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Vector Toolpathing API

For laser- and extrusion-based Machines

Leverage true 3D geometric analysis for full control over your metal or plastic 3D printer toolpathing

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A powerful API for querying 3D geometry and defining toolpaths bespoke to the part, feature, machine or geometry being processed

For industrial 3D printing to support serial production, especially of many new part classes, toolpathing needs to be more sophisticated and automated. Dyndrite’s Toolpathing API enables fast and robust development of sophisticated toolpathing for comprehensive additive use cases.

Deliver features other toolpathing solutions fail to detect. Produce thin-wall parts, overhangs and deliver support-free metal parts. Dyndrite changes the game by  giving you control over parameter and toolpath development while allowing you to develop and maintain your own IP.

Quickly qualify and deliver difficult-to-print geometries, new machines and materials, while performing process compensation at the resolution of the machine.

CAD Geometry Import

The Dyndrite Hybrid Geometry Core supports native 3D CAD geometry to provide a seamless workflow of spline and metadata inherent within your model. Maintain the integrity of native CAD-based spline and B-Rep data throughout the entire workflow while using metadata to automate your build preparation. CAD-based color metadata is maintained to establish specific print strategies across the part such as required surface finish and treatment of complex features. This metadata may also be used to automate the build prep process, including indicating type of supports, orientation,  label placement, etc.

Have multi-gigabyte 3D geometry? Not a problem. The Dyndrite Hybrid Geometry Core handles massive 3D data including STL files containing billions of facets.

CAD colors are maintained during import. Use this metadata to automate the build prep process, including indicating type of supports, orientation,  label placement, toolpaths, etc.

New!

3D Volumetric Part Segmentation (without cutting corners*)

Dyndrite’s Toolpathing API surpasses current layer-by-layer based boolean toolpathing methodologies by utilizing its GPU-based voxel engine to enable advanced 3D geometric queries into the part.

3D fields are generated, thresholded, and booleaned to enable the assignment of different parameters within a single model using the API. The discrete zoning process allows you to develop a robust build strategy, resolving large and small features at the resolution of the machine. This enables high throughput in thicker sections, reducing the need for complex supports, and enabling new materials and special alloys. This ultimately allows you to expand the use of new materials and machines, further enabling new classes of parts or new part families.

3D Volumetric Segmentation enables:

  • True 3D segmentation of parts using field-based queries
  • Volumetric 3D assignment of parameters on each segment based on distance from upward or downward faces, or the nearest surface, while avoiding inefficient  2.5D up-skin/down-skin calculations
  • Generate “feature-aware” machine tiles
  • Use geometry to programmatically determine finely-graded process parameters
  • Identify upskin, downskin, orifice, fine vertical features
  • Compensate for other physical differences in a machine, such as laser angle-of-incidence
  • Creation of an unlimited number of thresholds, using the API, to deliver accurate parameters to each condition in the build

Example Output

Downskins, 5 distance thresholds pictured
Upskins, 5 distance thresholds pictured
Distance based inskin, 5 distance thresholds pictured

*  Machine oems tend to cut corners by conducting layer booleans up to 10 layers up and down in order to determine upskin and downskin. Unfortunately, cutting corners means features, such as thin walls, are missed, causing failed prints. Dyndrite’s 3D Volumetric Segmentation easily detects this and other difficult features.

Thin Vertical Feature Problem

The current state of the art, OEM provided software stack still uses a limiting, 2 & 1/2D layer-based boolean method, to determine what 3D geometry is being printed.

Current Solution - Boolean Layers

Comparison of slice layers above and below current slice fail to detect thin vertical features.

Dyndrite Solves the Problem

Dyndrite’s 3D Volumetric Segmentation surpasses current layer-by-layer based boolean toolpathing methodologies by utilizing its GPU-based voxel engine to enable advanced 3D geometric queries into the part.

Detecting Thin Features - 3D Geometric Queries

Features detected with 3D geometric queries provide the ability to vary machine parameters across upskin, downskin, and thin feature regions.

Slicing to 2D Segment Contours by Zone Type

Dyndrite’s multi-threaded, GPU-based slicing function enables rapid 2D slice processing.

Results are driven by zoning and segmentation and creates RGB color assignments and metadata on the 3D volumetric data. This extra metadata can be used downstream to enable control of energy input into challenging features, and define results such as support-free metal part production.

  • Slice and 3D segment data by using every bit, flop and clock cycle your computer has to offer
  • 3D feature, distance, ID, upskin/downskin/core metadata is added to all slices
  • Coming soon: Variable slice heights/Multiple layer thicknesses
Dyndrite Slicing Function Benchmarks

Offsetting Outer Contours, and Zones

Apply multiple  inner and outer offsets to each contour to improve the accuracy of the parts.

These toolsets enable:

  • Beam/Tool diameter compensation
  • Multi pass strategies for outer contours for certain surface finish

Process Parameter and Machine Constraint Assignments

Assign geometric and tool parameters to each zone, segment type, and layer.

Examples of API use cases include:

  • Custom layer-by-layer processing of tiling offsets
  • Custom layer-by-layer process of tiling angles/hatch angles
  • Custom layer-by-layer tool/machine tiling and stitching

These controls help promote isotropic material properties and minimize volumetric and surface flaws (porosity, surface roughness) associated with the use of multiple tools.

Machine Tiling

As part of the toolpathing process, tiling parameters can be programmatically applied regardless of how many zones are in place. For laser-based metal printing, this allows the end user to account for gasflow, the recoater, laser field-of-view, while load balancing across each tile or to create tiles to avoid stitching lasers within a part.

Use this toolset to:

  • Improve build quality by avoiding splitting CAD parts and being deliberate about stitching areas
  • Control how many tools are used to build a single part and where
  • Build pedigree for which tools build which parts
  • Maximize tool (laser etc) usage in multi tool (multi optic) machines
  • Improve build speed
  • Develop sophisticated multi-tool strategies
  • Load balance the energy output
  • Assign tool IDs to 2D slice data based on area, location, or angle of incidence
  • Shift machine tiles to enable distribution of the interface between tools within a part (as shown below as a side view) or potentially eliminating tool interfaces within a part altogether

Process Tiling (Macro Hatches)

Create tiling/tessellation on each  2D contour to distribute the physical process in-chamber. Each tile is indexed and contains geometric and process metadata for downstream processing. Each tile may also be overlapped to enable stitching.

Common tilings include:

  • None
  • Stripes
  • Checkerboards
  • Hexagons

Coming Soon: Your own custom tiling

Merging

Post process all previously created tiles for practical use of the tool by combining small path fragments and minimizing jumps.

Help improve:

  • Potential porosity
  • Build time/machine utilization

Filtering and Sorting

Determine tool exposure order based on metadata filters, sorting, queries and machine constraints such as gasflow.

  • Print into the gasflow to prevent spatter in appropriate Laser Powder Bed Fusion processes
  • Sort the process tiles in a specific order to balance thermal loads throughout the part

Example sortable and filterable parameters include:

  • Area
  • Perimeter
  • Centroid Location
  • Zone Type
  • Extents

Micro Hatch

Use the Toolpathing API to create hatch geometry inside the 2D contours from previously used steps.

Generate hatches in a contour with the following strategies:

  • Zig-Zag
  • Zig-Zig
  • Spiral
  • Coming soon: Even more flexibility and spacing filling curves

Common Hatching parameters include:

  • Hatch spacing
  • Offset distance/Overlap
  • Rotation
  • Length
  • Number of contours, and offsets

Merging and Sorting

Merge and Sort newly-generated hatch vectors as necessary. Account for hatch slivers, and machine constraints (like gasflow). Building on previous methods of sorting for parts and tiles, Dyndrite also allows sorting on fragments, vector location, and vector-type basis.

Sort order:

Part -> Type -> Location

Parameter Formatting

Programmatically generate a machine-specific job file.

Use all of the previously generated metadata to add tool parameters to raw geometric data.

E.g. on a machine basis control:

  • Laser Power/Tool Material Feed Rate
  • Laser Focus/Tool Diameter
  • Speed
Energy Input
(J/mm3)
=
Laser Power
Laser Speed x Layer Thickness x Hatch Distance

GPU-based Performance

The data in Additive manufacturing is exploding. Yet, controlling and being able to manipulate this data is required to produce exact, repeatable parts. Dyndrite effiencently manages data compute taking advantage of multi-threaded CPUs and scalable GPUs to enable users to handle even the largest datasets.

  • 1000s of parts per build with fully nested build volumes
  • 500 - 1000mm^3 build volumes
  • 3D nesting, supports, labels, and instancing


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30 years of 3D industrial printing