the printing process.