Hexagon enables precision metal components with its Advanced Compensation process

Hexagon AB’s Manufacturing Intelligence division has unveiled its Advanced Compensation technology, combining process simulation and 3D scan compensation to eliminate trial-and-error in precision metal part production. The new hybrid process allows engineers to pre-deform parts for global distortions and then fine-tune problem features using optical/CT scan data, with no metrology expertise required.

The Advanced Compensation approach uses advanced geometry compensation to ensure large or complex metal parts ‘distort’ into their intended shape during the build process. By combining process simulation and 3D scan compensation, Hexagon states that even the most challenging parts, with tight quality tolerances, can be additively manufactured successfully with just one prototype build.

The technique enables the production of consistently high-quality components, even when producing thin walls that are prone to buckling or challenging materials such as titanium or Inconel. The hybrid process combines process simulation with metrology-based compensation, fast-tracked high-quality builds, reportedly achieving surface profiles that are 98-100% within tolerance.

Hexagon stated that Additive Manufacturing machine maker Additive Industries was able to manufacture a stainless-steel jet engine exhaust mixer with 0.2 mm precision with just one prototype build.

Alex Redwood, Head of Applications & Additive Studios at Additive Industries, explained, “Thanks to Advanced Compensation, we successfully printed a large 316L steel component with an impressive surface tolerance of +/-0.2 mm – despite natural distortion of over 3 mm in previous builds. Achieving this precision required only one previous trial build, reducing time, material waste and allowed us to reduce the supports structure to the bare minimum. This level of control and efficiency opens up new possibilities for large-scale Additive Manufacturing applications.”

This workflow is now built into Hexagon’s Simufact Additive software, allowing any user to pre-deform a part for global distortions using simulation then compensate that same build-ready mesh using a 3D scan. No metrology experience is required because the metrology-based compensation utilises VGSTUDIO MAX technology that can accept imperfect or incomplete 3D scan data to create a clean mesh that morphed from the nominal CAD, removing a practical barrier to this compensation method.

Mathieu Perennou, Director of Additive Strategy at Hexagon commented, “If you’re making a large complex geometry, simulation will save you time and money – even for a one-off part. But when simulation alone isn’t enough, we’ve made it much easier to take an optical 3D scan then compensate those remaining problem features so you can print ‘second time right’.

“This data-driven approach takes the guesswork out of printing small batch parts, and it can be scaled up to refine a process for larger volumes using digital twin approaches that consider not just the geometry, but also the machine parameters or material behaviour where part performance is critical,” he concluded.

Advanced Scan Compensation will be made available to all Simufact Additive customers in the Q1 2025 release.

If you are attending Formnext, Hexagon can be found at Hall 12, Stand B21.

www.hexagon.com

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