Stratasys and Siemens have announced a formal partnership to integrate Siemens’ Digital Factory solutions with Stratasys’ additive manufacturing solutions.
According to the pair, the partnership is intended to lay the foundation for the two companies to fulfil a shared vision of incorporating additive manufacturing into the traditional manufacturing workflow in the hope that it will help it to become a universally recognised production practice, benefiting industries such as aerospace, automotive, transportation, energy and industrial tooling.
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Stratasys and Siemens have been collaborating on multiple projects including the direct link from Siemens’ NX software for CAD/CAM/CAE to Stratasys’ GrabCAD Print platform, as well as the recently previewed Stratasys Robotic Composite 3D Demonstrator that incorporates Siemens’ product lifecycle management (PLM) software and its motion control and CNC automation technologies, to produce strong, lightweight performance parts.
Zvi Feuer, SVP Manufacturing Engineering Software, Siemens PLM Software, commented: “We are committed to the industrialisation of additive manufacturing with all of its unique advantages, including complex part geometries, on-demand production and mass customisation.
“This relationship helps set the course for continued innovation and leadership through the tight integration of our product lines and through collaboration on comprehensive additive manufacturing solutions.”
Arun Jain, VP of Motion Control, Siemens Digital Factory US, said: “Siemens’ capability and commitment to the digital enterprise vision, along with its close collaboration with Stratasys, can help many industries realise shorter time-to-market, achieve flexibility in operations and improve efficiency in workflows through horizontal (machine-to-machine) and vertical (plant and top-floor to factory floor) integration.”
While additive manufacturing technology has made great strides over recent years, additional criteria are required for it to take its place in volume production environments and become as commonplace as CNC. Ideally, additive manufacturing solutions should deliver robust, repeatable and reliable operational performance with predictable properties across a broad portfolio of materials that are certifiable for specific applications and that are driven by a seamless, digital integration from design to production. Stratasys and Siemens plan to address these challenges.
Dan Yalon, executive vice president, products, Stratasys, said: “Together, our companies are joining forces to create a cohesive, best-of-breed technology foundation that enables large-scale manufacturers to enjoy the benefits of additive manufacturing in traditional production environments.
“We believe that the impact on production practices will begin sooner rather than later with the aerospace, automotive and factory tooling industries expected to benefit first.”
