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END-T -END WORDS: SAM DAVIES

It’s a slip of the tongue that lets us in on the calibee of companies Hexagon is working with.

The software fi rm’s Media Relations Manager is quick to ensure the name of the major aerospace OEM isn’t revealed in print. It’s a name you’ve heard before, seen before in this very magazine, but on this occasion, it’s not one that Hexagon can shout from the rooftops.

This aerospace fi rm comes up in our conversation with Mathieu Perennou, Hexagon’s Director Strategy & Global Business Development Additive Manufacturing (AM), as he explains one particular partnership with a company whose name can be divulged. In one of many diagrams used to illustrate a) the company’s wealth of solutions and b) its open ecosystem approach, the Authentise brand appears.

Authentise is a 3D printing management software company, bringing to market a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) designed for AM. As Hexagon’s play in AM has grown it has begun working with Authentise to address the needs of the end-user.

“We partner with Authentise, but [not] exclusively. We had a common customer, and it was a request [from them] to work together so that we can link left and right,” Perennou explained. “The idea for us is to be able to off er a complete solution; through our own ecosystem, as well as an ecosystem of partners.”

This ecosystem was highlighted by Hexagon at Formnext, as it revealed partnerships with the likes of Authentise and Elise, Stratasys and Renishaw, Solvay and Covestro. The latter two have aligned with Hexagon to support AM users in the simulation of the AM process, and the variables they might encounter on the polymer side, such as the eff ect of the temperature on the material. Meanwhile, Hexagon believes working with machine vendors helps to build confi dence in ‘performance, quality and repeatability’ of additive manufacturing workfl ows.

It supplements the array of software tools it off ers, spanning generative design; build preparation and nesting; AM process simulation; geometric dimensioning and tolerancing; and quality inspection. To address these needs, Hexagon incorporates the MSC Apex, Esprit and Volume Graphics brands it has acquired, as well as those off ered by collaborators, such as 3D Systems’ 3DXpert.

Importantly, Perennou stressed, Hexagon off ers complete fl exibility to allow customers to use the tools they are familiar with. Hexagon is currently rolling out Esprit Powder Bed Fusion - designed to rival Materialise Magics. But if the customer wishes to work with Magics, Hexagon won’t stand in their way.

As it continues to develop this end-toend ecosystem, Hexagon is looking to ensure a seamless connection between each phase of a customer’s workfl ow, while allowing them to collect and analyze data before, during and after production. There is also an eye on enabling in-situ monitoring and real-time feedback to improve the quality of what is outputted via the AM process. And that is the main motivation for Hexagon’s ecosystem.

“The process is still relatively young, so I think this [ecosystem] can help accelerate adoption,” Perennou said. “I think the tools that we provide in what we call pre-production workfl ow helps debug your production, but it’s also an educational tool, it helps you understand better how it works. We’ve got some customers who say you can print without simulation, but you cannot try [everything because] it’s costly, you usually run out of time. Simulation can help with so many things: be more creative, come up with new ideas, and understand better how the material behaves. You can get more comfortable.”

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