Virtual reality technology will accelerate the large-scale adoption of additive manufacturing.

Dassault Systèmes announced that it has partnered with Airbus APWorks GmbH, a German company specializing in metal 3D printing, to collaborate on advancing the use of additive manufacturing technologies in the aerospace and defense industries.

This partnership will enable the two companies to combine Dassault Systèmes' 3DEXPERIENCE platform with APWorks' expertise in new product development consulting, engineering and manufacturing in the virtual validation phase of the additive manufacturing process.

Dassault Systèmes and APWorks plan to expand the capabilities of their aerospace and defense industry-specific solution, "Co-Design to Target," to develop an integrated process that provides digital continuity of all engineering parameters across the entire value chain for additive manufacturing of components. This will enable the establishment of an additive manufacturing process from design optimization to replicable and scalable production.

Both companies anticipate that virtual reality technology will accelerate the large-scale adoption of additive manufacturing. Dassault Systèmes and APWorks' new end-to-end process provides a single source of data for upstream material design and downstream manufacturing processes and testing.

3D design integrated with engineering and simulation supports part optimization for additive manufacturing and ensures compliance with certification criteria through standardized parameters. Subsequent steps such as testing, optimization, and additive manufacturing of parts can also be aligned with the identified parameters, and OEM manufacturers can also optimize designs by performing validation early in the production process and identifying issues before actual part production through connections with production and supply chains.

“The 3DEXPERIENCE platform is a critical first step toward replicable and scalable serial production, and simulation helps predict and prevent part failures,” said Joachim Zettler, CEO of APWorks. “The aerospace industry is a safety-first industry, so new product launches are typically time-consuming. Virtual validation of the additive manufacturing process will enable us to rapidly deliver quality-assured additively manufactured parts, reducing time-to-market.”