Strengthening and expanding the benefits of 3D printing in the manufacturing value chain
Preferential benefits expected in the aerospace, automotive, and tooling industries

Stratasys and Siemens announced that they have entered into a partnership to integrate Siemens' Digital Factory solution with Stratasys' additive manufacturing solution.

Both companies share a vision to integrate additive manufacturing into traditional manufacturing workflows, and this partnership aims to lay the foundation necessary to realize that vision. By establishing additive manufacturing as a universal manufacturing and production method, it is expected to provide related benefits to various industries, including aerospace, automotive, transportation, energy, and industrial tooling. This collaboration is based on Siemens' recently announced end-to-end solution that integrates digital design, simulation, and data management into existing additive manufacturing technologies.

Siemens and Stratasys have been continuously collaborating on various projects. For example, they are working together to enable seamless workflows from design to 3D printing by integrating Siemens' CAD/CAM/CAE solution, NX software, with Stratasys' GrabCAD print platform. In addition, the recently introduced Stratasys Robotic Composite 3D Demonstrator is collaborating to produce lightweight, powerful parts by combining Siemens’ PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) software with motion control and CNC automation technologies.

Although additive manufacturing technology has made rapid advancements over the past few years, additional standards are required for it to establish itself in volume production environments and be utilized as commonly as CNC (Computer Numerical Control). Additive manufacturing solutions must be robust, repeatable, and capable of providing reliable operational performance.

In addition, it must possess predictable properties across a highly diverse portfolio of materials guaranteed for specific applications. To achieve this, tight integration from design to production is required, and Stratasys and Siemens plan to address these challenges together.

The core of the 3D Demonstrator lies in advanced FDM (Fused Deposition Modelling) additive manufacturing technology that is synchronized with multi-axis. Based on Stratasys' scalable multi-operation architecture capabilities, this product provides the flexibility to integrate subtractive manufacturing, inline inspection and verification, and product finishing.

Stratasys' engineered materials are used to create structures with optimized weight and performance. As a result, a new hybrid manufacturing approach is possible that is not constrained by the limitations of traditional composite layups and layer-by-layer methods, and can meet 3D printing material requirements.

The new workflow of Stratasys Robotic Composite 3D Demonstrator begins with Siemens' NX software. Through NX, designers create parts to be used in the system, conduct simulations and tests considering manufacturability, and generate and send all manufacturing orders for part production.

During the manufacturing process, performance can be directly controlled or communicated through a Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM) system. As a result, a closely linked CAD-to-product workflow from design to production becomes possible, providing benefits such as production simplification, end-to-end traceability, and part quality assurance.

Motion control of the Stratasys Robotic Composite 3D Demonstrator is possible with Siemens' Sinumerik 840D sl CNC. Sinumerik control's open architecture combines the strengths of Siemens NC with flexible robot kinematics. The integration of Siemens' NX CAM and Stratasys' extrusion control technology for executing manufacturing commands enables a high level of autonomy in robotic FDM extrusion.