Polygonica announces new functionality, plus new partnership
November 19, 2019
UK-based manufacturing software company MachineWorks Ltd introduced the latest features from its polygon-mesh modelling toolkit Polygonica v2.3 at Formnext 2019. Using MachineWorks’ unique Boolean engine, which has been continuously optimised since 1994, Polygonica reportedly offers fast, accurate and robust software solutions to both hardware and software AM manufacturers looking to solve complex geometric problems.
Among the new features offered by Polygonica 2.3 are:
- Gluing, a feature which allows parts that do not seamlessly connect to be joined without gaps. This can enable users to overcome issues when unioning parts with surfaces that are intended to be coincident aren’t quite, either due to issues with modelling or because of differences in how each surface is tessellated.
- An overhauled slicing system, driven by increasing customer demand for fast, memory-efficient slicing for large area print-beds, Polygonica’s slicing has been completely overhauled during the 2.3 release cycle. With improved performance and a reduced memory footprint, the new slicer is now in use in very high tolerance large-area printers.
- Anisotropic offsetting, developed as part of a continuing focus on variable offsetting, this new capability allows applications to offset parts by different amounts along each axis, providing more accurate compensation for material distortion for different build scenarios.
- Support volumes, a new function dedicated to generating the 3D volumes of regions where support structures are required. This function is said to deliver significant performance and quality improvements.
- Improved simplification; to facilitate the faster download of models from the cloud to the client device Polygonica’s simplification algorithms have been enhanced to preserve boundaries between faces with different sets of attributes e.g. colour and texture.
Dr Fenqiang Lin, Managing Director at MachineWorks Ltd, “The Polygonica software toolkit has become the de-facto component technology for the 3D printing industry representing an integral part of Additive Manufacturing software workflows. We’re excited to showcase its newest features at Formnext.”
CADS Additive & MachineWorks extend relationship to advance AM with Polygonica
CADS Additive GmbH, a producer of high-performance AM process data preparation algorithms and modules, and MachineWorks, a supplier of components to the engineering software market, have announced a close collaboration on Polygonica mesh manipulation. Polygonica is a leading tool for polygon-mesh modelling and is widely used in the Additive Manufacturing industry.
According to CADS Additive, the proven algorithms used within Polygonica have allowed its engineers greater innovation time and enabled them to address the specific requirements and challenges of high-end metal Additive Manufacturing.
CADS Additive focuses on the development of time and performance-critical services in the field of Additive Manufacturing. Its standalone AM-Studio software is available for machine users to buy directly through a variety of channels and is based on the Additive.Core build processor for slicing, hatching and infill, and the Additive.Support component for generating lightweight and structurally reliable support geometry.
The CADS Additive components can be found in the data preparation solutions of well-known software and hardware providers worldwide. In order to allow these services to outperform competitors, it is mandatory to ensure polygon data to be explicit and optimal in terms of accuracy. To ensure this, CADS Additive trusts in the functionality of Polygonica, whose mesh-healing and modelling technology has been used in CADS Additive’s product lines for several years.
CADS Additive is now extending its focus to post-processing workflows for AM. Speaking on the company’s decision to collaborate with MachineWorks to do this, Dr Daniel Stadlmayr, Head of R&D at CADS Additive, stated, “We are really happy to have a close working relationship with MachineWorks and the Polygonica team. The proven algorithms underpinning Polygonica have given our engineers more time to innovate and address the specific requirements and challenges of high-end metal printing.”
“Not only is our time to market shortened, but we’ve produced better algorithms as a result,” he continued. “Being not only a customer but a partner is what makes the difference between MachineWorks and others.”
Dr Lin added, “We’ve loved working with the CADS team. They are smart, fast and agile and, as with our other customers, meeting the continuously advancing requirements of high-end AM helps us keep Polygonica improving year after year. We fully expect to be very impressed by their next releases.”
