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Simufact Additive 2024.3 Introducing Simufact Additive

The Simufact Additive Tutorial 2024.3 provides comprehensive guidance on using the Simufact Additive software, covering both basic and advanced functionalities through step-by-step instructions. It includes various modules for simulating metal-based manufacturing processes, defect analysis, and post-processing, along with a detailed overview of the graphical user interface. The tutorial aims to enhance user understanding and efficiency in additive manufacturing simulations.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)

748 views469 pages

Simufact Additive 2024.3 Introducing Simufact Additive

Uploaded by

Douglas Fortunato

We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.

Available Formats

Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Tutorial

Simufact Additive
Simufact Additive Tutorial 2024.3

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 1
Copyright © 2024 Hexagon AB and/or its subsidiaries. All rights reserved.

This documentation, as well as the software described in it, is furnished under license and may be used only in accordance with the terms of such license.

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Contact
[Link]
Table of contents
Simufact Additive tutorial
Throughout this
◆ This tutorial is intended for all users of Simufact Additive. It will present tutorial a lot of
basic and advanced capabilities of the software based on step-by-step helpful tips and
instructions and provide some background knowledge. tricks will be shown
in this sidebar. The
◆ The chapters are as follows: categories are:
◆ Introducing Simufact Additive
◆ GUI Overview Note: helpful
◆ Example: Quickstart information for
◆ On the next slide the starters
◆ Introducing the Inherent Strain Method
◆ Example: Mechanical Simulation relevant application Tip: hints and
◆ Spatial Distributed Calibration - Mechanical modules are assigned to background
information
◆ Introducing the Thermal Cycle Method each chapter. Important:
◆ Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
essential information
◆ Calibration Summary
◆ Example: Distortion Compensation
Warning: risk of
data loss or
◆ Example: Support Optimization
malfunctions
◆ Cost Estimation
Caution:
◆ Example: Heat Treatment
possible sources of
◆ Example: PBF process & defect analysis
errors
◆ Example: Metal Binder Jetting
◆ Example: Machining
Infosheet

Copyright © Hexagon AB
◆ Materials for Additive
◆ Postprocessing
Tutorial chapter
◆ Example: Geometry Inspection Demo example
◆ Scripting Capabilities
◆ Nexus

Simufact Additive Tutorial 3

Table of contents
Simufact Additive tutorial
Metal powder bed PBF process & defect Metal binder Machining Geometry
fusion (MPBF) analysis (PDA) jetting (MBJ) inspection

Module Relevant chapter

• Introducing Simufact Additive
• GUI Overview
• Materials for Additive
All modules • Postprocessing
For a basic
• Scripting Capabilities explanation of these
• Nexus modules refer to the
• Example: Quickstart chapter Introducing
• Introducing the Inherent Strain method Simufact Additive
• Example: Mechanical Simulation
• Spatial Distributed Calibration – Mechanical
• Introducing the Thermal Cycle Method
MPBF •
•
Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Calibration Summary
• Example: Distortion Compensation
• Example: Support Optimization
• Cost Estimation
• Example: Heat Treatment

PDA • Example: PBF process & defect analysis

Machining • Example: Machining

Geometry inspection • Example: Geometry Inspection

Simufact Additive Tutorial 4

Tutorial

Introducing Simufact Additive

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Back to p.1
Simufact Additive Tutorial 5
Introducing Simufact Additive
Simufact product lines
◆ Simulating manufacturing
◆ Supporting the optimization of metal-based manufacturing processes
◆ Manufacturing oriented process simulation

Part of
• Forming processes • Structural Welding
• DED

Binder Jet Sintering

Laser Powder Bed Fusion Binder Jetting Machining Geometry

Simufact Additive Tutorial 6

Introducing Simufact Additive
Simufact Additive help and documentation system:
◆ Simufact Additive aims to provide you with the required information where
you need it.
◆ Keep an eye out for brief descriptions, linked infosheets , tutorial
chapters or demo models !
◆ Simufact Demos maintains some example processes. Some of these
processes are explained in the chapters of this tutorial.
◆ These demos will help you set up similar processes with ease.
Infosheets are
linked in most
dialogs and provide
more background
information.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 7
Introducing Simufact Additive
Simufact Additive help and documentation system:

◆ We have created a video where a complete set up of a printing process

with a subsequent heat treatment is introduced.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 8

Introducing Simufact Additive
Different modules in Simufact Additive
◆ Simufact Additive comes with five different application modules:
Metal powder bed PBF process & defect Metal binder Machining Geometry
fusion (MPBF) analysis (PDA) jetting (MBJ) inspection

These
◆ Simulate your Powder Bed Fusion process with the MPBF and PDA application modules
modules. and dedicated
functionalities in
▪ MPBF includes an automated distortion compensation, a fast purely mechanical Simufact Additive
and a thermal-mechanical coupled approach and subsequent heat treatment might be licensed
processes among other things. separately
▪ PDA is a fast analytical approach to detect defects during printing.
◆ Simulate the shrinkage of your part during sintering with the MBJ module,
including an automated distortion compensation.
◆ The machining module allows a simulation of the relaxation of the part by

Copyright © Hexagon AB
removing machined volumes in a specific sequence.
◆ Compensate geometries based on a 3D scan with the geometry
inspection module without carrying out a time-consuming simulation.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 9

Introducing Simufact Additive
Powder Bed Fusion
Simufact Additive provides two different solutions for Laser PBF simulation, that have different
capabilities.

PBF process and Defect analysis (PDA) can be placed before our Metal Powder Bed Fusion
(MPBF) process simulation to identify the best process settings for your part to be printed defect
free.

Pass process
settings

• Time saving PDA trials. • Detailed simulation of the MPBF process based on the
• Analyze your process settings for early defect PDA identified settings.
prediction. • Calculate part distortions after build and post build
• Identify the best PBF process settings to print defect- stages.
free parts. • Compensate the distortions on the part.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
• Pass these settings to MPBF process simulation. • Export the compensated part to the real Machine.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 10

Introducing Simufact Additive
Possible issues during PBF
◆ Defects during printing
▪ Keyhole formation
▪ Lack of fusion
▪ Balling
▪ High surface roughness
◆ Distortion
▪ Part outside tolerances Source: Contact-Free Support Structures for Part
Overhangs in Powder-Bed Metal Additive
Source: NDES
▪ Recoater contact Manufacturing Kenneth Cooper Phillip Steele, Bo
Cheng, Kevin Chou

◆ Residual stresses
▪ Cause cracking
▪ Failed supports can lead to distortion
▪ Reduce strength and fatigue life
◆ High production costs due to missing process optimization

➢ Possible Build Job Abortion

➢ Iterative Trial & Error

Simufact Additive Tutorial 11

Introducing Simufact Additive
Process chain coverage Powder Bed Fusion

We aim at covering a wide range of the AM process chain including:

◆ Build preparation of your printing job
◆ Simulation of:
▪ Printing the part
▪ Stress relief heat treatment/ Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP)
▪ Cutting the part off the base plate
▪ Removal of supports
▪ Relaxation of the part after machining with the

Simufact Additive Tutorial 12

Introducing Simufact Additive
Build preparation with Simufact
Simufact Additive provides various build preparation capabilities:
◆ Find the ideal orientation based on your criteria with the orientation
assistant
◆ Create supports and nest your parts

◆ After finding a compensated geometry with simulation,

define your scan strategy for your machine

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 13
Introducing Simufact Additive
Defect analysis
Check for possible defects in your printing strategy

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 14
Introducing Simufact Additive
Virtually explore the influence of the process chain
Build Stage
(Initial stage) Heat Treatment/ HIP Cooling

Cut from Base Plate Remove Support Structures

Simufact Additive Tutorial 15

Introducing Simufact Additive
Simulation approaches
◆ For the PDA module a fast analytical heat solver is used to calculate the
temperature field and process defects
◆ The MPBF module is based on a FE-Solver with a simplified printing
process simulation to achieve acceptable simulation times:
▪ Mechanical Inherent Strain approach
➢ Extremely fast
➢ Element layer (> powder layer) analyzed in one increment
➢ Delivers Distortions & Stresses
▪ Thermal/ Thermomechanical approach

Detail
➢ Thermal or thermo-mechanical coupled

Speed
➢ Simplified thermal cycle approach
➢ Element layer analyzed in multiple increments
➢ Able to deliver approximate thermal history and derived results
▪ Heat source model
➢ Moving Heat Source Model
➢ High level of Detail
➢ Full transient thermo-mechanically coupled, i.e. welding
➢ Not possible with Simufact Additive but with Simufact Welding

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 16
Introducing Simufact Additive
Sintering simulation
Simulation of the sintering process after Binder Jetting including an
automatic distortion compensation.

◆Thermo-viscoplastic approach
◆Including shrinkage, gravity, friction, grain
growth
◆Direct import of dilatometry data for easy
definition of densification
◆Modelling of parts and ceramic/deformable setters

Simufact Additive Tutorial 17

Introducing Simufact Additive
Compensation of distortions
◆ At the end of the process, your part needs to
meet your tolerances
➢ Create your compensated input geometry with
an automated distortion compensation approach

Printing of CAD- Compensated Compensated

Simufact Additive Tutorial 18

Introducing Simufact Additive
Further capabilities
Furthermore, Simufact Additive offers following capabilities:

With the Machining module you can simulate elastic relaxation after removing
volumes through machining.
➢ Importing geometries with residual stresses as prestate allows simulation of
general machining processes, not only for additive manufactured parts!

The Geometry Inspection module enables you to compare two geometries and
compensate based on the surface deviation
➢ Allows to compensate on 3D scan!

Simufact Additive provides in-built Python scripting capabilities to automate pre- and
postprocessing!

Nexus is an open platform that enhances smart manufacturing collaboration by connecting

people, technologies and data, accelerating innovation and time to market.

[Link]

Nexus will be the foundation for Hexagon’s new offerings in the smart manufacturing space. We
have developed a first release of Nexus and there is a strategic roadmap in place for the platform
to better serve the needs of our customers and partners.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 20

Tutorial

GUI Overview

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Back to p.1
Simufact Additive Tutorial 21
GUI Overview
Graphical User Interface (GUI) of Simufact Additive Getting used to
the S+ vocabulary
◆ This chapter provides an orientation of the Additive GUI will help future
learning!
◆ The functionalities are only summarized briefly to get an overview. For a
more detailed description refer to the infosheets The GUI is
designed to be
11 modular. You can
5 hide/display or
rearrange most
elements!
6 7 8 9 10
For more
information about
1 the animation and
camera toolbar,
4 open the infosheet
in the lower left
corner of the view
1 – Legend
2 – Status information
3 – Animation toolbar
4 – Camera toolbar
5 – Main toolbar
6 – Processes widget

Copyright © Hexagon AB
7 – Machine widget
2 8 – Manufacturing &
optimization widget
9 – Analysis widget
3 10 – Results widget
11 – Status bar

Simufact Additive Tutorial 22

GUI Overview
Startup window

◆ Create or open a project.

One project can include
several processes
◆ Access the tutorial and A project can
training material also be opened via
drag & drop on the
◆ Set your default process startup window
type. Each of the three base
products needs its own The process
license type Geometry
Inspection is not
◆ Quicky access your projects licensed separately
you have worked on About S+ shows you the installed version and always available
recently . You can delete all and your entitlement ID. This might be
red entries with relevant for the product support
Access the S+ settings
Open the python terminal to use S+ scripting

Simufact Additive Tutorial 23

GUI Overview
Graphical user interface (GUI) of Simufact Additive
◆ Simufact Additive provides a user friendly, workflow-oriented GUI

Machine Manufacturing Analysis Results

Processes widget & optimization widget widget
widget widget

GUI workflow example

Step 1: Part imported Step 2: Supports generated Step 3: Mesh created Step 4: Intermediate analysis result

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Step 5: Result after manufacturing Step 6: Result heat treatment Step 7: Result after cutting Step 8: Result after support removal

Simufact Additive Tutorial 24

GUI Overview
Widget navigation
◆ After creating a new process, the main toolbar with the first four widgets
are available. The last widget becomes available, once simulation results
are present The main toolbar
◆ The color bars indicate if all information in one widget is defined (green), can be dragged
anywhere on your
there is optional information that is not defined (yellow) or if there is screen by clicking
mandatory information that is missing (red) on its left side

For a Geometry
Inspection process,
only the first two
widgets are
needed/available

A double-click on
the eye icon of a
◆ By clicking on a widget, its submenu can be accessed specific part or
support, highlights it
◆ The eye icons can be clicked on and indicate if a component is visible, in the model view
partly visible or not visible and centers the
camera onto it
◆ Each submenu is pinned to its current position. They can be unpinned

Simufact Additive Tutorial 25

GUI Overview
Processes widget
The active
◆ This widget gives an overview of all processes in the project and allows you processes name is
to manage them highlighted and is
◆ The symbol of this widget changes with the active processes type: displayed in the
status bar and in the
▪ Metal Powder Bed Fusion (MPBF) process information
▪ Metal Binder Jetting (MBJ) in the lower left
corner of the window
▪ Machining
▪ Geometry Inspection
Create a new process For a scripting
documentation, the
Open the python terminal and other scripting options python terminal links
◆ Double clicking on a process entry opens its process properties dialog the Scripting chapter
of this tutorial and a
◆ The right-click context menu of a process allows you to copy it with or reference handbook
without results among other options
◆ After a simulation was started, the colors You can import
results from one
indicate the current status of the process process into another
▪ Green: Simulation successfully finished one without results.
This option is only
▪ Blue: Simulation is running displayed if the

Copyright © Hexagon AB
▪ Orange: Simulation was stopped by the user process without
results has a part
▪ Red: Simulation aborted assigned.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 26

GUI Overview
Machine widget
◆ Define all components in the current process. If this widget is active, the
view changes to the model view, where the parts are displayed by their
default surface mesh
For hybrid
Machine: Define machine parameters used in a MPBF or MBJ process manufacturing
MPBF processes, it
◆ Parts: Import or export parts. The right-click context menu of a part is possible to import
provides various options such as modifying the dimensions. For a MPBF the base part with
results with a .unv
process, define the parts/supports relative density or orthotropic properties file
in its Properties dialog
Supports: Import supports or generate them in S+ with three different Support and
Setters are
approaches organized in groups
Setters: Import of setter structures that are assigned to
a part. Only the
Machined Part: Import the resulting machined part properties of all
◆ Material: Import a material from the Simufact Material database used for supports in a group
can be edited by
the parts/supports. For more information refer to the Materials for Additive double-clicking on
Chapter of this Tutorial or to the Simufact Material documentation the group name

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Base plate: A default geometry for the base plate is always present
after creating a process. Its X-Y-dimensions are linked to the build space in
the Machine entry

Simufact Additive Tutorial 27

GUI Overview
Machine widget
◆ Additional geometries: Import your reference geometries for result
transformation, shape comparison or distortion compensation and
machining volumes and fixation geometries for a Machining process
Multiple
selection of supports
on a component in the model view highlights it and marks its entry in the in a group is
Machine widget menus and vice versa. While holding CTRL, multiple available by holding
selections are possible. CTRL+A selects all entities CTRL to select
single supports one
in the model view provides a context menu with various options: by one or by holding
Display shading of a single component SHIFT to select all
entries between two
Display outline supports.
Display mesh
Display wireframe The Cost
estimation and
Display transparent Orientation
Switch visibility assistant are
▪ These display options are also available introduced in the
Cost Estimation
with a right-click in the widget chapter of this
▪ The View tools enables you to create cutting tutorial.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 28

GUI Overview
Manufacturing & optimization widget
◆ Define an optimization strategy and the stages of your process

Distortion compensation: Run multiple subsequent simulations that

aim to reduce the distortions in each step. This is described in the chapters
Example: Distortion Compensation and Example: Metal Binder Jetting of
this tutorial
Support optimization: Improve the support configuration to reduce
distortions and material needed. This is described in the chapter Example:
Support Optimization of this tutorial
◆ Stages: Displays the sequence of stages of your process. Add stages or
change the order in the process properties dialog by double-clicking on
Stages. Most of the stage's properties can be edited by double-clicking on
their entry

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 29
GUI Overview
Analysis widget
◆ Different types of meshes are present in S+. If this widget is active, the The submenus
of Surface and
view changes to the analysis view where the meshes in their undeformed Volume mesh list all
state can be evaluated parts and,
depending on your
setup, also the base
◆ Surface mesh: Remesh your surface with triangular facets. plate. Double-
clicking on the
▪ A surface mesh is always present from import on. By default, the Surface or Volume
existing facets of the imported part are used. CAD geometries get mesh entry will
mesh all geometries.
surface meshed during import. After remeshing, the default mesh can Clicking on a
always be restored. specific entry will
▪ This mesh is not used for the analysis itself. For MPBF and Machining, only mesh this
geometry.
where voxel elements are used, the results are mapped onto the
surface mesh. That's why the facets size should be of the same order The surface and
than the voxel size. A surface remesh and result remapping can even volume mesh can
be performed if results are present. also be imported
from a file
▪ The mesh can be exported into different formats. The export into a
.unv file is possible in the Results widget For a distortion
compensation, the

Simufact Additive Tutorial 30

GUI Overview
Analysis widget
Voxel mesh: Create the voxel mesh with hexahedral elements as a
discrete representation of the part. This mesh is used by the FE solver for
the analysis
◆ Volume mesh: Create a tetrahedral mesh.
For MPBF and Machining processes, this is not needed for the Only give the
simulation and only used for .unv export. This export can be done from base plate a volume
this widget for the initial mesh only or from the Results widget for an mesh if needed,
since this may take
export of the deformed mesh with results. Then, this mesh can also be long.
generated after results are present.
For a MBJ process, the solver uses this mesh for the analysis and The boundary
therefore it is necessary for the process. conditions are
hardcoded for each
◆ Numerical parameters: Provides several settings like parallelization, stage and can‘t be
output division etc. changed. The
springs stabilize the
Show boundary conditions: analysis.
Available in the right-click context
menu of the analysis view. Displays

Simufact Additive Tutorial 31

GUI Overview
Results widget
◆ This widget becomes available as soon as results are present. If it is Open a new
result window. The
selected, the view changes to the results view where meshes and their views can be
results can be evaluated. synchronized with
the camera toolbar

Surface results: Evaluate the results on your deformed geometry that Surface results
were mapped from the voxel mesh onto the surface mesh. The context are only available at
menu of this entry provides several options: the end of loadcases

▪ Map results to…: Manually map the results onto the surface of a component
Some of the
▪ Result transformation: Transform your results to arbitrary coordinate systems context menu
Shape comparison: Analyze the shape deviation between the deformed and the entries are available
undeformed state. This might be necessary due to rigid body motion for voxel and volume
results too
▪ UNV export: Export the facetted surface to a .unv file which includes selected
result increments and result values The mapping to
▪ Export results: Export the surface and voxel mesh into different other formats at supports is not done
a specific result increment, with or without results, depending on the format. For automatically and
this export, the displacements can be scaled. may take very long

Export to machine: Export the scan trajectories of the build job

The Export to
Export CAD: If the part was imported as CAD, the deformed geometry can be

Copyright © Hexagon AB
machine and
exported as CAD too, by morphing the original file based on the displacements Export CAD need
▪ Mange results: Free disk space by deleting result increments permanently their own licenses

Simufact Additive Tutorial 32

GUI Overview
Results widget
Voxel results: View the voxel results. The UNV Export option in the
context menu becomes available once a volume mesh is created. In
contrast to the UNV Export of the surface results, this option exports the
volume tetrahedral mesh
Volume results: This entry provides the results of the tetrahedral mesh
Additional: Provides an overview of the clamping for the base plate
fixation and is therefore only present if the base plate is modelled
deformable
Calibration, Distortion compensation, Support
optimization results: Summarizes all iterations of these process types

In the result view provides several options:

▪ Display the deformations with a scale factor
▪ Filter the elements by the size of their result value
with the General filter
▪ Display the undeformed geometry as reference
▪ Display intermediate results to show a more detailed

Simufact Additive Tutorial 33

GUI Overview 1 2 3 4 5

Status bar
1. Main menu
2. Save Button: You can also use the shortcut CTRL+S to save. For more,
refer to the infosheet Keyboard shortcuts in the main menu
3. Process Bar: Displays name of the active process. Shows the progress of
the current loadcase, whereas the process bar in the Processes widget The text editor
shows the overall progress your log files are
opened with can be
4. Modell Check: Check the status of your processes for valuable hints or for defined in the
errors that prevent the simulation from starting settings
5. Analysis Status
The restart
Start the analysis functionality is
Stop a running analysis shown and
explained in the
Unlock a process to change parameters for a re-start (Only if re-start chapter Example:
files are present) Heat Treatment

Restart the analysis with changed parameters

Delete all results permanently
Open the convergence monitor

Simufact Additive Tutorial 34

GUI Overview
Templates and databases
◆ You can save your template in a local
library for your own use or in a shared
library so that others can access it
◆ When creating a new project, you can
use existing templates

Find the path for

both libraries in the
settings under
General -> Master
library

The shortcut
◆ Several dialogs contain a database Ctrl+E will open the
section where you can save this specific file explorer as well
dialogs settings for later usage
Adds the current dialogs settings with
the specified name to the database
Saves the entry as .xml format
▪ Hovering over an entry and right-

Simufact Additive Tutorial 35

Tutorial

Example: Quickstart

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Back to p.1
Simufact Additive Tutorial 36
Example: Quickstart
Introduction
◆ This example is designed as an entry into the simulation of metal powder
bed fusion processes with Simufact Additive.
◆ The tutorial will guide you through the whole process step by step. This chapter only
◆ You will model the printing process of an aluminum aircraft component shows an
introduction for the
and evaluate the simulation results. Metal Powder Bed
◆ You can find the complete model in the Simufact Demos under Aircraft Fusion (MPBF)
module. The other
component. modules are
◆ This chapter only shows the basics of Simufact Additive’s capabilities, introduced in
further features are presented in the following chapters. separate chapter.

This is only a
simplified simulation
for the first
assessment. A more
detailed simulation of
the same part can be
found in the chapter
Example: Mechanical
Simulation.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 37
Example: Quickstart
Creating a new project
◆ Start Simufact Additive The section
‘Recent projects’
▪ You can find shortcuts on the desktop or in the start menu: allows you quick
access to the last 10
recent projects. You
can also delete the
quick access of
projects from this
section. Projects not
found on the disk
◆ Upon starting, the following dialog opens: will be marked red.
▪ Select ‘New project…‘
Please note that
deleting the contents
from this list does
not delete the
project from the
disk.

You can find the

infosheet button in
several dialogs. An
infosheet contains

Simufact Additive Tutorial 38

Example: Quickstart
Project location and process properties
◆ Select name and storage location of the project:
The section
‘Brief description’
gives you short
information about
the object where the
mouse is positioned
on. You can find this
section in every
dialog of Simufact
Additive.

◆ Define process properties: In some dialogs

you can find the
▪ In this dialog you can define the basic section ‘Comment’
process and analysis type. within you can add
specific descriptions
▪ For this example, we use the mechanical and comments, i.e.
simulation configuration with default process properties
setting. and information
about variants. The
▪ Thermal and thermomechanical comment is only for
approaches are shown in later chapters information purpose.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 39

Example: Quickstart
Simulation approaches
◆ Simufact Additive MPBF simulation can be done with different
simplified approaches.
◆ Mechanical (Inherent Strain) approach
▪ Extremely fast
▪ Element layer (> powder layer) analyzed in one
increment
▪ Delivers Distortions & Stresses
◆ Thermal/ Thermomechanical approach
▪ Thermal or thermo-mechanical coupled

Detail
Speed
▪ Simplified thermal cycle approach
▪ Element layer analyzed in multiple increments
▪ Able to deliver approximate thermal history and derived results
◆ Heat source model
▪ Moving Heat Source Model
▪ High level of Detail
▪ Full transient thermo-mechanically coupled, i.e. welding
▪ Not possible with Simufact Additive but with Simufact Welding

IMPLEMENTATION RESULTS
◆ Inherent strain
method – purely ◆ Part distortion
mechanical ◆ Residual stress
◆ Cantilever tests to distribution
automatically
calibrate inherent
strain parameters
based on experiment

BENEFIT

◆ Extremely fast
simulation

IMPLEMENTATION RESULTS
◆ Simplified thermal
cycle method ◆ Residual stress
distribution
◆ Based on actual laser
and hatching properties ◆ Part distortion
◆ Automatic calibration of ◆ Temperature
the energy input and distribution
the thermal expansion
needed based on
experiment

BENEFIT

◆ Reasonable fast in
computation time
◆ Consideration of
temperature
dependencies

IMPLEMENTATION RESULTS
◆ Transient FE-method ◆ Temperature history
◆ Utilizing heat source ◆ Mechanical
geometry properties
◆ Based on real ◆ Stress
scanning path ◆ Distortion

BENEFIT Unsuitable for

◆ Highest level on the simulation of
physical information a whole part due
to unreasonably
◆ Consideration of high simulation
temperature times. Only
dependencies appropriate for a
◆ Allows for detail analysis.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
investigations of
basic parameters
Can only be modelled
with Simufact Welding
Simufact Additive Tutorial 43
Example: Quickstart
Simufact Additive GUI
◆ You will now see the Simufact Additive GUI with an empty build space:

Processes Results
This is the
Simufact Additive
Name of the selected GUI. You can use
machine in the Machine Analysis
Manufacturing the mouse controls
process properties & optimization which are described
in the chapter
‘Introducing
Simufact Additive’.

For more
Camera detailed information
toolbar about the single
buttons and widgets
please refer to the
tutorial chapter
Base plate Coordinate GUI_Overview.
system

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 44
Example: Quickstart
Define your AM machine
◆ Before importing geometries, you should define your machines
▪ Build Space
▪ Origin of the machines coordinate system
▪ Baseplate fixations
◆ For this tutorial, we will keep the generic Simufact machine

Just like in many

other dialogs, you
can save the
settings of this
machine dialog in
your user database.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 45
Example: Quickstart
Importing the component geometry
◆ Import the parts geometry
◆ You can find the aircraft component CAD-file in the following path:
▪ …\simufact\additive\<version>\examples\metal_powder_bed_fusion\mechanical_
build_stage\aircraft_component\CAD-Data \01_aircraft_component.stp
You can access
the properties
dialogs (in this case
a import dialog) in
Simufact either by
b using double-click,
or with a right-click
and selecting
properties.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 46

Example: Quickstart
CAD import options
◆ In the next Dialog you can select the import options of the STEP file. Simufact can
◆ Here you can select the meshing parameters of the surface mesh. only display STL
files. Therefore,
when importing CAD
geometries, the
surface has to be
meshed during
import. When
importing STL files
we use the existing
surface mesh.

The original
CAD file is
converted into
Parasolid format and
saved in the project.
This reference can
be reused later, for
example for surface
e remeshing.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 47

Example: Quickstart
Geometry import and positioning
◆ The following dialog shows the dimensions of the part that is about to be
imported. You can also do a quick first positioning here (e.g. center the part Make sure to
select the correct
in the build space). unit system when
◆ Now center the part and set a ‘Distance to bottom’ of 5.0 mm. you import a part.

You can also

check if your
imported geometry
fits in the machine
dimensions.
Therefore, compare
the dimensions of
the build space and
the component’s
f bounding box.

g
Use the
h centering buttons to
place your part in
the center of the
i
build space. Or
enter a position

Simufact Additive Tutorial 48

Example: Quickstart
Model view after geometry import
◆ Your model view should now look like this:

Space for the

support structures

Part placed on
machine base
plate

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 49
Example: Quickstart
Check geometry After importing a
CAD file, the
◆ Before generating supports, we will check the quality of the surface mesh geometry should be
OK normally.
◆ For this part only small steps and small faces are detected, which is OK. Checking for defects
Only red indicators for defects like open edges would be critical gets more important
when you import a
◆ Imported supports can also be checked for defects. For imported 2D-shell STL directly.
supports, a good surface mesh is not that important. More sensitive are
imported 3D-volume supports. You can
display/hide defect
▪ Find more information regarding supports on the next slides. types with the eye
symbol.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 50
Example: Quickstart
Create support structures
◆ For support generation, click on the Supports container. Then double click
on the desired part group.
Simufacts integrated CADS Additive support generation provides a vast
number of parameters. These parameters are documented in the dialogs
infosheets Instead of
creating the support
structures, you can
also import existing
support geometries
by using the option
‘Import’ when you
a right-click on a part
group. Our Aircraft
Component demo
example includes
such a process
where part and
supports where
imported together
from one 3MF file.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 51
Example: Quickstart
Create support structures
◆ Before creating support structures, the surfaces where the supports will be
created can also be previewed in the model view with the button 'Preview’.
◆ The highlighted surface areas are calculated based on the Critical surface
angle

You can also

manually select/
deselect surfaces for
support creation by
using the Select
button.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 52
Example: Quickstart
Create support structures
◆ Create supports for this part with the default settings
◆ After support creation, you can edit the shell thickness.
It is important that this value is correct, since it directly
influences the supports stiffness.
◆ For this demo, we use the default value

◆ Simufact Additive distinguishes between shell supports

and volume supports.
▪ Volume supports are closed volumes. Therefore,
make sure that the used surface meshes are of good
quality.
▪ Shell supports are 2D-surfaces. Always make sure
that the correct support shell thickness is defined,
also for imported shell supports. For imported shell
support, thickness can be defined in the import
dialog.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 53
Example: Quickstart
Model view after support generation
◆ The support structures are organized in different sections which are all
displayed in the same color by default.
◆ With the ‘Group by object type’ function, you can display all support
structure groups in different colors.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 54
Example: Quickstart
Model view after support generation
◆ To get a better overview of the generated supports, you can for example
right-click onto your part in the view and set its display mode to
transparent.

You can achieve

the same thing with
a right-click on the
parts entry in the
widget.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 55
Example: Quickstart
Modifying supports
◆ Every separate support section can be edited (e.g. change the shell
thickness, reposition, delete)
◆ Supports that were created in Simufact with the CADS Additive method can
also be edited further

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 56
Example: Quickstart
Relative density for supports
◆ Printing supports with different hatching strategies than the part might lead
The parts also
to lower density/ higher porosity of the supports compared to the part have a relative
◆ This should also be defined in Simufact since a decrease in density is also material density
paired with a decrease in stiffness. parameter. However,
for this example this
◆ The relative material density can ony be defined for the whole support is ignored, and a
parent group perfectly dense part
is assumed. The
◆ This value describes the density of the supports compared to the parts parts relative density
density only comes into
affect if a HIP stage
is used in your
process chain. See
also tutorial chapter
Example: Heat
Treatment

If you print your

supports in the
same way as your
parts, make sure to
set this support

Simufact Additive Tutorial 57

Example: Quickstart
Material selection
◆ Your part and supports are still missing a material definition. This can be
selected from the Simufact Material database For more
◆ For this example, we will use the existing AlSi10Mg_powder material card. information about
the material card
used in Simufact
Additive, please
refer to the tutorial
chapter Material for
Additive.

You will note that

the status bar below
b the machine widget
a
turns green which
means that the
required information
for the Machine
widget is defined.
We will activate the
base plate
deformation next
which is only an

Simufact Additive Tutorial 58

Example: Quickstart
Base plate properties
◆ For this mechanical simulation type, the baseplate can be either idealized
as rigid or modeled deformable
◆ For this tutorial we won’t activate the baseplate deformation and leave the
default parameters
◆ The material assignment is only necessary for deformable baseplates. Depending on
the FE-mesh, a
◆ If you activate the baseplate deformation, make sure that the baseplate deformable
thickness is correct. This has a large influence of the baseplate bending. baseplate might lead
to a significant
longer simulation but
should also result in
a more precise
simulation.

You can also

import your own
baseplate geometry.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 59
Example: Quickstart
Defining the build properties
◆ Navigate to the Manufacturing & optimization widget and open the Build The Optimization
capabilities of
stage properties. Simufact are shown
◆ Here the inherent strains are defined for a mechanical simulation in chapters
Example: Distortion
◆ For now, we will use the default parameters. Since we haven’t done any compensation and
calibration for this Quickstart example, we don’t know the correct inherent Example: Support
Optimization
strain values.
◆ We assume isotropic inherent strains in X- and Y-direction. For more
information about
the inherent strains
please see chapter
Introducing the
a inherent strain
method of this
b tutorial.

A complete
calibration/
simulation workflow
and comparison is
shown in the chapter

Simufact Additive Tutorial 60

Example: Quickstart
Defining the cutting from the base plate
◆ After the printing simulation, it is also important to simulate the separation
of the part/supports from the baseplate to include the deformation due to
inherent stresses
◆ There are two possibilities
▪ Immediate release stage: Baseplate is removed in one single
increment; faster simulation
▪ Cutting stage: Gradual cutting is simulated in multiple increments;
more complex cutting operations possible; longer simulation A big difference
between these two
◆ For this tutorial we will use the Cutting stage. Therefore, we need to possibilities is that
replace the Immediate release stage with a Cutting stage the cutting height
can only be changed
◆ Follow the instructions on the next slide. with a Cutting stage

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 62
Example: Quickstart
Defining the cutting from the base plate
◆ For this example, select the Mode Directional cutting and set the cutting
height to 1 mm.
◆ You can display the cutting plane in the model view with the eye symbol
next to the cutting stage

c For this tutorial

a we use the mode
‘Directional
cutting‘. The mode
‘Arbitrary cutting‘
b offers more refined
possibilities to cut
the part from the
base plate. For more
detailed information,
please refer to the
infosheet linked in
the dialog.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 63
Example: Quickstart
Defining the support removal properties
◆ Removing the supports is a further where the part might deform due to
inherent stresses At the beginning
all support structures
◆ Open the ‘Support removal’ properties and select a removal of all existing will be assigned to
support structures. ‘Unassigned
supports’ which
means that these
supports won’t be
a c removed during the
simulation. By using
the buttons ( , )
you can assign or
deselect single
b support structure, or
all support
structures with the
buttons ( , ).

You can also

add multiple support
removal stages to
consider the
sequence of support

Simufact Additive Tutorial 64

Example: Quickstart
Analysis widget/ Meshes view
◆ Now that the Manufacturing & optimization widget is completely defined, we
proceed to the Analysis widget
◆ Note that the view changes from the Components view to the Meshes
view
◆ This widget shows 3 different mesh types:
▪ Surface mesh: Triangles; Already exists after
geometry import, But might need to be
changed; Can also be changed after
simulation finished
▪ Voxel mesh: Hexahedral elements; Needs to
be created before simulation start; The
FE-solver only sees this mesh
▪ Volume mesh: Tetrahedral mesh; Only
necessary for 3D-UNV export (at least for
MBPF module); can be created after

Simufact Additive Tutorial 65

Example: Quickstart
Creating the voxel mesh
◆ At first, we will create a voxel mesh. After opening the meshing dialog, an
element size is already suggested. This element size is determined based
on the parts dimensions. Simufact
◆ For this first Quickstart tutorial, we will use the suggested value. For a more Additive uses
hexahedral
precice simulation including calibration, this element size has to be chosen elements (voxel
carefully. For more information see the dialogs infosheet and the chapter elements) for the
Example: Mechanical simulation calculation, where
all components
share common
nodes.

Note that the

whole baseplate
section is greyed
out. This is because
we idealize the
baseplate as rigid
body.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 66
Example: Quickstart
Voxel mesh and Volume fraction
◆ Now, the voxel mesh used for the upcoming calculation is presented in the
Meshes view. Since this is a structured hexahedral mesh, the voxels
outrange the actual geometry. This geometry error is compensated for with
a so-called Volume fraction The following slides explain this concept.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 67
Example: Quickstart
Voxel mesh and Volume fraction
◆ The ‘Volume fraction’ is a value which describes how much volume of the
voxel element is actually filled by the geometry. To display the volume
fraction, double-click on Voxel mesh again and activate ‘Show volume
fraction’ as below:

Simufact Additive Tutorial 68

Example: Quickstart
Voxel mesh and Volume fraction
◆ The figure below shows the Volume fraction of the model with a clipping plane.
◆ A volume fraction of 1 means that the voxel element is to 100% inside the
geometry. The voxels at the surface will show very low volume fractions.
◆ During the simulation, the solver will scale the element stiffness based on the
volume fraction to compensate for the geometrical inaccuracy of the voxel mesh
If the Volume
fraction inside the
c components mesh
tends to be blue
(Volume fraction
close to zero),
means that the
mesh quality is not
good. In that case
you should use a
smaller voxel size.

A lower relative
material density for
supports will also

Simufact Additive Tutorial 69

Example: Quickstart
Surface mesh
◆ Now we want to check on the surface The legend
always only shows
mesh.
entries for
◆ After the simulation, the voxel results are components/meshes
mapped onto the surface. Therefore, the that are displayed. If
something is hidden,
surface triangle size should be the legend is
comparable to the voxel element size. updated.
◆ As default, the voxel mesh is displayed
with the wireframe method and the
surface mesh is also displayed with the
outline method in the Meshes view.
◆ You can see that the legend has entries
for the surface as well as for the voxel
mesh. Also, the eye symbol next to both
meshes is active.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 70
Example: Quickstart
Surface mesh
◆ Hide the voxel mesh by clicking on the eye in the widget If you want to
◆ Display the parts surface mesh know the exact
length of an average
triangle, you can
make use of
Simufacts integrated
measuring tool.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
◆ Since the parts surface triangles are more or less equilateral and of the
same size as the voxel elements, we can keep this mesh and don’t need to
create a new one.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 71

Example: Quickstart
Parallelization and simulation start
◆ In the Numerical parameters dialog, you can select the parallelization Parallelization
means that the
options. For this job use the default number of domains of 8: calculation of one
simulation is done in
parallel using
a several CPU cores.
With the correct
settings, the
simulation time
b might be reduced
significantly. For
more detailed
information about
◆ Run the simulation! the parallelization
and the
decomposition
a method please look
into the infosheet
‘DDMSharedMemor
The indicators below the “Machine”, yParallelisation_en.p
“Manufacturing & optimization” and
b df’.
“Analysis” widgets turn green if everything
needed for a simulation start is set. To start the
simulation, every

Copyright © Hexagon AB
◆ Left to the ‘Start analysis’ button is the model check. There you can review indicator below the
warnings and error messages regarding your current model state before widgets must show
starting the analysis. a green or yellow
light!

Simufact Additive Tutorial 72

Example: Quickstart
Queue analysis and Simufact Monitor
◆ The following step is optional:
◆ Below the ‘Start analysis’ button is the ‘Queue analysis’ button. This will
open Simufact Monitor. Here you can queue multiple analysis and start
them one after one based on certain criteria automatically.

For more
detailed information
about the queue
analysis in Simufact
a Monitor please have
a look into the
documentation of
the Simufact
Monitor.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 73
Example: Quickstart
Postprocessing – Basics in Simufact Additive
Following slides
◆ Your result view should look similar to the figure below: contain only some
hints for
Postprocessing. You
Process simulation can find more
completed information in the
a other chapters for
Right mouse click on results
Powder Bed Fusion or
screen to open the context
in the chapter
menu Postprocessing!

After starting a
simulation and if
Simufact Additive
finds results, the
Create
results view will be
cutting planes automatically opened,
and you can see the
process of the
Measure simulation. Refreshing
distances on part
c
the results will be
Query simulation done automatically.
results values
With ‘Show
intermediate results’
(c) you can toggle

Copyright © Hexagon AB
b between showing all
available result
increments or only
d Play animation of simulation showing results at the
end of a loadcase.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 74

Example: Quickstart
Postprocessing – Basics in Simufact Additive
◆ When you play the result animation, you will realize that sometimes you
can see results on the voxel mesh, sometimes on the smooth surface and
sometimes both.
◆ This is because there are two different result views
▪ Surface results
▪ Voxel results The voxel results
are the original solver
◆ You can see which one is active based on the eye symbol in the Result results. The surface
widget. Only one view can be active at a time. results are created by
mapping the solver
◆ Since the voxel mesh is only a bad results onto the
surface mesh.
representation of the actual geometry,
Simufact displays the surface results When you cut
through a geometry,
whenever possible. But surface results are only its surface results
won‘t be available
available at the end of ach loadcase. anymore from this
◆ If both results are available, you can switch between the different views. point on.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 75
Example: Quickstart
Postprocessing – Basics in Simufact Additive
If you create a clipping plane to evaluate results in the volume, make sure
to display the voxel results. Surface view will just show results that are
interpolated between the two surfaces!

◆ Supports are always shown with voxel results.

◆ It is possible to map support voxel results to the surface, but before doing
that, make sure that the supports have a good quality surface mesh, just
like it was explained on
previous slides for the part.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 76
Example: Quickstart
Postprocessing – Basics in Simufact Additive
◆ If you have activated the display of intermediate results, you will see that
during printing, there is only a result present for every 10 layers.
◆ This is the default setting with the intention of saving disk space.
◆ This can be changed before starting a simulation in the output divisions
tab of the numerical parameters.

If you want to
know more about how
to free disk space
without deleting all
results view the
Postprocessing
Chapter.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 77
Example: Quickstart
Postprocessing – Basics in Simufact Additive
◆ You can change the shown result value directly by hovering your cursor The default
over the headline of the color legend. result value is ‘Total
displacement
[mm]’. You can
a change the result
value by holding the
mouse over the
Use the legend to color legend and
change the result using the drop-down
b value menu.

Double-clicking
onto the color
legend opens its
properties. The
right-click context
menu also gives
some additional
options.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 78
Example: Quickstart
Postprocessing – Problem with rigid body movement
◆ Because of the rigid body movement, it is not recommended to evaluate
the total displacement if the part is cut off from the base plate. In this case,
use the shape comparison to compare the results.

z z z
It is not
recommended, to
evaluate the total
displacement when
the process consider
a cutting stage
x x x because of possible
Translation Translation Rotation
rigid body
movement which
Total displacement = 𝑥2 − 𝑥1 2 + 𝑧2 − 𝑧1 2
may lead to wrong
interpretation of the
z (x2,z2) results.
The total displacement will not be zero, in this
example, because this result value does track the
whole movement of a node. From the user's point of
view, it seems like the part has some distortions.
(x1,z1)

Copyright © Hexagon AB
x In this case, we do need a result value which
Final position compares the final with the initial surface after it is
best-fit to each other. Therefore, we do have the shape
comparison in Simufact Additive.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 79

Example: Quickstart
Postprocessing – Shape comparison
◆ Access shape comparison as follows:

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 80
Example: Quickstart
Postprocessing – Shape comparison
Do not close the
◆ Calculate the surface deviation based on a best-fit as follows: Shape comparison
window. Once you
have closed the
shape comparison
window, you will
leave the shape
comparison mode.

a
You can also
b import another
reference geometry,
c which can be done
with the Additional
geometries in the
Machine widget.
Then it is also
possible to select
this reference here.

If you have large

rigid body motions,
you can use the

Copyright © Hexagon AB
other two modes to
position your part
manually before
doing the best-fit to
increase the chance
of it to succeed.
Simufact Additive Tutorial 81
Example: Quickstart
Postprocessing – Shape comparison
◆ Finally, we change the color legend to only areas above and below certain
thresholds as follows:

b
c

Simufact Additive Tutorial 82

Example: Quickstart
Postprocessing – Shape comparison
◆ To change the upper and lower limits, just double-click on the upper and
lower limit in the color legend.
In the shape
comparison mode,
a positive values
indicate that the
b calculated shape is
outside the initial /
reference shape
where negative
values indicate that
the calculated shape
is inside the initial /
reference shape.
For further
information please
refer to the infosheet
‘ShapeComparison_
[Link]’.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 83

Example: Quickstart
Postprocessing – Shape comparison
◆ To reduce the shape deviation after your printing job, a predeformed
geometry must be used as input. This geometry can be generated by
Simufact Additive with a distortion compensation analysis. For more
information refer to the tutorial chapter Example: Distortion Compensation.

◆ Geometry pre-deformation leads to an improved final shape!

◆ The best fit method is very reliant on the quality of the input surface
meshes. Make sure, that the surface of the printed part but also the surface
of the imported reference shape is of a good quality!

◆ Bigger, localized deviations can be caused by a bad surface mesh quality.

Check your mesh for irregularities!

Introducing the Inherent Strain Method

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Back to p.1
Simufact Additive Tutorial 85
Introducing the Inherent Strain Method
Introduction
◆ For an AM powder bed fusion process, not all parameters are always and
exactly known.
◆ This is in part due to a very complex process structure, with a metal
powder being melted and cooled down.
◆ But for a simulation to work, it is necessary to know all relevant
parameters within a sufficient accuracy.
◆ To approach this challenge, a comparison of simulation data vs. real
experimental data is done, called calibration.
◆ The resulting parameter for a mechanical approach is called inherent
strain.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 86
Introducing the Inherent Strain Method
What are the inherent strain values?
Please note that
◆ Inherent strains are process equivalent mechanical loads, which reflect the the inherent strain
material properties and process parameters. Hence, the inherent strains approach in
Simufact Additive is
“own and know” the complete history of the process. a purely mechanical
◆ They comprise all final strains except elastic strain. solution. Thus,
during the build
◆ This results in a reduction of model complexity with a high accuracy to be process, no
achieved. temperature effects
are shown or
calculated.
Material Properties Process Parameters
(Mechanical properties, Thermal (Power (Current & Voltage), Hatching The thermal
properties, Microstructure, …) strategy, Velocity, Focus diameter, …) history is included in
the inherent strains.
Therefore, you can
use material
Thermal Strains, Plastic Strains, Phase Transformation properties which
were taken at room
temperature (purely
mechanical
computation).
Calibration Inherent Strains
Please note that

Copyright © Hexagon AB
the processes heat
treatment and HIP
Results: require data at
Stress, Strains, Distortion elevated
temperatures.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 87

Introducing the Inherent Strain Method
Experimental setup
◆ To calculate the inherent strains, you must input a Z-displacement of a
cantilever. To get this value the specimen needs to be printed and partly
cut.
Simufact
Cutting plane & Additive comes with
cutting direction a predefined
template for a
cantilever geometry.
But other
geometries can be
imported too.

For a better
validation of the
displacement,
◆ Measure the observed maximum Z-displacement after cutting. This is the multiple cantilevers
can be printed, and
input value for Simufact Additive. the mean can be
◆ For every combination of material and process parameters you have determined to
capture process
to calibrate again with a new input of the target Z-displacement and scatter.
therefore print new specimens.

◆ In the simulation, the elements in the cutting plane will get deactivated.
Make sure to
◆ The cut in the real manufactured part usually differs in its dimensions. keep the time
between cutting and
measuring short.
The bent cantilevers
◆ Nevertheless, a realistic simulation can be performed, if the height of the must not be bend
section above the cut, that bends upwards, is identical for simulation and back during storing
real manufacturing. or transportation. So
make sure that they
are free of any
external load. If the
timeframe between
cutting and
measuring is too
long, micro scale
effects like aging,
creep or stress
relaxation might
alter the deflection.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 89
Introducing the Inherent Strain Method
Isotropic and orthotropic inherent strains
◆ One major distinction in the calibration procedure is between isotropic and
orthotropic calibration.
◆ In an isotropic calibration, the inherent strains in X-direction are set equal
to the strains in Y-direction ( 𝜀𝑥𝑥 = 𝜀𝑦𝑦 ) in contrast to an orthotropic
calibration, where 𝜀𝑥𝑥 ≠ 𝜀𝑦𝑦 . Therefore, Simufact Additive needs two Z-
deformations as input values for an orthotropic calibration.

◆ The minimum requirements for manufacturing of cantilevers are one for an In Simufact
isotropic or one in X- and one in Y-direction for an orthotropic calibration. Additive, always
model only one
◆ We recommend to print multiple cantilevers in each direction and use the cantilever in each
mean value for every direction as input for Simufact Additive. direction and input a
mean Z-
displacement.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Isotropic Setup Orthotropic Setup
Simufact Additive Tutorial 90
Introducing the Inherent Strain Method
Isotropic and orthotropic inherent strains
◆ Orthotropic conditions are present when two perpendicular specimen are
printed, and the Z-displacements are significantly different.
We recommend to print at least one X- and one Y-cantilever to check for
orthotropy. According to experience, an orthotropic behavior is present in
most cases, despite the hatching strategy and the layer wise rotation.
◆ The calibration tries to find a solution which meets both Z-displacement
target values. Because the Z-
deformations are
dependent on both
𝜀𝑥𝑥 and 𝜀𝑦𝑦 , the
calibration of the X-
and Y-oriented
cantilevers needs to
be performed in one
process so that the
results are coupled.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 91
Introducing the Inherent Strain Method
The input for Simufact Additive
◆ To begin with the calibration, Simufact Additive needs to use some starting A detailed step
by step calibration
values for the inherent strains. tutorial is shown in
◆ After the first iteration, the resulting Z-displacement gets compared to the the tutorial chapter
‘Calibration -
target value and a new set of inherent strains gets assigned. Mechanical’
◆ If your input differs to much from the exact solution, the calibration does not
This dialog
always converge within a reasonable number of iterations to a solution opens by double-
within the given acceptable deviation. clicking on the build
stage in the
◆ Therefore, it is advised to enter realistic inherent strain starting values ‘Manufacturing &
before starting the calibration. optimization’ widget.

Inherent strains
are in most cases
negative since the
thermal shrinkage
has the predominant
impact on them.

If a calibration
fails to converge,
you can run a
second one with

Copyright © Hexagon AB
better starting
values. To get more
realistic values the
results of the first
one can be
considered.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 92

Introducing the Inherent Strain Method
The input for Simufact Additive
◆ The hatch type is purely informational and not necessary for a simulation.
◆ The cantilevers are usually printed with layer wise rotation. If this option is
checked in the calibration, the input for the rotation parameters in following
simulations is deactivated.
◆ When the current model setup differs from the default one, a message
appears at the bottom of the dialog.
◆ By clicking on ‘Update cantilevers’, the model setup is changed to the
default isotropic or orthotropic setup, depending on what you have selected
The cantilevers
for ‘Strain type’.
must be printed with
the same
parameters as the
manufactured part.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 93
Introducing the Inherent Strain Method
The input for Simufact Additive
◆ You can enter the measured Z-displacement as your target value.

Make sure the

◆ The acceptable deviation describes the quality of the conformance between position of the
the simulation and experimental results. measuring point is
identical for
simulation and
◆ It is also possible to define the X-, Y- or total displacement, although for the experiment.
cantilevers it is recommended to enter the Z-displacement.
Multiple
measuring points for
one cantilever are
also possible.

If there is no
voxel node
positioned at the
measuring points
coordinates, it is
projected onto the
nearest node.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 94
Introducing the Inherent Strain Method
Store results in your database for future simulation
◆ In Simufact Additive you can monitor the progress of the calibration
process in the ‘Calibration results’ dialog as it is performed.
◆ There, a result graph and all relevant parameters are displayed. For a
detailed description refer to the dialogs infosheet.
◆ If the calibration was successful, you can store the resulting inherent strain
set to your database. For all subsequent simulations with this specific
material and process parameters the calibrated inherent strains can then
simply be loaded into your process setup.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 95
Introducing the Inherent Strain Method
Tips for meshing and placement of cantilevers
◆ Especially for a calibration, the voxel-mesh should display the geometry as
exact as possible. That’s why there are some tips for a successful
calibration.
▪ Suitable voxel sizes for the default cantilever geometry are 1 mm, 0,5
mm etc., so all features get meshed with a volume fraction of 1.
▪ The cantilevers should always be oriented in X- and Y-direction
because the voxel mesh is always oriented this way.
Due to element
▪ When changing the position of multiple cantilevers to each other, the size dependent
translations should always be by full millimeters and rotations should strains, it is
only be done around edges to make sure the geometry and the voxel recommended to
use a voxel size of
edges stay congruent. the same order for
calibration and
simulation.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 96

Introducing the Inherent Strain Method
Spatially varying strains - Outlook
◆ For all previous slides of this chapter, a uniform strain value for the whole
build space in X- and/or Y-direction was assumed.
◆ What if the strains are dependent from the position on the base plate?

◆ In reality, the conditions in the build space are not ideally homogenous.
Some reasons are:
➢ Shielding gas flow
➢ Multiple laser zones
➢ Deformation of the base plate

◆ To depict this behavior, Simufact Additive provides the option to calibrate

distributed strains. This is discussed in the chapter ‘Spatial distributed
calibration - Mechanical’

Example: Mechanical Simulation

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Back to p.1
Simufact Additive Tutorial 98
Example: Mechanical Simulation
Introduction
◆ In the Quickstart chapter, we already set up a mechanical simulation
◆ But this was done without a calibration of the inherent strain values
◆ In this chapter we set up the complete workflow, including a calibration
and a following manufacturing simulation of the same aircraft component,
to achieve quantitatively accurate results You can find the
calibration from this
chapter in our
Demos explorer
under ‘Calibration –
Mechanical’.

The simulation
of the aircraft
component with
calibrated inherent
strains is included in
the Aircraft
component demo.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 99
Example: Mechanical Simulation
Experimental data
◆ Before we can start with the calibration in Simufact Additive, we need
experimental data.
◆ For this example, we use:
▪ Material: AlSi10Mg powder
▪ Z-distortions:
➢ 0° cantilever (X-direction): 3.09 mm
➢ 90° cantilever (Y-direction): 2.01 mm → Apparently the assumption of Following is a
step-by-step tutorial
isotropy that we made in the Quickstart chapter was not correct → of an orthotropic
Orthotropic calibration due to two distinct different Z-deformations has to be mechanical
done calibration. For
some background
▪ Cutting height: 3 mm knowledge please
refer to the previous
chapter.

◆ With these data we can go into the calibration in Simufact Additive.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Afterwards we will implement the calibration into the aircraft component we
created in the chapter Example: Quickstart.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 100

Example: Mechanical Simulation
Creating a new project for the calibration
◆ Create a new project, name it appropriately and select the simulation type
‘Calibration’ in the process properties:

Once Calibration
is selected and after
d confirming with OK,
the process chain
will be set to the
default calibration
process chain which
contains the build
b and the cutting
stages.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 101

Example: Mechanical Simulation
View of the calibration model
◆ Selecting the ‘Calibration‘ process type calls a template where the
geometry and the cutting information are already predefined for the
cantilever.
The default
setup is an
orthotropic
calibration. To switch
to an isotropic setup,
see the previous
tutorial chapter. To
switch to a spatial
distributed setup,
see the next tutorial
chapter.

Besides the
default cantilever
geometry, user-
defined geometries
can be used for a
calibration too.

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Simufact Additive Tutorial 102
Example: Mechanical Simulation
Selecting a material
◆ Select the material AlSi10Mg_powder for the parts

For every
combination of
b material properties
and set of process
parameters you
must rerun the
calibration to
calibrate the
c inherent strain
values.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 103

Example: Mechanical Simulation
Selecting a material
◆ For a mechanical job, the baseplate deformation is optional
◆ For the calibration, it is important that you choose the right baseplate
behavior, since the displacements that you will define as target values will
or will not include the baseplate deformation
◆ If you measure your Z-displacement against the baseplate, deactivate the
baseplate deformation
◆ If you measure the Z-displacement against a fixed point, activate the
baseplate deformation
◆ For this example, we will consider the baseplate deformation → Choose
AlSi10Mg_baseplate as baseplate material

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 104
Example: Mechanical Simulation
Measuring points
◆ For the calibration, we need so called measuring points for each part which
track the distortion after cutting the specimen.
If you use the
◆ You can view and change them in the model view once you have opened default cantilever
the Build dialog and switched to the ‘Calibration parameters’ entry. geometry, a
measuring point is
automatically
a generated at the top
c front of the
Measuring point cantilever. For user-
coordinates b defined geometries
you can add
measuring points
with the green plus
symbol and define
their coordinates.

During the
simulation, the
measuring points
will be projected
onto the nearest
voxel node.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 105
Example: Mechanical Simulation
Measuring points
◆ Define the Max. target values of the measuring points from experimental For each
data. In this example the following experimental data needs to be adapted: specimen, at least
one measuring point
▪ 0° cantilever (X-direction): 3.09 mm is needed. If a
▪ 90° cantilever (Y-direction): 2.01 mm measuring point is
missing, the plus
icon will be marked
orange and the
dialog cannot be
confirmed with OK.

Usually, the
strains in Z-direction
don’t have an impact
on the bending of
the cantilever and
don’t need to be
calibrated.

The Acceptable
deviation defines
how close the
simulation results

Copyright © Hexagon AB
◆ Leave the other parameters as default and go to the sub-menu Build should be to the
parameters. experimental results.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 106

Example: Mechanical Simulation
Defining build properties
◆ In the ‘Build parameters’ section, the calibration setup can be defined. For
When you
more information, please refer to the previous tutorial chapter or to the already have some
infosheet linked in the dialog. experience with the
◆ For this example, we leave all parameters on their default values. calibration, you can
also adjust the
starting values
based upon the Z-
displacement target
values to achieve a
faster calibration.

While the Strain

type is defined as
orthotropic, the
starting values are
set as identical in X-
and Y-direction. But
during the
calibration, Simufact
will vary these
values
◆ The inherent strain values which are defined in ‘Build parameters’ are the independently to
starting points for the calibration. Please note that unrealistic values might

Copyright © Hexagon AB
match the entered
lead to very long optimization durations or to no convergence at all. Z-displacements.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 107

Example: Mechanical Simulation
Create the voxel mesh
◆ Click on the analysis widget and double-click on ‘Voxel mesh’ to mesh the
parts with the default settings: It is
recommended to
use a voxel size of 1
mm, 0.5 mm etc. for
the calibration
process with the
a default cantilever.
b This results in a high
volume fraction and
hence a more
precise calculation.

The voxel size

for the calibration
and following
simulation should be
of the same order. If
necessary multiple
calibrations with
variable voxel sizes
could be a solution.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 108

Example: Mechanical Simulation
Cutting stage
◆ For the predefined cantilevers, the cutting stage is predefined and doesn’t
need to be changed.
◆ If you use a user-defined geometry or change the position of the default
cantilevers on the base plate, you need to add a cutting stage for every
specimen manually.
◆ You can add stages in the process properties dialog.

◆ Here you can add an arbitrary amount of cutting stages and confirm by

Simufact Additive Tutorial 109

Example: Mechanical Simulation
Cutting stage
◆ Once you have defined a cutting stage, open its properties and switch to
‘Arbitrary cutting’ mode, where various parameters of the cut can be
defined.
◆ In our examples the manufactured cantilever were cut 3 mm above the
base plate.
◆ In the simulation, the elements in the cutting plane will get deactivated.
◆ To get realistic results, it is important that the height of the section above For a partial cut
like in calibrations,
the cut, that bends upwards, is comparable in simulation and experiment. the option cut free
◆ Therefore, you can leave the predefined cutting height of 2,5 mm from base plate
must be disabled.
unchanged, which will deactivate the elements in the third element layer.
Instead of a
constant height you
can define a height
profile with a table.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 110
Example: Mechanical Simulation
Viewing results of the calibration
◆ Start the calibration just like a normal manufacturing simulation. The calibration
process runs
◆ Open the ‘Calibration results’ to see the results of each calibration step. For multiple simulations
each step, the deviation from the desired deflection is plotted for each to calculate the
orientation of the cantilevers. ‘Inherent strains’
that correlate Z-
▪ To save the calibration results, you can displacement results
give them a descriptive name and add with test build data.
a them to the library with the ‘+’ button
The calibration
(steps c and d). algorithm uses a
b
Newton-based
c optimization to reach
d the target values by
varying the resulting
values.

The Calibration
status tells you if the
calibration finished
successful or not.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 111
Example: Mechanical Simulation
Postprocessing
◆ The Z-displacement of the cantilevers is automatically measured at the
center of the top edge. Only the results of the final calibration step is shown
in the result view
For a failed calibration, the results of the last calibration step might be
saved too and be available in the result view! Always check in the
Calibration results dialog if the acceptable deviation was reached and if the
calibration was successful.
The ‘Query
results’ tool allows
you to manually
measure the
currently selected
results output of any
point on the
a
geometry which will
d be displayed in a
c separate dialog.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 112

Example: Mechanical Simulation
Aircraft Component – Model setup
◆ We will load the saved calibration into the ‘Example: Quickstart’ simulation
we built.
◆ Open the ‘Quickstart’ project and copy the process without results and
rename it.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 113
Example: Mechanical Simulation
Aircraft Component – Model setup
◆ Since this process should be a more detailed approach than the Quickstart,
we activate the baseplate deformation for more realistic results
In the model view, the baseplate fixations will be displayed as red cylinders.
Based on these cylinders, nodes will be fixed during the simulation. We will
check on this later, after we have created a voxel mesh.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 114
Example: Mechanical Simulation
Aircraft Component – Model setup
◆ Once the calibrated inherent strain values are saved to the library, all
further simulations can use these calibrated inherent strain values.
Therefore, go to the build properties dialog and select the calibrated
inherent strain values from your user library:
Not only the
inherent strains
are saved in the
a database entry,
but also all build
b c parameters.

d
To check if the
correct
parameters have
been taken over,
you can compare
the new inherent
strains with the
e calibration results
you obtained
before.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 115
Example: Mechanical Simulation
Aircraft Component – Model setup
◆ Note that the rotation parameters are locked and set to 0°. This refers to These
the layer rotation of your hatching strategy. parameters are
useful for the
◆ This is because a database entry was imported, where the layer wise deprecated
rotation is already implicitly included in the calibrated inherent strain values, calibration
approach where
because the cantilevers were printed just like the part with the same layer the cantilevers
rotation. were printed
If you don’t use the database, but enter the inherent strain values manually, without rotation.
We don’t
the rotation parameters are not locked. Make sure to set both angles to 0° recommend to do
manually, otherwise your inherent strains are changed by the solver this anymore!
depending on the current build height. This would give wrong results!
If possible,
always use the
database! You
can also define
this dialog
manually once
and then save the
settings to the
database for later
usage.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 116
Example: Mechanical Simulation
Aircraft Component – Model setup
◆ Afterwards please be sure to change the voxel size to 1,0 mm so that it
matches with the corresponding calibration.
Note how the number of voxels in the Meshing statistics increases. This is
usually the most important contributor to the simulation runtime.

Since the
inherent strains are
element size
a dependent, we
recommend to use
b
same element sizes
between calibration
and manufacturing
simulation.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 117

Example: Mechanical Simulation
Aircraft Component – Model setup
◆ Now that a voxel mesh is present, we can preview some boundary
conditions that will be applied during the simulation
◆ For example, the Fixed displacements (Build) boundary condition models
the fixation of the baseplate in the machine during the printing Baseplate
fixations can be
The blue, green and red lines indicate what direction is fixed changed in the
Machine properties

The boundary
conditions can only
be viewed while in
the Meshes view

These fixed
nodes are relevant
for the
postprocessing of
the screw forces
later in this tutorial

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 118
Example: Mechanical Simulation
Aircraft Component – Model setup
◆ As already mentioned in the Quickstart chapter, the voxel length and the
surface element length should be of the same size.
Since the part
◆ Since we have reduced the voxel size to 1 mm, we will do the same with was imported as
the surface elements of the part. CAD geometry, the
surface remeshing is
done on the basis of
the analytical CAD
surface. To get a
better representation
of curvatures/radii,
change the
advanced meshing
settings.

The surface
remeshing can also
be done when
results are present.
So, the simulation
does not need to be
rerun!

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 119
Example: Mechanical Simulation
Aircraft Component – Model setup
◆ Since the baseplate is also meshed with voxel elements, we will do the
same for the baseplate.
◆ But since it uses a coarsening level of 2 for most of the volume, we will use
4 mm surface elements instead.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 120
Example: Mechanical Simulation
Aircraft Component – Model setup
◆ When you switch back to the Machine widget, you will see the coarser
surface mesh again.
◆ This is because the Components view will always show the surface mesh
after the import/baseplate creation.
◆ For the result mapping, always the
surface mesh displayed in the
Meshes view will be used which is
active when you navigate to the
Analysis widget.

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Simufact Additive Tutorial 121
Example: Mechanical Simulation
Aircraft Component – Model setup
◆ Before starting the simulation, we will check on the matrix solver in the
Numerical parameters

b
For more
detailed information
◆ For the mechanical solution, the default solver is always the Iterative about the matrix
solver take a look
Sparse. If there are temperatures in the simulation the MUMPS Parallel into the infosheet
Direct solver should be used because it is more accurate regarding the ‘AdvancedSettingsS
temperatures. olver_en.pdf’.

For filigree, thin-walled models with large build height, it could happen that
the iterative solver does not converge. In this case both solver the MUMPS
Parallel Direct and the Pardiso Direct Sparse can be used to achieve
convergence and to save calculation time.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
◆ Now we are ready to start the simulation. Since the number of voxel
elements is much higher, this will take longer than for the Quickstart
example.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 122

Example: Mechanical Simulation
Aircraft Component – Postprocessing
◆ As soon as the first results are present, you will see that there is an
Additional entry in the Results widget
◆ There you can plot the forces that occur at the baseplate fixation
Make sure that there are enough voxel nodes inside the fixation cylinder These are the
geometry to make sure to get realistic results sums of the forces
of all fixed nodes.
We have reviewed
these nodes
previously in this
chapter after
creating the voxel
mesh.

These fixation
results only exist
because we have
defined the
baseplate as
deformable

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 123
Example: Mechanical Simulation
Aircraft Component – Postprocessing
◆ When you now display the surface deviation and compare it to the previous
Quickstart chapter, you can see that the distortions are higher.
To realistically simulate the surface deviation is critical for a distortion
compensation. Therefore, make sure to perform a proper calibration.

Please refer to
the previous chapter
on how to view the
surface deviation.

You can find

more information in
the other chapters
for Powder Bed
Fusion or in the
chapter
Postprocessing!

Spatial Distributed Calibration - Mechanical

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Back to p.1
Simufact Additive Tutorial 125
Spatial Distributed Calibration
Introduction
◆ Calibrating the Z-distortions only in the center of the baseplate for the
whole workspace may be a simplification for some cases.
◆ There can be several influences on spatially distributed strains such as:
▪ Shielding gas flow
▪ Multiple laser zones
Spatial
▪ Angle of incidence of the laser distributed
▪ Distributed temperature field in the baseplate calibrations require
more computation
time compared to a
uniform calibration
and should therefore
only be performed if
spatially varying
strains have been
verified through
experimental results.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
*) Schniedenharn, M.; Schleifenbaum, J.H.: On the Correlation of the
Shielding Gas Flow in L-PBF Machines with Part Density, DDMC 2018,
Berlin

Simufact Additive Tutorial 126

Spatial Distributed Calibration
Implementation in Simufact Additive
◆ For an automatic spatial calibration process, split your workspace into
multiple sectors.
The specimen
dimensions may
limit the number of
sectors. We don’t
recommend to
downscale the
cantilever geometry
so that the base
◆ The inherent strains will be calculated in the center of each sector. Between plate can be
the centers, strains are interpolated. In the areas between the base plates partitioned into more
borders and the sector centers, the inherent strains will be kept constant. sectors.

◆ The more sectors are present, the better the spatial distributed resolution, A spatial
but also the calibration effort increases. distributed
calibration is only
possibly for a
If you haven’t yet, you should first read the chapters ‘Introducing the calibration of the
inherent strains →
Inherent Strain Method’ and ‘Example: Calibration - Mechanical’ since they Only for mechanical
describe the inherent strains concept and give some general advice simulation

Simufact Additive Tutorial 127

Spatial Distributed Calibration
Modelling
◆ The setup of the cantilevers is mostly automated and only some relevant The size of the
sectors don’t need to
parameters need to be entered. be identical, but their
◆ In the build parameter dialog, choose ‘Distributed’ setup. centers must align in
X- and Y-direction.
◆ With clicking on the green plus symbol, additional sectors can be added
and their center coordinates and starting values can be defined by It is also possible
to define only one row
double-clicking into the correspondent fields. in X- and one in Y-
◆ While this dialog is open, the sector centers and starting values are direction. By clicking
on the wizard button,
visualized in the model view. the table will be filled
with the missing
◆ Clicking on ‘Update cantilevers’ will delete the current geometries and place sector definitions
the default cantilevers in each sector. automatically.

An example setup
of a distributed
orthotropic calibration
is included in our
Demos explorer

Switch to the
matrix representation
for a better

Simufact Additive Tutorial 128

Spatial Distributed Calibration
Modelling
◆ After placing a cantilever in each sector, one measuring point gets
automatically assigned to each cantilever.
◆ In the calibration parameters dialog, you then can define the Z-deformation
of each cantilever.

The automated
setup is only
available for the
default cantilever
geometry. If you
want to use a user-
defined geometry,
the specimen need
to be positioned
manually. Also, the
measuring points
and cutting stages
need to be defined
manually.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 129

Spatial Distributed Calibration
Results
◆ The result dialog for a distributed calibration depicts graphs for each
segment/ sector and one with all segments.
◆ Each sector gets calibrated on its own and afterwards one validation
calibration is performed with all cantilevers.

A more detailed
description for this
dialog is available in
the previous tutorial
chapter or in the
dialogs infosheet.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 130
Spatial Distributed Calibration
Further tips
◆ While for the simulation all cantilevers are modelled on one baseplate, this
doesn’t have to be the case for the real printing setup, where the
cantilevers can be divided into multiple printing jobs.

◆ If only one sector doesn’t converge, it might be less time consuming to

calibrate only this sector again with uniform settings and different starting
values. The influence of neighboring cantilevers on a deformable baseplate
is typically very small.

◆ For an orthotropic calibration, the X- and the Y-oriented cantilevers always

must be modelled on the same baseplate in the simulation, even if one
baseplate was printed with only X-cantilevers and one with only Y-
cantilevers.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 131
Spatial Distributed Calibration
Summary mechanical calibration
◆ The following figure presents all existing inherent strain setups which can
be used in Simufact Additive:

Uniform Distributed
xx xx   
= =
   
yy yy
Isotropic

  

xx xx   

≠ ≠
  
Orthotropic

yy  yy
  

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 132
Spatial Distributed Calibration
Special case: Dual laser zones
◆ If the following setup exists, some further manual adjustments should be
taken
◆ The setup is a multiple laser machine, where each laser only operates in its
own laser zone
◆ Then there are typically dual laser zones between the single laser zones to
make sure that these areas get processed properly
Dual Laser Zone 1/2 Dual Laser Zone 2/3

Single Laser Zone 1 Single Laser Zone 2 Single Laser Zone 3

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 133
Spatial Distributed Calibration
Special case: Dual laser zones
◆ The inherent strains inside the dual laser zones may differ significantly from
the single laser zones, but inside each zone they may be nearly constant in This workaround
X-direction is only necessary
if a part is printed
◆ That’s why the resultant table of the calibrated sectors can’t be used as it in these dual laser
is, since the strains between the centers of the single and dual laser zones zones
will get interpolated
The dual laser
◆ How to approach this setup:
zones are often
▪ In X-direction, every single and dual laser zone is one sector small and don‘t
provide enough
▪ In Y-direction the number of sectors must be defined based on the space for a X-
base plate dimension and a Y-oriented
cantilever. During
▪ Calibrate in the sectors center like described in the previous slides printing, fit your
cantilevers as
good as possible
in these zones.
Ideally, you print
one plate with
only X-cantilevers
and one with only

Simufact Additive Tutorial 134

Spatial Distributed Calibration
Special case: Dual laser zones
◆ When the calibration finished, define the X-coordinates on the sectors
borders in the build properties dialog of a new process
◆ Assign these border points the strain values of their sector. This way, the
inherent strains in each sector are kept constant in X-direction and in
Y-direction there is still an interpolation
𝜀𝑆1 𝜀𝐷1/2 𝜀𝑆2 𝜀𝐷2/3
𝜀𝑆3
After the
coordinates and
Y1-sectors their strain values
are defined once in
the GUI, they can be
Y2-sectors exported as .csv and
reimported for
subsequent
Y3-sectors simulations
Inherent strain value ε

Y1-sectors
Y2-sectors

X-direction

Simufact Additive Tutorial 135

Tutorial

Introducing the Thermal Cycle Method

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Back to p.1
Simufact Additive Tutorial 136
Introducing the Thermal Cycle Method
Introduction
◆ When choosing the thermomechanical analysis approach, Simufact
Additive simulates the deformation based on the temperature
◆ To get usable simulation times, the thermal and thermomechanical
approach make use of some simplifications
◆ Three simplifications are made: The inherent
strains do not apply
▪ One element layer includes multiple real powder layers for thermo and
▪ All elements in one layer get melted at once thermomechanical
simulations
▪ After the melting, a secondary energy input takes place
◆ Because of these points, also the thermal and thermomechanical This chapter
processes have to be calibrated provides some
background
knowledge. In the
next tutorial chapter,
a typical calibration
setup is explained
step by step

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 137
Introducing the Thermal Cycle Method
Moving heat source model
◆ The most realistic simulation would be a moving heat source, like it is done
in Simufact Welding
◆ A point gets melted when the laser moves over it, cools down when the
laser moves away and reheats when the laser moves along adjacent
trajectories

Temperature
Measuring Point Measuring Point

◆ This approach is not suitable for the manufacturing

simulation of a whole part, since it results in too
high simulation times!

Simufact Additive Tutorial 138

Introducing the Thermal Cycle Method
The thermal cycle method
◆ The energy input gets divided into two fractions
◆ The primary fraction melts the powder, which results in reaching the peak
temperature
◆ The secundary fraction compensates for the
heating/cooling after the material was melted In reality, the
exposure time would
◆ This results in a simplified thermal cycle be much smaller

Temperature
than displayed here

Because some
activation energy is
needed to melt the
powder, the peak
temperature should
be 1,2 .. 1,5 times
the melting
temperature

Time

Copyright © Hexagon AB
◆ The percentage portion of the primary fraction is described by the
Exposure Energy Fraction (EEF) that must be calibrated with the peak
temperature that should be reached in a thermal simulation

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Introducing the Thermal Cycle Method
Volumetric expansion factor (VEF)
◆ For a thermomechanical simulation there is a second parameter beside the
EEF, that needs to be calibrated

◆ It’s called volumetric expansion factor (VEF)

◆ The VEF scales the thermal strains. This is necessary because in the
simulation multiple real powder layers are comprised in one voxel layer.
Typically, this results in an overestimation of the thermal strains and hence
The calibration of
the VEF is smaller than one for usual applications the VEF can be
done isotropic or
anisotropic
◆ The calibration process is like the mechanical, inherent strain calibration,
where a Z-displacement is the target value. The volumetric expansion
factor is varied until the entered Z-displacement is reached

◆ The input of a valid EEF is needed, therefore a thermal calibration is

preceding the calibration of the VEF

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 140
Introducing the Thermal Cycle Method
Experimental setup
◆ The geometry to be manufactured can be the same cantilever as for the
inherent strains
◆ Therefore, the maximum Z-displacement needed for the calibration of the
VEF is measured in the same way In the chapter
Introducing the
◆ The measuring point for the peak temperature is usually placed inside the
inherent strains, the
parts volume experimental
acquisition of the Z-
Measured point of max. Z-
displacement is
displacement during the
explained
process

Measured point of peak For every

temperature during the process combination of
material properties
and process
parameters you
have to rerun the
calibration for the
Cutting plane & EEF and VEF
cutting direction values

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 141
Introducing the Thermal Cycle Method
The input for Simufact Additive
◆ In Simufact Additive you can enter the peak temperature or the measured A detailed step
Z-displacement into the ‘Calibration parameters dialog’ by step thermal and
thermomechanical
◆ The acceptable deviation describes the quality of the conformance between calibration tutorial is
the simulation and experimental results shown in the tutorial
chapter Calibration –
◆ For the thermal calibration simulate only one cantilever. For the Thermal &
thermomechanical calibration, place either one (isotropic) or two cantilevers Thermomechanical
(anisotropic)
Make sure the
position of the
measuring point is
identical for
Thermal calibration simulation and
experiment

If there is no
voxel node
positioned at the
measuring points
coordinates, it is
Thermomechanical calibration projected onto the
nearest node

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Simufact Additive Tutorial 142
Introducing the Thermal Cycle Method
The input for Simufact Additive
◆ Just like for the inherent strains calibration, the starting values for thermal
and thermomechanical calibrations are important too. The starting EEF can
be estimated according to your settings, or an arbitrary value can be
Make sure that
entered manually the Efficiency, also
◆ Also make sure every other value in the build properties dialog meets the called Absorptivity, is
defined properly.
conditions of the real-life process as precise as possible This value is not
only dependent on
Thermomechanical the material but also
on the process
settings

Thermal For a
thermomechanical
calibration, a user
library entry of a
preceding thermal
calibration can be
loaded. This does
not only define the
EEF, but also sets
the other process

Starting values

Simufact Additive Tutorial 143

Tutorial

Example: Thermomechanical Simulation

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Back to p.1
Simufact Additive Tutorial 144
Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Experimental data
◆ As explained in the previous chapter, the thermomechanical simulation also
needs to be calibrated, just like the mechanical simulation.
This chapter is a
◆ Before we can start with the calibration, we need experimental data as well. step by step tutorial
◆ For this example we use: of a thermal and
thermomechanical
▪ Material: TiAl6V4 powder calibration. For
▪ Peak temperature: 2400 °C some background
knowledge please
▪ Measured z distortion in x: 2.01 mm refer to the previous
chapter.
▪ Measured z distortion in y: 1.95 mm
▪ Cutting height: 2.9 mm It is
recommended to
print at least two
cantilevers in each
orientation to
consider the
experimental
tolerances. If you do
so, enter only one
averaged value for
◆ With these data we can go into the first thermal calibration in Simufact the simulation.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Additive. Afterwards we will implement the thermal and thermomechanical
calibrations into a bike part process.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 145

Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Creating a new project for the thermal calibration
◆ Create a new project, name it appropriately, select the ‘Thermal’ approach
and the simulation type ‘Calibration’ in the process properties:

d
For the thermal
e approach only the
build stage is
available.

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Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
View of the thermal calibration model
◆ Selecting the ‘Calibration‘ process type calls a template where the
geometry is already predefined for one cantilever.

Besides the
default cantilever
geometry, user-
defined geometries
can be used for a
calibration too.

Calibration geometries
are already pre-defined

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 147
Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Rename the process
◆ Because the thermomechanical calibration setup consists of two
calibrations, we rename the process first to distinguish the two processes
later. Therefore, hover the mouse over the process widget, right-click on
the process and select rename:

◆ Rename the process to ‘Thermal‘.

b
c

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Simufact Additive Tutorial 148
Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Selecting a powder material
◆ Open the ‘Machine’ widget and double-click the ‘Material’ entry or right-click
and select ‘Library’:

For every
a combination of
material properties
and set of process
▪ For this tutorial please select parameters you
b ‘TiAl6V4_powder’ and confirm with OK. have to rerun the
calibration to
calibrate the
exposure energy
fraction as well as
the volumetric
expansion factor
values.

Note how the

filter is this time set
c to ‘Area of
application: Powder’.

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Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Selecting a base plate material
◆ Since the base plate deformation is activated for thermal and
thermomechanical analysis automatically, we need to define the base plate
material. Therefore, click on the machine widget and double-click on Base
plate:
▪ For this tutorial please select
‘TiAl6V4_baseplate’ and confirm with OK.
a

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Simufact Additive Tutorial 150
Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Calibration parameters
◆ For the calibration, we need so called measuring points which track the
temperature of the specimens.
◆ Click on the ‘Manufacturing & optimization’ widget and open the Build
properties with a double-click:

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Simufact Additive Tutorial 151
Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Calibration parameters
◆ The measuring point for the temperature should be in the middle of the Part
and not on the edge. Therefore we change the coordinates according to the
figure below. We change our target temperature too.

As you change
the parameters, the
measuring point
displayed in the
model view will be
updated.

The program will

try to calibrate the
target temperature
at this measuring
point by searching
for a suitable value
for the exposure
energy fraction.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 152
Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Set up the build parameters
◆ Next, go to the sub-menu ‘Build parameters‘ and select the predefined build
parameters for TiAl6V4-200W from the library and change the efficiency to
60 %. Also select the library entries for the thermal, post build and
advanced thermal parameters (if available):

The efficiency,
also called,
b absorption rate, is
a dependent on
d material parameters
e and process
f parameters like
c wavelength or laser
speed. For an
accurate calibration
and simulation
please make sure to
set a realistic value.

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Simufact Additive Tutorial 153
Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Create the voxel mesh
◆ Click on the analysis widget and double click on Voxel mesh to create the
It is
mesh for the part and base plate. Chose the settings from the picture recommended to
below: use the voxel size
from the calibration
in the process
simulation as well. If
necessary, multiple
calibrations with
variable voxel sizes
could be a solution.

Due to the
number of voxels
you can set the
‘Number of domains’
to 1 and the
‘Number of cores’ for
SMP to a value
based on your
available cores
These settings are
accessible in the
‘Numerical

Copyright © Hexagon AB
◆ After creating the voxel mesh, the thermal calibration is ready to start. For
parameters’ dialog.
this, click on the green arrow. You can ignore the following warning about
missing support structures.

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Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Viewing results of the thermal calibration
◆ Open the ‘Calibration results’ to see the results of each calibration step. For
each step, the deviation from the desired target temperature is plotted for
each measuring point.

The thermal
a calibration process
runs multiple
simulations to
calculate the
b ‘exposure energy
fraction’ which
correlates
temperature results
with test build data.

◆ Write down the value for the exposure energy fraction of 21.6004 % or add Newton-based
optimization method
the calculated value to your library by clicking on the green plus symbol. is used in the
◆ With this value, we now go into the thermomechanical calibration which will calibration.
be shown on the next slides.

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Simufact Additive Tutorial 155
Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Creating a new project for the thermomechanical calibration

◆ Create a new process, select the ‘thermomechanical’ approach and the

simulation type ‘Calibration’ in the process properties:
a

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Simufact Additive Tutorial 156
Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
View of the thermal calibration model
◆ Selecting the ‘Calibration‘ process type calls a template where the
geometries are already predefined for two cantilever.

Besides the
default cantilever
geometry, user-
defined geometries
can be used for a
calibration too.

Calibration geometries
are already pre-defined

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 157
Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Rename the process
◆ Because the thermomechanical calibration setup consists of two
calibrations, we rename the second process. Therefore, hover the mouse
over the process widget, right-click on the process and select rename:

◆ Rename the process to

‘Thermomechanical‘.
a

b
c

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 158
Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Selecting a powder material
◆ Open the ‘Machine’ widget and double-click the ‘Material’ entry or right-click
and select ‘Library’:

▪ For this tutorial please select

b ‘TiAl6V4_powder’ and confirm with OK.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 159

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 160
Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Set up the build parameters
◆ For the calibration, we need so called measuring points which track the Z
distortion of the specimens after cutting. You can also track another
calibration value e. g. X or Y displacement.
◆ Click on the ‘Manufacturing & optimization’ widget and open the Build
properties with a double-click:

a
b c
You can calibrate
the volumetric
expansion factor Z by
checking its box.
◆ Define the max. target for
both parts :
▪ z_max target1: 2.01 mm
▪ z_max target2: 1.95 mm

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 161
Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Set up the build parameters
◆ Next, go to the sub-menu ‘Build parameters‘ and select the predefined build
parameters for TiAl6V4-200W from the library and change the efficiency to
60 %. Also select the library entries for the thermal, post build and
advanced thermal parameters (if available):

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 162
Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Set up the build parameters
◆ Next, go to the sub-menu ’Build parameters‘ and change the value for the
exposure energy fraction to the value from the first thermal calibration of
21,6004 %:

The defined
a
value for the
volumetric
expansion factor in
this dialog is used
as starting value for
b c the calibration. If you
have more detailed
knowledge about the
process you can set
it to the expected
value. For this
example we use the
default value of 0,6.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 163
Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Create the voxel mesh
◆ Click on the analysis widget and double click on Voxel mesh to create the
It is
mesh for the part and base plate. Chose the settings from the picture recommended to
below: use the voxel size
from the calibration
in the process
simulation as well. If
necessary, multiple
calibrations with
variable voxel sizes
could be a solution.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 164

Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Viewing results of the thermomechanical calibration
◆ Open the ‘Calibration results’ to see the results of each calibration step. For
each step, the deviation from the desired deflection is plotted for each
cantilever.
◆ Next, save the calibrated value to the library
to use it in further process simulations by
a
clicking on the green plus symbol.
◆ Give the result a more meaningful name, for
b example “Calibrated-Thermomechanical”.
Newton-based
optimization method
is used in the
calibration.
c d

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Simufact Additive Tutorial 165
Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Using the calibrated values in further simulations
◆ Once the calibrated exposure energy fraction (as well as the volumetric
expansion factor) values are saved to the library, all further simulations can
use these calibrated values. Therefore, go to the build properties dialog
and select the calibrated values from your library:

Simufact Additive Tutorial 166

Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Implementing the calibrations into a simulation
◆ In this tutorial, a bike part will be printed with TiAl6V4 powder and its
distortions and temperature field will be evaluated.
◆ At the very beginning, we start to create a simulation with the thermal
calibration to evaluate the peak temperature depending on certain machine
parameters.
◆ After this we run the more complex simulation with
the thermomechanical calibration. In this way we
can evaluate the peak temperature after a
relatively brief thermal simulation. The
thermomechanical simulation will be run with the
same parameters as in the thermal simulation.
◆ These approaches perform a thermal driven
analysis of the layer-wise generation of parts
and support structures. Thermal parameters like
power and temperatures are defined to simulate
the additive generation of them.
◆ Finally, you will learn how to analyze the results.

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Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Creating a new project
◆ Start Simufact Additive
▪ You can find the shortcut on the desktop or in the start menu The section
‘Recent projects’
allows a quick
access to last 10
recent projects. You
can also delete the
quick access of
projects from this
◆ Upon starting, the following dialog opens: section. Projects not
found on the disk
▪ Select ‘New project…‘ will be marked red.

Please note that

deleting the contents
from this list does
not delete the
project from the
disk.

You can find the

infosheet button in

Simufact Additive Tutorial 168

Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Project location and process properties
◆ Select the name and storage location of the project:

▪ Please enter the name ‘Bike-Part’. The section

‘Brief description’
▪ Select a location where the project gives you short
should be saved. information about
the object where the
mouse is positioned
on. You can find this
section in every
dialog of Simufact
Additive.
◆ Define process properties:
▪ In this dialog you can define the In some dialogs
process and analysis type. you can find the
section ‘Comment’
▪ Please select ‘Thermal’ to simulate within you can add
using the thermal approach. specific descriptions
and comments, i.e.
▪ Click ‘OK’ to create a new process process properties
with these settings. and information
about variants. The

Simufact Additive Tutorial 169

Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Rename the process and import the geometry
◆ Define a process name:
▪ Switch to the
‘Processes’ widget You can also use
and enter the name the shortcut ‘F2’ to
rename a Process.
’bike-part-thermal- Therefore, please
calibration’ select the process
a b which you want to
rename and then
use the shortcut ‘F2’
to rename it.

You can only

rename processes
that do not yet have
◆ Import a ‘component / part’: results!

▪ Please click on the ‘Machine’ widget

You can access
a to display its contents. the properties dialog
▪ Left double mouse click on ‘Parts’ or either by using
b double-click, or
right mouse click and select ‘Import’. using the right

Simufact Additive Tutorial 170

Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Selecting CAD geometry
◆ Selecting CAD data:

a The table below

shows you the
import formats which
Simufact Additive
supports:

◆ You can find the bike part component CAD-file in the following path:
▪ …\simufact\additive\<version>\examples\metal_powder_bed_fusion\

Simufact Additive Tutorial 171

Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Geometry import and pre-positioning
◆ The following dialog shows the dimensions of the part that is about to be
imported. You can also do a quick pre-positioning here (e.g. center the part
to the base plate).
◆ For this .stl file the unit millimeter should be selected. The dimensions
of the build space
◆ Now center the part and set a ‘Distance to bottom’ of 15.0 mm. are displayed, too.
Therefore, you can
check if your
imported geometry
fits into the selected
machine. Further
information about
bounding boxes can
be found in the
infosheet
a ‘ManualPositioning_
[Link]’
b
Use the
centering buttons to
place your part in
the center of the

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Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Model view after geometry import
◆ Your model view should now look like this:

Space for
the support
structures

Part placed with a distance

Simufact Additive Tutorial 173

Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Creating support structures
◆ To generate supports within Simufact Additive, click on the Supports Instead of
container. Then double-click on the desired part group: creating the support
structures, you can
also import existing
support geometries
a by using the option
‘Import’ when you
c right-click on a part
group.

b
Besides the
Simufact cylinder
supports it is also
◆ Please change the ‘Method’ to Simufact possible to generate
supports with a
and set the value for ‘Support radius’ to CADS Additive
d
0.25 mm and click on Generate supports to support generator.
start the support generation. While creating the
support structures
you have several
e options, e.g. the
support radius. You
can find more

Simufact Additive Tutorial 174

Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Part material selection
◆ To select your powder material, open the ‘Machine‘ widget and double-
click on the Material entry or right-click on it and select ‘Library’:

For more
information about
b material used in
Simufact Additive,
please refer to the
tutorial chapter
c “Material for
Additive”.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 175

Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Base plate material selection
◆ Selecting a base plate material:
▪ For a thermal and thermomechanical
analysis, a base plate material needs to
a
be selected.
▪ Therefore, double click on ‘Base plate’
and then click on the ‘Import material
from library’ button and select
TiAl6V4_baseplate. In contrast to a
mechanical
simulation, the base
plate deformation
will always be
considered in the
thermomechanical
approach.
c

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Simufact Additive Tutorial 176
Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Defining ‘Build’ properties
◆ Open the ‘Manufacturing & optimization’ widget and open the Build stage:

◆ In the tab Build parameters please select

the “Calibrated-Thermal” preset from the
a
library which defines all relevant values.
You can also save or import your own build
b parameters to user library and use them for The parameters,
other simulations. which are defined
here, have a direct
◆ The Efficiency is the impact on the result
accuracy. If you
absorption rate of the material c create a process for
the first time, take
and is dependent on material g your time to define
and process parameters. realistic values for
d all parameters.
◆ It is advised to determine the
Exposure energy fraction in a
thermal calibration process.
◆ Also select the Calibrated-Thermal presets for the Thermal parameters
e

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Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Creating the voxel mesh
◆ Double click on the ‘Voxel mesh’ entry in the ‘Analysis’ widget to open the
meshing properties:
Simufact
Additive uses
a hexahedral
elements (voxel
elements) for the
b calculation, where
all components
(part, supports and
◆ Define the ‘Voxel size’ and ‘Base plate mesh parameters’: base plate) share
common nodes. It is
recommended that
➢ Mesh type: Uniform the voxel mesh is
fine enough for
➢ Levels of coarsening: 2 results mapping.
➢ Voxel size x/y/z: 3.0 mm
The thickness of
➢ Meshing type (base plate): Adaptive the base plate can
meshing be defined in
Machine widget >
➢ Number of layers: 3 Base plate > Base
➢ Level of coarsening: 2 plate properties >

Simufact Additive Tutorial 178

Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Error during voxel meshing
◆ You will get the following error messages, that some components could not
be meshed (the name of the supports which could not be meshed can vary
for different support generations):

Please delete
existing single
support structure
◆ At this point, we have two options to solve this error: because of very low
volume fraction
▪ 1. Reduce the element edge length of the voxel elements or… which may lead to
▪ 2. Delete these supports which could not be meshed. issues during the
simulation.
◆ It is recommended to reduce the element edge length if this error message
pops up. But for this example, we will delete the Support-32 and rerun the
meshing again. Therefore, go back to ‘Machine’ widget and delete the
‘Support-32’ as following slide shown.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 179
Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Deleting single support structure
◆ Please delete the existing single support structure ‘Support-32’ which may
lead to issues during voxel meshing or during simulation as follows, the
selected support will be highlighted in the Model view:
It is also
possible to delete a
single geometry in
the model view
directly. Therefore,
View Manipulation: select the geometry
▪ A double-click on the eye which should be
deleted with a right
symbol of a single part or a mouse click and
support structure in the select ‘Delete‘.
widget will highlight the
part or support structure in If you want to
view single support
the model view and b groups, right-click on
centers the model view the group in the
onto them. c model view and
select ‘Show only’ or
Support-32 which is selected
right-click on the
group entry in the
widget and select
▪ If you click on a part or support structure in the model view, the

Copyright © Hexagon AB
‘Show support
correspondent entry is selected in the widget. structure only’
▪ By holding CTRL, you can select multiple parts or supports.

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Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Rerun voxel meshing
◆ Go back to the Analysis widget and double click on voxel mesh. Rerun the
voxel mesh with the parameters shown on the previous slides.
◆ Now, this time it should work. You can see the voxel mesh which is used for
the upcoming calculation. As you can observe, the outer voxels outrange
the actual geometry. The following slides explain this concept.

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Simufact Additive Tutorial 181
Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Voxel mesh and ‘Volume fraction’
◆ The ‘Volume fraction’ is a value which describes how much volume of the
voxel element is filled by the geometry. To display the volume fraction,
double click on Voxel mesh again and activate ‘Show volume fraction’ as
below:

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Simufact Additive Tutorial 182
Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Voxel mesh and ‘Volume fraction’
◆ The figure below shows the ‘Volume fraction’ of the model which is cut into
half:

If the ‘Volume
fraction’ inside the
c component’s mesh
a
is completely blue
(Volume fraction of
zero) that means
b
that the mesh quality
is not good. In that
case you should use
a smaller voxel size.

Close this view

by click on OK in the
voxel mesh
properties dialog.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 183
Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Finish the model setup and simulation start
◆ In the ‘Numerical parameters’ dialog in the “Analysis” widget you can set up
the parallelization options. For this example, set the number of domains to
4 and for each domain 2 cores. The default method Recursive coordinate
bisection should be used.

You can adjust

the number of
domains and the
number of cores for
the parallelization
according to your
available cores and
◆ Run the simulation! licenses to
accelerate your
simulation.
c
d

The indicators below the “Machine”,

Copyright © Hexagon AB
“Manufacturing & optimization” and
“Analysis” widgets turn green if everything
needed for a simulation start is set.

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Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Evaluation of peak temperature
◆ Post-processing ‘Peak temperature‘:
Please check if
the peak temperature
is higher than the
a melting temperature
and lower than the
evaporation
temperature.
b Ideally the peak
temperature is around
1.5* melting
temperature, as a
specific activation
energy is needed to
melt up the powder
completely.
Often the peak
temperature of the first
layer is lower, as the
base plate is a heat
sink (especially if it is
not pre heated).
To display the
results of every voxel
◆ Please switch to the result value ‘Peak temperature’ to evaluate. layer, enable the
‘Show

Copyright © Hexagon AB
option
◆ As you can see, the peak temperature is about 2399 °C. This is a realistic intermediate results’ in
value due to the usage of the thermal calibration. the options of the
animation toolbar on
◆ Now, we are going to simulate the thermomechanical simulation. the lower right.

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Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Creating the thermomechanical simulation
◆ Create a copy of the original process which we will edit and rerun with a
thermomechanical approach. You can also
create a new
◆ Therefore, go to the ‘Processes’ widget and right-click on the process ’01-
process. In this case
thermal-analysis’: we are using the
copy function
▪ Copy without results because only the
simulation
a configuration is
different to the initial
simulation.

b c
You can also use
the shortcut ‘F2’ to
▪ Rename the process to rename a process.
Therefore, please
’bike-part-thermomechanical- select the process
calibration’ which you want to
rename and then
use the shortcut ‘F2’
to rename.
d

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Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Changing the process type to thermomechanical
◆ Open process properties:

◆ Do the following changes:

▪ Select ‘Thermomechanical’ as By using the
‘Simulation configuration’. copy function, the
model as well as all
▪ Add ‘Cutting’ and ‘Support process settings will
c removal’ to the process chain. be copied to the new
process.
▪ Confirm the changes by clicking
on ‘OK’.

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Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Defining the cutting from the base plate
◆ For this example, select the ‘Mode: Directional cutting’ and set the ‘Height’
to 10.0 mm.
◆ Set the cutting direction to ‘+X (left to right)’ and confirm with ‘OK’.
We use a cutting
height of 10 mm to
avoid cutting
through the possible
a c deformed base plate
after the printing.
b
For this tutorial
we use the mode
‘Directional
cutting‘. The mode
‘Arbitrary cutting‘
offers more refined
d
possibilities to cut
the part from the
base plate. For more
detailed information,
please refer to the
infosheet linked in

Visualization of the cutting

plane (direction & height)

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Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Defining the build parameters
◆ Compared to a thermal simulation, the build dialog of a thermomechanical
simulation is extended by the VEF (volumetric expansion factor).
◆ Select the “Calibrated-Thermomechanical” preset like we showed
previously. Now all the calibrated VEF values should be imported.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 189
Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Defining the advanced thermal parameters
◆ At the tab “Advanced thermal parameters”, the heat loss by radiation and
convection of the part/supports and the baseplate can be defined.
◆ Please keep the default values.
‘Emissivity’
defines the heat loss
due to radiation and
‘Heat transfer
a coefficient’ defines
the heat loss due to
b convection.

The surfaces
with radiation/
convection can be
evaluated with the
result value
‘Thermal boundary
conditions’. Please
have a look on the
Postprocessing

Simufact Additive Tutorial 190

Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Defining the support removal and start simulation
◆ Open the ‘Support removal’ properties and select the supports that will be
removed.
At the beginning
all support structures
will be assigned to
a c ‘Unassigned
supports’ which
means that these
supports will not be
b removed during the
simulation. By using
the buttons ( , )
you can assign or
d deselect single
support structure, or
◆ Run the simulation! all support
structures with the
buttons ( , ).

b You can also

create more than
a one support removal
stage to consider

Simufact Additive Tutorial 191

Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Postprocessing – Temperature distribution
◆ Please see the temperature distribution during build stage:

If the result view

is opened, the
temperature result
value will be shown
as default for the
thermal and
thermomechanical
approaches. In
contrast to that, the
total displacement is
shown for a
mechanical
simulation.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 192
Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Postprocessing – Thermal boundary conditions
The result value
◆ Next, we want to have a look on the thermal boundary conditions. ‘Thermal boundary
Therefore, please hover the mouse over the color legend and select conditions’ shows
‘Thermal boundary conditions‘. surfaces with
convection and
radiation and the
adiabatic ones,
where no heat
transfer takes place.

Radiation and
convection to the
surrounding air is at
the upper surface of
the upper layer.

Currently, the
contact area
between part/
supports and
baseplate and
between baseplate
and the constrained
plane is highlighted

Simufact Additive Tutorial 193

Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Postprocessing – Total displacement
◆ Please see the total displacement of the geometry at the end of the
simulation:

Copyright © Hexagon AB
◆ Because of the rigid body movement, the total displacement is not a good
measure to evaluate the result quality. Therefore, we will apply the best-fit
function and evaluate the result value ‘Surface deviation’.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 194

Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Postprocessing – Problem with rigid body movement
◆ Because of the rigid body movement, it is not recommended to evaluate
the total displacement if the part is cut off from the base plate. In this case,
use the shape comparison to compare the results.

z z z
It is not
recommended, to
evaluate the total
displacement when
the process
considers a cutting
x x x stage because of
Translation Translation Rotation
possible rigid body
movement which
Total displacement = 𝑥2 − 𝑥1 2 + 𝑧2 − 𝑧1 2
may lead to wrong
interpretation of the
z (x2,z2) results.
The total displacement will not be zero, in this
example, because this result value does track the
whole movement of a node. From the users' point of
view, it seems like the part has some distortions.
(x1,z1)

Simufact Additive Tutorial 195

Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Postprocessing – Shape comparison
◆ To open the shape comparison, click on the “Results” widget then right click
on ‘Surface results’ and select the ‘Shape comparison’:

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 196
Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Postprocessing – Shape comparison
You can import
◆ First, switch to the mode ‚surface deviation‘ (a), then click on the arrow to more reference
geometries and
proceed the best-fit alignment (b) and activate the visualization of surface compare the
deviation to see the desired result (c). deviations, e.g.
result geometries
◆ Optionally, you can also display the initial shape by left mouse click on . calculated with
differently scaled
initial geometries or
computed
tomography
inspections.

a
The best fit
method is very
b reliant on the quality
c of the input surface
meshes. Make sure
that the surface of
the printed part but
also the surface of
the imported
reference shape is
of good quality!

Simufact Additive Tutorial 197

Example: Thermomechanical Simulation
Postprocessing – Screw forces
◆ In the ‘Additional’ entry of the “Results” widget you have the possibility to evaluate the
screw forces of the base plate during the process.
◆ Clicking on the Fixations and selecting Show properties or double-clicking on it will open
a THS plot window showing the accumulated forces for each defined screw in the
process:

c
Please note that
b
the screw forces
◆ By default, all fixations are shown when here refer to the
opening the THS plot. You can show and nodal reaction
hide them by activating or deactivating forces.
the checkbox of the corresponding
fixation under Selection.
◆ By default, the total reaction forces over
time are displayed. You can choose for
x-axis between time, increment and

Simufact Additive Tutorial 198

Tutorial

Calibration Summary

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Back to p.1
Simufact Additive Tutorial 199
Calibration Summary
Different Calibration Processes
◆ In this chapter the different calibration processes are summarized to grant
a general overview about the available process types.
◆ Note that for thermomechanical calibrations only a uniform distribution is
available.
◆ The complexity of a spatially distributed calibration depends highly on the For a detailed
number of sectors defined. description of one
specific calibration
type, please refer to
the previous tutorial
Thermal & thermomechanical chapters.
Mechanical calibrations
calibrations
For the thermal
Uniform mechanical isotropic calibration of the
exposure energy
calibration fraction, one
Uniform mechanical orthotropic Thermal & uniform isotropic cantilever on the
Detail

base plate is always

Speed

calibration thermomechanical calibration

sufficient.
Spatially distributed mechanical Thermal & uniform orthotropic
isotropic calibration thermomechanical calibration

Simufact Additive Tutorial 200

Calibration Summary
Input and output

Calibration/
Input Output
Manufacturing type

Mechanical Z-deformation Inherent strains

Thermal Peak temperature Exposure energy fraction

Z-deformation/
Thermomechanical Exposure energy Volumetric expansion factor
fraction

◆ The peak temperature must always be higher than the melting temperature
and lower than the evaporation temperature. Optimal values are around 1,5
times the melting temperature.
◆ Ideally, the measuring point for the Z-deformation should be at the front of
the cantilever, whereas the measuring point for the peak temperature

Simufact Additive Tutorial 201

Calibration Summary
What calibration process to use?
◆ The advantages of inherent strains are that they comprise many process
parameters that don’t need to be defined in the simulation. Furthermore,
the simulation time can be kept low.
◆ If you want to know the temperature distribution in the parts, a thermal or Typically,
thermomechanical approach is necessary. orthotropic
conditions are
◆ Another advantage of the thermal + thermomechanical approach is that present for most
local overheating due to the geometry can be simulated, including all processes
mechanical responses, which is not possible with the purely mechanical
When your
approach. → Depending on the case, this might result in more realistic process comes with
deformations high strains due to
phase
transformation, the
◆ It is important to chose the calibration setup best suited for your printing thermomechanical
process. For this you should check for some process characteristics. approach with phase
transformation
▪ Check for isotropic or orthotropic behavior: Is there a distinct deviation should be preferred
of the displacements between the X- and Y-oriented cantilever? over the inherent
strain approach
▪ Check for a spatial dependency of your strains: Are the cantilever
displacements dependent on their position on the baseplate?

Simufact Additive Tutorial 202

Calibration Summary
What calibration process to use?

Inherent strain approach Thermal/ thermomechanical

approach
Mechanical calibration Thermal calibration

Distinct orthotropic behavior? Evaluate mechanical response

too?
Yes No No Yes

Orthotropic setup Isotropic setup Distinct orthotropic

Thermal calibration
behavior?

Distinct spatial distribution?

No Yes

No Yes
Thermal + isotropic Thermal + orthotropic
thermomechanical thermomechanical
Uniform calibration Distributed calibration calibration calibration

Example: Distortion Compensation

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Back to p.1
Simufact Additive Tutorial 204
Example: Distortion Compensation
Introduction
◆ This example shows you how to set up an optimization to generate a
predeformed geometry.
◆ The goal is that the predeformed geometry has lower deviations to the
ideal geometry after printing.
◆ Simufact Additive offers two ways to compensate the distortion:
▪ Automatic method to achieve a max. acceptable deviation.
This tutorial
▪ Manual method with a user defined compensation factor. The discusses a
achieved deviation after printing is not known. distortion
compensation of a
Powder Bed Fusion
process. Metal
Binder Jetting is
discussed in its own
chapter.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 205

Example: Distortion Compensation
Automatic Distortion Compensation - Preprocessing
◆ We will start with the model creation of the automatic method.

◆ Start Simufact Additive and create a new project.

◆ Define the process properties like in the following figure:

You can find

infosheet buttons in
several dialogs for
further information.
An infosheet
contains detailed
description about
the dialog. You can
also find some
information in the
brief description field
in most dialogs.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 206
Example: Distortion Compensation
Automatic Distortion Compensation - Preprocessing
◆ Import the parts CAD geometry:
▪ Please select the ‘Machine’ widget to
display its contents.
a
▪ Left double mouse click on ‘Parts’ or
b right mouse click and select ‘Import’ to
start the geometry import.

◆ You can find the engine mount geometry file in the following path:

Copyright © Hexagon AB
▪ …\simufact\additive\<version>\examples\distortion_compensation\CA
D-Data\engine_mount_vertical.stp

Simufact Additive Tutorial 207

Example: Distortion Compensation
Automatic Distortion Compensation - Preprocessing
◆ In the next Dialog you can select the import options of the STEP file.
◆ Here you can select the meshing parameters of the surface mesh. Simufact
Additive use
discretized
geometries.
Therefore, a surface
mesh is always
needed.

When you have

imported the part as
CAD data, you also
have the possibility
to export the
compensated
geometry as CAD
data. Later in this
chapter it will be
explained how to do
this. This requires
e the
SF_CAD_MORPH

Simufact Additive Tutorial 208

Example: Distortion Compensation
Automatic Distortion Compensation - Preprocessing
◆ The following dialog shows the dimensions of the part that is about to be
imported. You can also do a quick first positioning here (e. g. center the Make sure to
select the right unit
part in the build space). system when you
◆ Activate the checkbox Positioning of geometries and click on the both import a part.
centering buttons of left and front to center the part. At last, set a distance
to bottom (distance to baseplate) of 5 mm. You can also
check if your
imported geometry
fits in the machine
dimensions.
Therefore, compare
the dimensions of
the build space and
the component’s
bounding box.

a
Use the
b centering buttons to
c place your part in
d the center of the
build space. Or
enter a position

Simufact Additive Tutorial 209

Example: Distortion Compensation
Automatic Distortion Compensation - Preprocessing
◆ Your model view should now look like this:

Space for the

support structures

Part placed on
machine base plate

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 210
Example: Distortion Compensation
Automatic Distortion Compensation - Preprocessing
◆ To generate supports with Simufact Additive, click on the Supports entry in
In this tutorial,
the Machine widget. Then double click on the parts group. we will create the
◆ Switch to the Simufact method and generate the supports with default support structures
with Simufact
parameters: Additive. You can
also import existing
support geometries.

a With the feature

‘Preview’ the
b surfaces where the
supports will be
created are marked
in the model view.
c
While creating
the support
structures you have
several options and
different methods.
For more detailed
information, please

Simufact Additive Tutorial 211

Example: Distortion Compensation
Automatic Distortion Compensation - Preprocessing

If the supports
are generated with
Simufact Additive,
they will be put into
different groups.

By right clicking
the legend and
deactivating “Group
by object type” you
can show all support
structure groups
colored individually.

Supports added
to part

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 212
Example: Distortion Compensation
Automatic Distortion Compensation - Preprocessing
◆ To select your powder material, open the ‘Machine‘ widget and double click
the Material entry or right-click on it and select ‘Import’.

For more
information about
material used in
Simufact Additive,
a please refer to the
chapter “Material for
Additive”.

For this
example, we will use
a rigid baseplate.
Therefore, the
b baseplate material
doesn’t have to be
defined.

◆ Select TiAl6V4_powder and confirm your choice with OK.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 213

Example: Distortion Compensation
Automatic Distortion Compensation - Preprocessing
◆ Activate and set up the parameters for the distortion compensation. The accepted
distortion can be
◆ Define a value of 0.05 mm as accepted distortion: specified for every
separate part, the
c
maximum number of
optimization steps is
a a global optimization
process property.
b The optimization
stops when the
distortion results are
within given
maximum distortion
◆ Activating the checkbox “Automatic export” in the Export tab allows you or when maximum
number of steps is
export the compensated geometry of the best variant automatically. reached.

If the default
Results settings are
used, all result
increments except
the last one are
deleted for all
variants that are not

Copyright © Hexagon AB
A distortion compensation is not possible if a cutting through the part is the initial or the
defined in the cutting stage, since this makes the part lose its surface variant with best
mesh. results.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 214

Example: Distortion Compensation
Automatic Distortion Compensation - Preprocessing
◆ A compensation factor of -1 means that the geometry is pre-deformed in
the opposing direction of the surface deviation by the same amount. -0.5
would mean that it is pre-deformed by half of the amount.
▪ You can change this value if you have run similar distortion
compensation simulations with this geometry before and know the
effect of the pre-deformation with -1.
▪ If you don’t know how good the results of the compensation are, -1 is a
good starting point.

◆ If you have generated the supports in Simufact Additive, following variants

will be modelled with the same parameters automatically.
◆ If you have imported support structures, these will be distorted for following
variants, to keep the connectivity to the part.
▪ With the Interrupt between runs feature, the Simufact Additive will set
up following variants automatically, but the simulation will stop.
▪ Then you can change settings/ parameters, that will be used from

Copyright © Hexagon AB
there on and continue the distortion compensation.
▪ If the distortion of your imported supports would be unexpectable, you
can exchange them with a support geometry that fits this variant better.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 215

Example: Distortion Compensation
Automatic Distortion Compensation - Preprocessing
◆ Stay in ‘Manufacturing & optimization’ widget, open the Build properties.
◆ Please leave the default parameters:

For your own

process, you need
to calibrate your own
a build properties. For
c more information
refer to the chapter
‘Introducing the
b Inherent Strain
Method’. This will
lead to better
results.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 216
Example: Distortion Compensation
Automatic Distortion Compensation - Preprocessing
◆ Open the ‘Support removal’ properties and select a removal of all existing
support structures.
By using the
buttons ( , ) you
can assign or
a deselect single
support structure, or
c all support
structures with the
buttons ( , ).
b
You can also
create more than
one support removal
stage to consider
the sequence of
support removal. For
this add more
Support removal
stages in the
Process properties
dialog by double-
clicking on Stages.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 217

Example: Distortion Compensation
Automatic Distortion Compensation - Preprocessing
◆ Double click the ‘Voxel mesh’ entry in the ‘Analysis’ widget to open the
meshing properties:
Powder Bed
fusion processes in
a Simufact Additive
use hexahedral
elements as part of
b a voxel mesh for the
calculation, where
all components
◆ Please change the voxel size to (part, supports and
base plate) share
1 mm: common nodes.
c
For further notes
regarding the
different meshes for
metal powder bed
fusion processes,
refer to the chapter
“Example: Aircraft
Component -
Mechanical”.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 218

Example: Distortion Compensation
Automatic Distortion Compensation - Postprocessing
◆ Run the simulation!

a
b

The indicators below the “Machine”,

“Manufacturing & optimization” and “Analysis”
widgets turn green or yellow if everything
To start the
needed for a simulation start is set.
simulation, every
indicator below the
widgets must show
◆ The default parallelization settings in the numerical parameters, work good a green or yellow
with the generated number of elements and can be kept. If you have less color.

licenses or available physical CPU cores, you need to/ should reduce the
used domains.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 219
Example: Distortion Compensation
Automatic Distortion Compensation - Postprocessing
The maximum
◆ After the optimization ends successfully, the Distortion compensation distortion in this
graph refers to the
results will be shown in the Results widget: largest surface
deviation value in
terms of amount
when comparing the
a final shape of one
variant to the CAD
geometry.

b You can also

check the surface
deviation as a result
value manually. This
◆ Furthermore, more details about the reached max. distortion per iteration is shown on
can be seen in tab Table. following slides.

◆ As you can see, the optimization The maximum

needed just 2 variants to reach the distortion can’t get
reduced indefinitely.
given maximum distortion of Depending on the
0.05 mm. The simulated variants geometry, there is a
lowest value at

Copyright © Hexagon AB
can be found in the Processes which the graph
would have a
widget which is shown in following slide. constant or even
increasing course.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 220

Example: Distortion Compensation
Automatic Distortion Compensation - Postprocessing
◆ The variants for the optimization are subordinated to the initial process:

The variants for

the automatic
Initial process distortion
Process variant-1 compensation are
Process variant-2 (optimized) set up and started
automatically.

You can select a

◆ Let's compare the results of the initial and optimized process. Make sure process by clicking
that the initial process is selected and open the result view: on it in the
Processes widget. If
you are not sure
which process is
a currently selected,
you can check the
process name in the
b process information
c field in the lower left
of the view.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 221
Example: Distortion Compensation
Automatic Distortion Compensation - Postprocessing
◆ Open the shape comparison dialog, perform a best-fit operation (e) and
calculate the surface deviation (f):

The upper and

lower limits of the
a color legend can be
edited directly by
d double-clicking onto
either the upper or
b e lower limit. The
c distribution between
f the upper and lower
limits is then
automatically
adjusted.
◆ Adjust the color legend as follows and set the upper and lower bound to
±0.15 mm. The Surface
deviation result
b value can only be
displayed while this
c e shape comparison
a dialog is open.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 222

Example: Distortion Compensation
Automatic Distortion Compensation - Postprocessing
◆ The result of the initial process should look similar to the figure below:

The result value

‘Surface deviation’
displays the
deviation between a
reference geometry
and the resulting
shape after the
whole process
chain. Due to
possible rigid body
movement, it is
required to use the
shape comparison
and its integrated
best-fit feature
instead of the total
displacements to
eliminate the
influence of the rigid
body movement.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 223
Example: Distortion Compensation
Automatic Distortion Compensation - Postprocessing
◆ Do the same for the optimized process (Variant 2). Make sure that the
For the distortion
optimized process is selected and open the results view: compensation
variants, the
preselected
a reference geometry
‘Initial shape (part-
name)’ is the CAD
geometry that you
c have imported.
b
Normally you want
to get the surface
deviation to this
◆ Calculate the shape comparison again: reference.

Alternatively, you
can select ‘Initial
shape’. This is the
a compensated
geometry that was
d
used to start this
variant. The
b e deviation to this

Simufact Additive Tutorial 224

Example: Distortion Compensation
Automatic Distortion Compensation - Postprocessing
◆ Adjust the color legend in the same way you did for the initial process.
◆ You shouldn’t be able to see any blue or red areas:

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 225
Example: Distortion Compensation
Automatic Distortion Compensation - Postprocessing

Initial process Optimized process

When comparing
two variants, it is
crucial to use
identical color
legends.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 226
Example: Distortion Compensation
Automatic Distortion Compensation - Postprocessing
◆ Now, that you have simulated the distortion compensation and validated Do NOT use the
the results, you will want to get the compensated geometry file for your export results
printing job. function in the
context menu of the
◆ Go to the Results widget and open the Distortion compensation results surface results. This
dialog. would export the
final geometry after
◆ There, open the Table tab and klick on the variant with the lowest maximum the process chain
distortion value. with minimal surface
deviation. But for
◆ Click on the icon on the upper right to export the compensated geometry. your printing job you
That is the geometry used to model this variant. need to input a
predeformed
geometry that will
result in this final
a shape.
c

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 227
Example: Distortion Compensation
Automatic Distortion Compensation - Postprocessing
◆ With the method shown on the previous slide, you can only export facetted
surfaces.
◆ It is also possible to export the compensated geometry as CAD data if the
following two conditions are met:
▪ The geometry you have selected for the import needs to be a CAD file.
If that’s the case, the parts name will have a (CAD) suffix.
License feature
▪ You need to have an extra license module Simufact Additive CAD SF_CAD_MORPH is
Export (License feature SF_CAD_MORPH). not part of MSCOne.

◆ Open the results view (a). Right-click on the Surface results (b) and select
The CAD export
Export compensated CAD (c). In the CAD export dialog select the variant may take some time.
with the lowest maximum distortion (d, e): The analytical
functions describing
the geometry get
morphed based on
a the distortions.
d
e
b

Simufact Additive Tutorial 228

Example: Distortion Compensation
Manual Distortion Compensation - Preprocessing
◆ Besides the automatic distortion compensation, you can export the
resulting geometry of your initial process with a negative displacement
scale factor.
◆ With this scale factor, we can create a pre-deformed geometry, that
compensates the displacements.
◆ We refer to this as manual distortion compensation.
◆ The idea is, that we can reduce the surface deviation while only one
process needs to be simulated.
◆ Of course, this is just a guess. To validate this, a second process with this
compensated geometry would be necessary.
Since the compensation with this method happens on the basis of the
displacements and not the surface deviations possible rigid body
movements may interfere with the results. To get rid of these rigid body
movements you need to create a separate Geometry inspection process.
Please refer to the correspondent tutorial chapter for more information.
◆ The following slides show how to create this compensated geometry and a
validation simulation is performed to evaluate if this worked.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 229
Example: Distortion Compensation
Manual Distortion Compensation - Preprocessing
◆ To create the scaled geometry, select your initial variant from the automatic
distortion compensation, go to the Results widget, right-click on Surface
results and select Export results.
◆ In the following dialog select your part and the last result increment (100%
Support Removal). -1 is not
◆ Activate the displacement scale factor and define it as -1: necessary the best
scale factor. The
ideal factor depends
on your geometry
and process and is
b e unknown.

a f A negative value
c means that a part
will be pre-deformed
d in the opposite
direction than the
resulting distortions.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 230
Example: Distortion Compensation
Manual Distortion Compensation - Preprocessing
◆ To set up the validation simulation, copy your initial automatic distortion
compensation process without results:

◆ Delete the existing parts geometry and import the compensated STL
geometry that you have generated on the previous slide:

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 231
Example: Distortion Compensation
Manual Distortion Compensation - Preprocessing
◆ Position the part like you did for the automatic distortion compensation
process. Also create the support, support removal stage and the voxel
mesh in the same way.
◆ Your model should look like in the following picture:

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 232
Example: Distortion Compensation
Manual Distortion Compensation - Preprocessing
◆ Before starting the simulation, deactivate the automatic distortion
compensation by unchecking its checkbox:

◆ Start the simulation and wait for it to finish.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 233
Example: Distortion Compensation
Manual Distortion Compensation - Postprocessing
◆ Now, we want to compare the deformed geometry to the CAD geometry.
◆ Because the CAD geometry isn’t included in this process yet, we need to
import the Engine Mount STP file as reference into the Additional
geometries section of the Machine widget.
◆ It will appear as additional geometry on the baseplate. You can hide it in the
view by clicking on the eye icons in the widget:
The position of
the reference isn‘t
relevant. During
shape comparison,
the result will be fit
into the reference
with the best-fit
algorithm.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 234
Example: Distortion Compensation
Manual Distortion Compensation - Postprocessing
◆ Open the shape comparison dialog again as we did before.
◆ Instead of the initial shape, select your STP geometry as reference body.
◆ The deformed, resulting geometry will be displayed in red and the
reference in green.
◆ With the best-fit operation, the deformed geometry will be moved into the
reference.
◆ Depending on the complexity Changing the
and the positions of these reference geometry
is only possible in
geometries, the best-fit might the Surface
not work or take long. Then deviation mode in
the Transformation
you can use the Translate or section.
the Rotate mode in the
Transformation section of this
dialog for a first manual fitting
followed by a best-fit.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 235
Example: Distortion Compensation
Manual Distortion Compensation - Postprocessing
◆ If you apply the same color legend settings as we have done before in this
chapter, you can see that the surface deviation could be reduced
significantly.
◆ But you can also see that the maximum value is still 0.22 mm, which is still
more than 4x higher than what we could achieve with optimized variant of
the automatic distortion compensation:

Manual distortion Automatic distortion

compensation compensation –
Initial variant

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 236
Example: Distortion Compensation
Distortion compensation for finished processes
◆ You can also start a distortion compensation from every finished ‘non-
compensated’ process by right-clicking on the process name.
◆ The distortion compensation dialog allows you to define the compensation
parameters.
◆ After clicking ‘’Ok’’ the distortion compensation will start to run with the
current process as the initial process.

Works for
powder bed fusion
and binder jetting
a processes

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 237
Example: Distortion Compensation
Summary
◆ With the distortion compensation in Simufact Additive, you can create pre-
deformed geometries that result in final shapes with low deviations
compared to your CAD geometry.
◆ After one process simulation, you can export the resulting geometry with a
scale factor of -1. This should give better results. But to quantify the
surface deviation, a second validation simulation is necessary.

You can also use the single shot mode in the dialog of the automatic
distortion compensation. This results in just one compensation step with an
automated second validation process.
◆ You can also define a maximum acceptable surface deviation value with
the automatic distortion compensation setup.
◆ Then, as many process are simulated successively, until this criterion is
met.
◆ It is unknown how many processes are necessary, but you can also limit
the number of variants:

Example: Support Optimization

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Back to p.1
Simufact Additive Tutorial 239
Example: Support Optimization
Support Optimization Introduction
◆ This example shows you how to set up a support optimization procedure
in Simufact Additive using a bearing bracket.
◆ The goal of the support optimization is to minimize the distortions after
printing while keeping the support volume as low as possible and thus
reducing costs by reducing the amount of needed material.
◆ In this example we will create a process wherein conventional support
generation is used and another process with support optimization. The This tutorial
support volumes as well as the results of processes will be compared to chapter covers the
optimization with the
each other afterward. ‘Simufact’ method.
For more
45% Reduction in information on the
support volume ‘Generative’ method
refer to the infosheet
linked in the support
optimization dialog

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Example: Support Optimization
The process properties and renaming the process
◆ Define process properties:

▪ In this dialog you can define

the process and analysis type.
▪ For this example we only use
the stage ‘Build’. The section
‘Brief description’
gives you short
information about
◆ Rename the process to ‘01-Non- the object where the
optimizedSupports’ mouse is positioned
on. You can find this
section in every
dialog of Simufact
Additive.
a
You can also use
F2 as shortcut to
rename the currently
selected process.
b
c

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 241
Example: Support Optimization
Importing the component geometry
◆ Import a ‘part’:

▪ Please select the ‘Machine’ widget to

display its contents.
a
▪ Left double mouse click on ‘Parts’ or right
b
mouse click and select ‘Import’ to start the
geometry import.

d
◆ You can find the bearing bracket geometry file in the following path:
▪ …\simufact\additive\<version>\examples\metal_powder_bed_fusion

Simufact Additive Tutorial 242

Example: Support Optimization
Geometry import and positioning
◆ The following dialog shows the measurements of the part that is about to
be imported. You can also do a quick first positioning here (e. g. center the Make sure to
select the right unit
part in the build space). system when you
◆ Please select ‘Meter’ as unit, center the part to the base plate and set a import a part.
‘Distance to bottom’ of 10 mm:
You can also
check if your
imported geometry
fits in the machine
dimensions.
Therefore, compare
the dimensions of
e the build space and
the component’s
f bounding box.

g Use the
centering buttons to
h place your part in
the center of the
build space. Or
enter a position

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Example: Support Optimization
Model view after geometry import
◆ Your model view should now look like this:

Space for the

support structures

Part placed on
machine base plate

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 244
Example: Support Optimization
Creating support structures
In this tutorial,
◆ To generate supports with Simufact Additive, hover your curser over the we will create the
Supports container. Then double click on the desired part group: support structures
by using the option
‘Generate supports’.
Furthermore you
a can import existing
support geometries
b by using the option
‘Import’.

With the feature

‘Preview’ the
surfaces where the
supports will be
◆ Please change the support radius to created are marked
0.45 mm. in the model view.

While creating
c the support
structures you have
e several options, e. g.
the support radius.
For more detailed

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Example: Support Optimization
Model view after support generation

Please note that

after creating the
support structures
the model legend
will be expanded by
the amount of
support structures
which are added.
Several support
structures are
assembled to one
geometry to get a
better handling of a
Supports added single support
to part structure.

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Example: Support Optimization
Part material selection
◆ To select your powder material open the ‘Machine‘ widget and double click
the material entry or right-click and select ‘Import’.

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Example: Support Optimization
Setting the build properties
◆ To have access to the build properties, activate the ‘Manufacturing &
optimization’ widget and double click on ‘Build’:

▪ Please select leave the default

a parameters:
For your own
process, you need
to calibrate your own
b build properties. For
more information
c refer to the chapter
‘Introducing the
Inherent Strain
Method’. This will
lead to better
results.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 248
Example: Support Optimization
Creating the voxel mesh
◆ Double click the ‘Voxel mesh’ entry in the ‘Analysis’ widget to open the
meshing properties:

b
Simufact
Additive uses
hexahedral
◆ Please change the parameters for the voxel elements (voxel
meshing as shown in figure: elements) for the
c calculation, where
all components
(part, supports and
base plate) share
e common nodes.

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Example: Support Optimization
Model view after the voxel meshing
◆ Now, you see the voxel mesh which is used for the upcoming calculation:

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 250
Example: Support Optimization
Start the simulation and its results
◆ Run the simulation! To start the
simulation, every
indicator below the
widgets must show
a a green or yellow
light!
b

Indicators below the machine, The current state

Manufacturing & optimization of the model has to
be saved before
and analysis widgets turn green starting the
if everything is set for the simulation. Thus, an
simulation start. additional dialog to
save the project will
◆ Results of the process ‚01-Non-optimizedSupports‘: pop up if the project
has not been saved
before clicking on
the green arrow to
start the simulation.

For more
information about
the result values

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Example: Support Optimization
Total support volume of the first process
◆ To get the information about the total support volume of the first process,
go to the ‚Machine‘ widget, click on ‚Supports‘, double click on the support
group or right-click and select ‚Show properties‘:

a
c
We will keep the
b results of the first
process in mind
which will be used
for comparison with
the process where
the supports are
◆ The total volume of the supports optimized.
is 35647.5 mm3.
d

◆ Next we will copy this process

and do the support optimization.

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Example: Support Optimization
Copy the first process for the support optimization
◆ To copy the process, go to the ‚Processes‘ widget, right-click on the initial
process and select Copy -> Copy without results:
Simufact
a Additive supports
more shortcuts than
F2 for renaming.
Therefore, please
c take a look into the
b corresponding
infosheet
‚KeyboardShortcuts
_en.pdf‘ to find out
shortcuts in
◆ Please rename the copied process to ‚02-SupportOptimization‘ by using the Simufact Additive.
shortcut F2 or right-click on the second process and select ‚Rename‘: The infosheets
located in following
path:
…\simufact\additive\
<version>\doc\InfoS
heets.

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Example: Support Optimization
Activate the support optimization
◆ To activate the support optimization, go to the ‘Manufacturing &
optimization’ widget, click on ‘Optimization’ and activate ‘Support
optimization’:

a
The goal of the
support optimization
b is to minimize the
distortions after
printing while
keeping the support
volume as low as
◆ Change the Min. support radius to possible and thus
0.01 mm. For more information c reducing costs by
reducing the amount
about the parameters, please take
of needed material.
a look into the corresponding
infosheet.

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Simufact Additive Tutorial 254
Example: Support Optimization
Creating the voxel mesh
◆ Double click the ‘Voxel mesh’ entry in the ‘Analysis’ widget to open the
meshing properties:

a
Simufact
b Additive uses
hexahedral
elements (voxel
elements) for the
calculation, where
◆ Please change the parameters for the voxel all components
meshing as shown in figure: c (part, supports and
base plate) share
common nodes. It is
recommended that
the voxel mesh is
fine enough for
results mapping.

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Example: Support Optimization
Display the boundary conditions
The first iteration
will be simulated
◆ To show the boundary conditions which are used in the first iteration to
with fixed
obtain the loads for the optimized support structure generation, right-click in displacement
build space and select “Show boundary conditions -> Fixed displacements boundary condition
instead of
optimization (Build)”:
deformable
supports. These
boundary conditions
are created where
the supports would
a usually attach and
the simulation then
calculates the
occurring
b mechanical loads.
Depending on these
loads the support
structures are
calculated. If the
loads are small, no
or few supports will
be generated. In
areas where high
mechanical loads

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Example: Support Optimization
Start the simulation and its results
◆ Run the simulation!

a To start the
simulation, every
b indicator below the
widgets must show
Indicators below the machine, a green or yellow
Manufacturing & optimization light!
and analysis widgets turn green
if everything is set for the You can run the
simulation start. optimization by
starting the
simulation as usual.
◆ Results of the process ‚02-SupportOptimization‘: After the first
iteration is finished,
a second process
will be automatically
generated and
started with the
optimized support
structures.

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Example: Support Optimization
Total support volume of the second process
◆ To get the information about the total support volume of the second
process, go to the ‚Machine‘ widget, hover the mouse over ‚Supports‘,
double click on the support group or right-click and select ‚Show
properties‘.

a
c Remember that
the total volume of
b the support from the
first process was
35647.5 mm3. In
following, we will
compare these
results side by side.
◆ The total volume of the supports
is 19945.6 mm3.
d

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Example: Support Optimization
Comparisons of results – Total support volume
◆ On this slide, results from the first (left) and the second (right) processes
will be compared side by side:

45% Reduction in
support volume

◆ As you can see, the volume of the support structures could be reduced by
~45% (from 35647.1 mm3 to 19945.6 mm3) with the support optimization.
◆ Furthermore, the distribution of support structures have been changed.
More support structures have been generated where the loads are higher

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Example: Support Optimization
Comparisons of results – Distortions
◆ On this slide, results from the first (left) and the second (right) processes
will be compared side by side:

◆ Even the maximal distortion could be reduced by ~11% (from 0.72 mm to

0.64 mm).
◆ Overall, the model has been optimized with regards to the total support
structures volume (production costs) as well as the distortions after the
build stage.
◆ The support optimization only allows a single build stage in the process
stages. The final form after cutting from baseplate, removing supports etc.,

Simufact Additive Tutorial 260

Tutorial

Cost Estimation

Copyright © Hexagon AB
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Simufact Additive Tutorial 261
Cost Estimation
Introduction
◆ On the following slides, the following information of the cost estimation
are shown and explained:
▪ General information
▪ Entry parameters for the cost estimation
➢ Machine hourly rate
➢ Machine fix costs per part
➢ Powder costs
▪ Orientation assistant for cost estimation
▪ Examples of cost estimation and their total displacement

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Cost Estimation
General information
◆ With the option cost estimation you can estimate the costs for your printing
process.
◆ Two entry parameters have to be defined in Simufact Additive for the cost
estimation before the simulation:
▪ Machine hourly rate and the machine fix costs per part - These
parameters can be edited in the machine properties.
▪ Powder costs - This parameter can be edited in Simufact Material
database.
◆ You can use the orientation assistant to save build costs (e.g. supports)
and finally the resulting total costs.

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Cost Estimation
Machine hourly rate and Machine fix costs per part
◆ To define the Machine hourly rate and the Machine fix costs per part
left-click on Machine component, then double-click on Machine.

a
b

Double-click on Machine

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Simufact Additive Tutorial 264
Cost Estimation
Machine hourly rate and Machine fix costs per part
◆ In the following dialog you can switch to Costs and enter values for the
Machine hourly rate and the Machine fix costs per part.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 265
Cost Estimation
Powder Costs
◆ For the corresponding powder material you can define the powder costs
under Powder characterization in Simufact Material database.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
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Cost Estimation
Orientation assistant for cost estimation 1 (3)
◆ You can use the orientation assistant to save build costs for your printing
process. Right-click on the part and choose Orientation assistant.

Depending on
which orientation
you choose, you will
need more material
for the supports and
finally have more
costs in the Build
process. This can
lead to high total
costs for your build
process but on the
other hand to a low
displacement.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
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Cost Estimation
Orientation assistant for cost estimation 2 (3)
◆ In the following dialog you can select Cost data from the pop-up menu on
the right side of Build costs and enter estimation data and additional
costs to take them into account of your orientation calculation.

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Cost Estimation
Orientation assistant for cost estimation 3 (3)
◆ Click on calculate and then select your preferred orientation after the
calculation by using the sphere. You can always recall the values of the
initial orientation by clicking Initial on the sphere.
If you want to
check the
orientations quickly
regarding the values
in the orientation
assistant, you can
select the entry
Current orientation
in the drop-down
menu of the
Resolution, then the
criteria will be
calculated only for
the current
orientation. You can
read out the values
for the current
orientation as usual
from the dialog.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
◆ For further information, please read the corresponding infosheet
‚OrinetationAssistant_en.pdf‘ in the dialog.
Simufact Additive Tutorial 269
Cost Estimation
Cost Estimation before Simulation
◆ If the entry parameters are defined you can view the values for the cost
estimation. Right-click on the part and choose Cost estimation.

You can view the

cost estimation
dialog after the
simulation too.
Right-click on the
part with the results
after the simulation
and choose Cost
estimation.

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Cost Estimation
Cost Estimation before Simulation
◆ The following dialog opens and you can see the cost estimation with all
entry parameters and the calculated values.

If you add
addional costs like
powder loss or post
processing costs to
your cost estimation
before the
simulation, the final
total costs will be
changed again
because these
values are taken into
account.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
◆ For further information, please read the corresponding infosheet
‚CostEstimation_en.pdf‘ on the bottom right.
Simufact Additive Tutorial 271
Cost Estimation
Examples of cost estimation
◆ Here you can see examples of the total costs from the cost estimation for
an engine bracket.

Model Without orientation With orientation With orientation

assistant assistant and less assistant and more
supports supports

Costs

Cost Estimation
(without 1717.95€ 1419.63€ 2349.44€
Powder loss)

Cost Estimation
(with Powder 1745.72€ 1575.52€ 2641.59€
loss)

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Cost Estimation
Examples of cost estimation
◆ Here you can see the result value total displacement of an engine bracket
with different orientations.

With orientation assistant

and less supports

Without orientation assistant

◆ Depending on the orientation you will receive different results of the total
displacement.
Simufact Additive Tutorial 273
Tutorial

Example: Heat Treatment

◆ In this chapter the different heat treatment stages of Simufact Additive are
presented with a twin-cantilever geometry

You can also find

◆ This chapter is a step-by-step tutorial that shows how to set up a model the model from this
and postprocess it chapter in the
Demos explorer

◆ The different heat treatment (HT) stages that are available are full HT and
transient HT. Additionally a hot isostatic pressing (HIP) stage can be
simulated

◆ Furthermore, this chapter introduces the restart capabilities of Simufact

Additive

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Example: Heat Treatment
Full heat treatment - Preprocessing
◆ The first simulation will include a full heat treatment stage

◆ The twin-cantilever will be printed and cut from one side. After that, the
heat treatment will take place and the twin-cantilever will be cut from the For a more
other side. This way the different bending behaviors due to stress detailed description
of basic modelling
relaxation can be observed techniques, refer to
the introduction
chapter Quickstart
◆ Create a new Metal powder bed fusion process
with the following settings:
▪ Mechanical – Manufacturing - Accurate
▪ Stages: Build → Cutting → Heat treatment
→ Cutting

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Example: Heat Treatment
Full heat treatment - Preprocessing
◆ In the Machine widget do the following steps. Leave all other settings at
their default values.

◆ Import the part from the Simufact Additive installation directory

(…\simufact\additive\<version>\examples\metal_powder_bed_fusion\heat_t
reatment\CAD-Data\twin_cantilever_1mm.stl) and place this in the middle
of the baseplate at Z = 0 mm

◆ No support structures are generated for this model. The part will be printed
directly on the baseplate

◆ Select the material

AlSi10Mg_powder from
the Simufact Material
library

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Simufact Additive Tutorial 277
Example: Heat Treatment
Full heat treatment - Preprocessing
◆ In the Manufacturing & optimization widget do the following steps:

◆ In the Build stage leave all settings as default values. We assume isotropic
inherent strains. A calibration of the inherent strains is not part of this
tutorial chapter.
◆ For the first Cutting stage, switch from directional cutting to arbitrary cutting
and choose the settings so, that only one side of the cantilever is cut at a
height of 8 mm
▪ Also deactivate the Cut free from baseplate option. This option would
remove the elements below the cut after cutting.
◆ For the heat treatment stage set the approach to Full heat treatment and
the time to 3000 s
For this approach, no T-t-curve is needed. During the simulation of a full HT
stage, it is assumed that the part relaxes fully, and all stresses and strains
are set to zero, without calculating a temperature distribution.
◆ For the second cutting stage, cut the other half at a height of 8mm

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Example: Heat Treatment
Full heat treatment - Preprocessing
When you use
◆ In the Analysis widget do the following steps. 0.5 mm elements in
your final simulation,
make sure to use
◆ Only create a voxel mesh. Due to the parts dimensions, use a voxel size of the same element
0.5 mm to guarantee a high volume fraction. size in the
calibration too, to
capture the element
size dependency of
the inherent strains

◆ If you enter an element size of

exactly 0.5 mm, the mesh may be 0.5 mm
shifted by half an element size,
which will also produce a low volume
fraction. This is due to numerical
inaccuracies of the meshing strategy. 0.50001 mm
To improve the mesh, enter an

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Example: Heat Treatment
Full heat treatment - Postprocessing
◆ Start the analysis and go to the Results widget once it is finished

◆ In the result view you can see that the side that is cut before the heat
treatment bends upward due to residual stresses, while the other side
doesn’t

◆ This is due to the fact that during heat treatment a relaxation of stresses
took place

Copyright © Hexagon AB
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Example: Heat Treatment
Full heat treatment - Postprocessing
◆ If you check the equivalent stress result value, you can see the residual
stresses at the end of the build stage after the powder removal

A full heat
treatment stage
assumes a full
relaxation of all
stresses. This
doesn’t need to be
the case in reality.
The next slides will
show the transient
◆ At the end of the heat treatment stage, all stresses are set to zero heat treatment
stage, where some
stresses are
remaining at the end

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Example: Heat Treatment
Transient heat treatment - Preprocessing
Alternatively, to
◆ Copy your first process without results defining each table
data point a
◆ Switch the approach from Full heat treatment to Transient heat treatment in temperature rate,
the heat treatment stage properties holding temperature
and holding time can
◆ Define the temperature time curve as shown in the following picture be defined

You can edit the

advanced HT
parameters
according to your
furnace conditions.

With this
transient HT
approach, material
data at elevated
temperatures is
With this approach the given temperature is the oven temperature at the necessary, even if
the build stage was
given time and the temperature distribution inside the part is calculated simulated with the
◆ Now, start the simulation mechanical Inherent
Strain approach

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 282
Example: Heat Treatment
Transient heat treatment - Postprocessing
◆ After the simulation finished go to the Results widget and view the
displacements

◆ In contrast to the full heat treatment results, here the second cutting
operation results in a small upwards bending of this cantilever side
Displacements

◆ The reason for this is that there are still some residual stresses remaining
after the heat treatment stage

Equivalent stress

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 283
Example: Heat Treatment
Transient heat treatment - Postprocessing
◆ The residual stresses after the build stage are reduced during the HT
process, because creep strains are included in the simulation
Creep strains If you use a
material from the
Simufact Material
database that has a
creep law defined,
make sure that it is
valid for your
actually used
◆ For this, a creep law for the used material has to be defined that is valid for material and HT
the modelled temperature range temperature range

For more
information about
the available creep
laws, check the
infosheet in the
Creep section of the
material properties

◆ For transient HT and HIP simulations, you can

display the temperature curve embedded in the
view

◆ Navigate to the Results widget and click on the

Additional results → Stage history plot

◆ If you select a result increment of the heat

treatment loadcase that uses a temperature
curve, it will be displayed in the result view. A
blue line will highlight at what time of the
temperature curve the result increment is from.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
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Example: Heat Treatment
HIP - Preprocessing
◆ On the next slides, a hot isostatic pressing (HIP) process is simulated after
the first cutting process

◆ Copy the transient HT process without results

◆ In the process properties dialog, delete the Heat treatment stage and insert
a HIP stage in the same position

◆ Also delete the first cutting stage. We already know the distortions before a
HT/ HIP process. A cut cantilever would also deform extensively when the
pressure is applied

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Example: Heat Treatment
HIP - Preprocessing
◆ Open the Part – Properties dialog of the twin cantilever by double-clicking
on the parts entry in the Machine widget

The relative
material density
entry is also present
for support
structures. For
◆ The relative material density is set to 99,5% by default. For simulations supports, this value
is also relevant for
without a HIP stage, this value doesn’t come into affect simulations without
◆ For simulations with a HIP stage, this is the initial density after the element a HIP stage.
activation during the build up. During the HIP loadcase, the part then gets
densified
◆ Set this value to 97%

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 287
Example: Heat Treatment
HIP - Preprocessing
◆ In the Manufacturing & optimization widget, double-click on the HIP stage
to edit its properties

◆ In this dialog, three graphs have to be defined. A temperature-time and a

pressure-time diagram. Also, the densification has to be defined depending
on temperature and pressure

◆ In the Time / temperature and the Time / pressure tab define the following
curves for this tutorial

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 288
Example: Heat Treatment
HIP - Preprocessing
◆ In the Densification tab activate the checkbox to enable the densification
during the simulation
◆ Two densification types are available, Tabular and Hollow sphere model
◆ With the tabular definition you can manually define your densification curve
for different temperatures
◆ For this tutorial we will use the hollow sphere model. For more information
about this model open the infosheet that is linked in this dialog
◆ Add two temperature entries by clicking on the symbol twice
◆ Leave one entry at 20°C and set the other one to 400°C. Assign yield
stresses of 200 MPa and 120 MPa according to your flow curves in the
used material card
◆ Set the maximum pressure to 500 MPa. This value will just defines the
definition range of the used Hollow sphere model and therefore also the
max. possible density that can be reached.
▪ Although your external pressure applied during the HIP process is only
200 MPa, the local pressure of one element inside the volume can be
higher due to the stress state of the part.

For the
simulation, the
solver will
interpolate between
the given curves.
That’s why one
curve at room
temperature and
one at the max.
oven temperature
should always be
present.

Ideally, the used

approach should be
validated with
experimental data

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 290
Example: Heat Treatment
HIP - Preprocessing
◆ If a HIP stage is part of your simulation, we recommend not to use element
coarsening to get a better convergence behavior of the solver and also
better results for densification

◆ Therefore, create a new voxel mesh with a level of coarsening of 0

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 291
Example: Heat Treatment
HIP - Postprocessing
◆ Start the simulation and open the results once it is finished

◆ When you cut through your part with a clipping plane, you can see the
calculated density distribution Relative density
is listed in the Global
Relative density category

Creep is also
calculated for HIP
processes if defined
in the material
properties

◆ Volumetric changes and changes in material properties due to the Differences

between the
densification are not considered during the simulation bending after a HIP
and full HT stage
result from different
stress states

Copyright © Hexagon AB
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Example: Heat Treatment
Restart
◆ In the following, the restart capabilities of Simufact Additive are presented
The restart
◆ If you already have a finished simulation with results and only want to change some
works based on
settings of a specific stage, you can make use of the existing results and restart the solver loadcases. A
simulation from the end of the last unchanged loadcase. stage can consist of
◆ This way you save simulation time and get the results for a lot of variants much faster multiple loadcases.
For example, if you
◆ The existing results at the time of the restart will be given to the solver as prestate change the order of
information the unclamping of
◆ A restart for the metal powder bed fusion (MPBF) is only possible if the checkbox in the baseplate, the
the Output results section of the Numerical parameters is activated. This is the default solver will restart
from the last
setting. loadcase before the
▪ For the modules metal binder jetting (MBJ) and machining, this checkbox does unclamping, from
not exist, however a restart is still possible. For more information, refer to the within the build
dialogs infosheet. stage.

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Example: Heat Treatment
Restart
◆ In the following example we will change the temperature curve of one of
your heat treatment processes
◆ Since we want to keep the first simulation, we have to
copy it with results.
◆ A process with results is locked by default so that no
settings can be changed
◆ For a restart it can be unlocked with the button in the Analysis status
The Copy with
section results option initially
◆ Now you can edit parameters in the existing stages. Once a stage is offers the opportunity
to rename the
edited, it will be marked accordingly process. This won’t be
possible afterwards
◆ When the restart button is clicked,
the GUI will automatically check For a restart, all
old solver output files
which stages are edited and restart will be deleted and the
the analysis at the last increment information in them
will be lost!
before the changes stage that has restart files
It is not possible to

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Example: Heat Treatment
Summary
◆ Depending on your goals, you might want to choose between different HT
process types:

◆ Full Heat Treatment → Stresses are being set to zero, Simulation of a HT

process under the presumption that all stresses are relaxed completely

◆ Transient Heat Treatment → Relaxation due to creep analysis, Correct

material data necessary

◆ HIP → Relaxation due to creep if material data is present, Also simulation

of the densification based on densification diagram

◆ Runtimes differ significantly. While the full HT stage is very fast, transient
HT and HIP stages run longer

◆ Use the restart functionality to save time during simulation. Edit already

Simufact Additive Tutorial 295

Tutorial

Example: PBF process & defect analysis

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Back to p.1
Simufact Additive Tutorial 296
Example: PBF process & defect analysis
Introduction
◆ The PBF process & defect analysis (PBF PDA) module provides the
possibility to predict the influence of main manufacturing parameters on the
outcome of MPBF processes in a very short period of time.

◆ As results, analytically calculated process maps showing different zones of

manufacturing results dependent on the process parameters (Single stripe
map vs. Single track map) as well as diverse numerically calculated results PBF PDA
on part geometries can be evaluated. module requires its
own licenses,
whereby the GUI
◆ Different kinds of defect formation like keyhole porosity, lack of fusion or and solver are
licensed separately
unmelt, balling, high surface roughness, etc. can be determined analytically (Simufact Additive
or numerically. Process & Defect
Analysis GUI and
Simufact Additive
◆ A defect analysis can be placed before a MPBF process simulation for early Process & Defect
defect prediction and identification of ideal process settings for a defect-free Analysis Solver).

part. After that, the identified settings can be passed to the MPBF process
easily for a detailed simulation of distortions and stresses.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 297
Example: PBF process & defect analysis
Introduction
◆ In this example, a defect analysis of a bearing bracket is performed. Main
parts of the workflow are:
▪ Setting the required machine parameters e.g. max. laser power and
max. laser speed.
▪ Loading the part geometry and assigning material to the part.
▪ Calling the single stripe map or single track map showing the
“operating window” of the process before the simulation and identifying
a process parameter combination based on that.
▪ Running the simulation to see the defects that could occur with the The complete
project files of the
selected parameter combination. example presented
in this tutorial are
referenced in the
Demos & Examples
explorer.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 298
Example: PBF process & defect analysis
Creating a project and defining process properties
◆ Create a new project and select the PBF process & defect analysis process
type. Only one single
simulation
◆ Rename the project to ‘bearing_bracket’ and store it in your desired configuration and
location. simulation type is
supported in the
b PBF PDA module.
The same, there is
only one single
stage “Build”
available in the
manufacturing
process chain.

a c It is easy to
change the process
type from PBF PDA
to MPBF later with
all relevant settings
transferred
automatically.

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Example: PBF process & defect analysis
Defining machine parameters
◆ Besides the predefined machine parameters, there are two additional
parameters required by a defect analysis:
▪ Maximum laser power
A machine will
▪ Maximum laser speed be marked as
◆ The two parameters are used as the default upper limit for the x- and y-axis incomplete, if the
max laser power or
of the single stripe map and single track map. speed is missing or
◆ In this example, we use the machine EOS M290 in the database where invalid (must be
greater than 0).
these two parameters are available.
◆ Therefore, go to “Machine” widget, double-click on “Machine” or right-click You are allowed
on it and select “Configure”. In the Product library select M290 under EOS, to change these
the both parameters are predefined in the Machine parameters tab: values although they
are predefined.
Changing of these
values will result in a
scaling of the single
a stripe map and
single track map
automatically.
c

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Example: PBF process & defect analysis
Importing the part geometry
◆ In this example, we use the geometry of a bearing bracket.

◆ In the “Machine” widget, double-click on “Parts” or right-click on it and

select “Import”: You can access
the properties dialog
either by using left
double mouse click,
or using the right
a mouse click and
selecting properties.
d
The table below
c
shows you the
b import formats which
e Simufact Additive
supports:

◆ You can find the bearing bracket component CAD file in the following path:
▪ …\simufact\additive\<version>\examples\metal_powder_bed_fusion\de
fect_analysis\bearing_bracket\CAD-Data\bearing_bracket_horizontal-
[Link]

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 301
Example: PBF process & defect analysis
Geometry import and pre-positioning
◆ The following dialog shows the dimensions of the part that is about to be Make sure to
imported. You can also do a quick pre-positioning here (e.g. center the part select the right unit
system when you
to the base plate). import a part.
◆ For this .stl file the unit “Meter” should be selected.
You can also
◆ Now center the part and set a ‘Distance to bottom’ of 10 mm:
check if your
imported geometry
fits in the machine
dimensions.
Therefore, compare
the dimensions of
the build space and
the component’s
bounding box.
a
Use the
b centering buttons to
place your part in
the center of the
c build space. Or
d
enter a position
manually.

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Example: PBF process & defect analysis
Model view after geometry import
◆ Your model view should now look like this:

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 303
Example: PBF process & defect analysis
Creating support structures
In this tutorial,
we will create the
◆ To generate supports with Simufact Additive, hover your curser over the support structures
Supports container. Then double click on the desired part group. by using the option
◆ In this example, we use the default settings to generate supports for the “Generate supports”.
Furthermore, you
bracket. can import existing
support geometries
by using the option
“Import”.
a
With the feature
b “Preview” the
surfaces where the
supports will be
created are marked
in the model view.

While creating
the support
structures you have
several options, e.g.
c
the support radius.
For more detailed

Copyright © Hexagon AB
◆ Supports are considered during the calculation. However, defects will not information, please
click on the
be mapped on supports, means that you will not see the defects on infosheet button.
supports as results.

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Example: PBF process & defect analysis
Model view after support generation
◆ Your model view should now look like this:

Please note that

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 305
Example: PBF process & defect analysis
Part material selection
◆ To assign your part a material, in the “Machine” widget double click the
Material entry or right click on it and select “Library”: There is now a
tab “Defect analysis”
in the material data
in which the material
properties required
a by a defect analysis
are defined.

Simufact
Additive provides
c following material
datasets with these
b d properties: 316L, IN-
625, IN-718, Ti6Al4V
and AlSi10Mg.

In addition to
e these properties,
thermal properties
and powder grain
◆ Select the material TiAl6V4_powder from the library and confirm your size are also
choice with OK. necessary inputs for

Copyright © Hexagon AB
a defect analysis.
◆ Then you will notice that the status bar below the machine widget turns
green, which means all the required informations are defined in the
machine widget.

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Example: PBF process & defect analysis
Setting the build properties - efficiency
◆ After assigning the material to the part, you can theoretically call up the
single stripe map or single track map in the “Manufacturing & optimization”
widget. These will provide an overview of “operating window” of the
process before the simulation. A realistic value
of efficiency is the
◆ Before calling up the map, make sure you have defined the appropriate
basis for producing
efficiency in the “Build - properties” dialog. Therefore, please set a value of reliable maps. This
40% based on the selected material Ti6Al4V for this example: is dependent on the
selected material.

If you don't have

these information
available, please
a use the
c recommended
values below:
b
- 316L, IN-625 and
Ti6Al4V: 0.4
- IN-718: 0.45
- AlSi10Mg: 0.2
◆ We will keep the other parameters as default at this point and look at the

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Example: PBF process & defect analysis
Single stripe map vs. Single track map Following
parameters are
◆ Double-click on Single stripe map or Single track map to open them: involved in the
calculation of SSM
and STM as well:
spot size, layer
thickness, hatch
distance and
compaction degree.
Change these
parameters to see
their effects on the
maps.

You have in the

single stripe map the
possibility to adjust
the parameter
“Distance from stripe
edge” to see the
predictions at
◆ Single stripe map or Single track map are Laser power vs. Scan speed different locations.
plots showing how process outcomes vary with parameter choices. With
certain parameter combination you can expect to achieve a consistent, For more
fully-dense component, but with some others, different defects can occur. detailed information

Copyright © Hexagon AB
about the different
◆ While the Single track map predicts the defects that can occur in the defects shown in the
single weld track, the single stripe map considers a wider scope in the map, please click on
the infosheet button.
stripe which can consist of multiple weld tracks.

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Example: PBF process & defect analysis
Identifying process parameter from SSM or STM
◆ Single stripe map or single track map are as the name implies only for the The “stable
prediction of single (local) track or stripe, without consideration of the keyhole, no porosity”
area will be
effects from part geometry or interactions between tracks or stripes. considered as defect
Therefore, every location of the part has an unique map and this can free area in the post-
change throughout the process. processing.

◆ To achieve a good part density, try to start with a parameter combination

Single stripe
in the “defect free” or “stable keyhole, no porosity” area. map or single track
◆ In this example, we will keep the other parameters as default value except map can be used as
a good starting
for laser power and laser speed. point, if you have
◆ To get some possible defects as results, we pick up a power-speed less idea about the
selection of process
combination at the border between “stable keyhole, no porosity” and parameters.
“unstable keyhole, porosity” area. Therefore, go to “Build - properties”
dialog again and set a power of 400W and a speed of 800mm/s: Provide more
details on the scan
strategy and
hatching parameters
in the tab “Hatch
parameters” to
obtain more

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Example: PBF process & defect analysis
Creating the voxel mesh
◆ Double-click on the “Voxel mesh” entry in the “Analysis” widget to open
the meshing properties.
Defect analysis
◆ Please change the parameters for the voxel meshing as shown in figure: uses hexahedral
elements (voxel
elements) for the
calculation, where
all components
share common
nodes.
a c
Coarsening of
the voxel mesh is
b not supported in
PDA module.

Please make
d sure that the surface
mesh is not too
coarse. This is
important when
mapping the results
to the surface mesh.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 310
Example: PBF process & defect analysis
Finishing model setup and starting the simulation
◆ Run the simulation!

To start the
simulation, every
indicator below the
The indicators below the “Machine”, widgets must show
“Manufacturing & optimization” and a green or yellow
“Analysis” widgets turn green if everything light!
needed for a simulation start is set.

The current state

◆ The progress bar states are updated in the GUI right after the solver starts of the model has to
running so that users are given feedback: be saved before
starting the
simulation. Thus, an
additional dialog to
save the project will
pop up if the project
has not been saved
before clicking on
the green arrow to
start the simulation.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
◆ Left to the ‘Start analysis’ button is the model check. There you can review
warnings and error messages regarding your current model state before
starting the analysis.

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Example: PBF process & defect analysis
Postprocessing 2D Results
◆ Defect and post-exposure stripe temperature maps: In the PDA
module, only the
results at last
increment are
available. Instead,
you can see the
layer based 2D
results during the
process.

An embedded
slider helps you
navigate along the
layers and provides
also information in
the height and
◆ Defect map shows the part area with or without defects i.e. keyhole number of active
porosity, lack of fusion / unmelt or high surface roughness. layer.
◆ Post-exposure stripe temperature map shows the local temperature right
after the laser beam has passed through the last stripe of the current layer. You have also
It takes heat effects from diverse sources into account, e.g. previous possibility to switch
layers, preceding stripes in the current layer, previous hatches in the the view between
2D and 3D with the

Copyright © Hexagon AB
current stripe, etc. button close to the
◆ Some areas can be cooled down during the layer time, thus post-exposure slider.
stripe temperature can be below melting temperature in a defect-free area.

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Example: PBF process & defect analysis
Postprocessing 3D Results
◆ Roughness map and temperature:

Roughness map
and temperature are
surface results
which are mapped
from voxel mesh
onto surface mesh
at the end of
◆ Roughness map enables the evaluation of increased surface roughness. simulation.

◆ Different from 2D post-exposure stripe temperature map, 3D result

temperature represents the final temperature of the part at the end of the
process.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 313
Example: PBF process & defect analysis
Transferring the process settings into a MPBF process
◆ If you are satisfied with the process settings, it is possible to save them in
the database or export them in a .xml file using the buttons shown below.
◆ You can use these settings in a MPBF process later by selecting them from
Hovering over
database: an entry and right-
clicking will open a
context menu which
allows you to open
the database
directory or to delete
it.

The shortcut
Ctrl+E will open the
file explorer as well.

◆ As long as no results are present, you can give a specified name to the Find the path for
settings which are to be saved in the database. both libraries in the
settings under
◆ Alternatively, you can create a copy of the PDA process and switch the
General -> Master
process type to MPBF with all relevant settings transferred automatically. library.
◆ The option “Export to machine” is supported in PDA module which enables

Copyright © Hexagon AB
a direct export of the scan trajectories to different machines. Please note
using this feature requires additional licenses of the machine manufacturer.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 314

Tutorial

Example: Metal Binder Jetting

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Back to p.1
Simufact Additive Tutorial 315
Example: Metal Binder Jetting
Introduction
◆ The binder jetting module allows for sintering simulation of green
parts obtained by binder jetting additive manufacturing process.
Distortion and shrinkage behaviour can be evaluated.
◆ Further distortion compensation is demonstrated. It generates a
pre-compensated geometry which, when sintered, deforms in
such a way that a desired final shape is obtained. Note that the For the binder
input geometry is the desired target geometry. jetting module, a
separate license is
required.

◆ In this example the sintering of a hinge is performed. Main parts The complete
project files of the
of the workflow are: examples presented
▪ loading the geometry of the green part in this tutorial are
referenced in the
▪ assigning a properly defined material to the geometry demos explorer.
▪ specifying the sintering time temperature profile
▪ specifying the initial relative density
▪ setting up a distortion compensation

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 316
Example: Metal Binder Jetting
Distortion compensation - Introduction
Define distortion
compensation parameters

Simulate process and Compensate volume mesh

◆ Distortion compensation is an calculate distortion and reposition part
iterative process which
simulates the part and
compensates for changes from Compare distorted mesh
the desired final shape against the target mesh
◆ The allowable distortion,
compensation factor and
number of allowable iterations
Is max.
give control over the process allowable No
distortion
achieved?

Yes

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Example: Metal Binder Jetting
Distortion compensation - Introduction
◆ The distortion compensation algorithm determines the initial green part
shape required to obtain a desired final geometry. The iterative algorithm
is based on the sintering simulation results of the initial part.
◆ The shape of the initial part is taken as the desired target geometry.
Therefore, the final desired geometry has to be used as an input.
◆ The algorithm can be activated before the sintering simulation is started;
alternatively, it can be started after simulating the initial process. Before
simulating a distortion compensation, make sure that your sintering
simulation results are coherent with experimental data

multiple
iterations

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Initial geometry Sintered initial Compensated Sintered compensated
(target) geometry geometry geometry
(shrinked) (≙target± tolerance)

Simufact Additive Tutorial 318

Example: Metal Binder Jetting
Background
◆ When simulating metal binder jetting, there are 4
principal properties that drive outcomes:
1. Sintering Stress: the driving force behind densification,
this influences the rate at which particles bond

2. Effective Bulk Viscosity: measures the material’s

resistance to densification, higher viscosity means
slower densification

3. Effective Shear Viscosity: measures the material’s

resistance to deformation, this is important for
predicting deformation during sintering

4. Grain Growth: this occurs during sintering, resulting in

larger grain sizes and less driving force for further
densification

◆ Based on this, elastic, thermal and visco-plastic strains

Simufact Additive Tutorial 319

Example: Metal Binder Jetting
Creating a project and defining process properties
◆ Create a new project and select the metal binder jetting process type.
Rename the project to ‘hinge-sintering’ and store it in your desired location

b
Please note that
it is not possible to
change the process
type later.

c
Additional heat
a treatment stages
may be added. For
this tutorial only the
sintering stage is
applied.

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Example: Metal Binder Jetting
Importing CAD-geometry
◆ Import the green part geometry with default settings and position it at the center The original
CAD-geometry of
of the base plate.
the part is used as
an input for the
sintering simulation.
It is assumed, that
the printing process
does not lead to any
shape changes and
that the CAD-
geometry is exactly
reproduced.

Please note that

Simufact Additive
does not consider or
a simulate any effects
of de-binding.
b
Do not use pre-
compensated
geometries if the
◆ The geometry is stored in distortion
..\Simufact\additive\<version>\examples\hinge_sintering\CAD-

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Example: Metal Binder Jetting
Generating setters
◆ Generate a setter for the imported part

b c

◆ Set the Min. surface area to

100 mm2 to prevent small Simufact also
surfaces from being selected offers the possibility
to import setter
◆ Set the Part clearance to geometries.
0.5mm to prevent overlapping
meshes

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 322
Example: Metal Binder Jetting
Generating setters
◆ Select supported surface patches

b
d

◆ Now, modify the face selection and deselect the face at the bottom
edge of the part; this prevents thin elements from being generated

Copyright © Hexagon AB
as the bottom edge is already touching the base plate
◆ Once the correct faces are selected, generate the setter

Simufact Additive Tutorial 323

Example: Metal Binder Jetting
Position the part
◆ Right click on the part and select the positioning option in the drop-down menu

b
c

◆ In the manual position dialog, select the gravity positioner

(C) and select gravity-based positioning in the –Z direction
◆ Finally, click the blue arrow to calculate the positioning and

Copyright © Hexagon AB
close the window with “Ok” e
◆ This ensures the part will rest on the setter in a realistic
manner f

Simufact Additive Tutorial 324

Example: Metal Binder Jetting
Setter groups properties
◆ Double click on Setters and change the type to live.

a
Setters of type
‘live’ will shrink just
as the part, whereas
‘ceramic’ setters will
be rigid bodies.

When opening
a older sintering-
projects, please
reload the material
from the database.
There might have
been some changes
to the old material.

Since the flow

curve is not used for
the sintering
b simulation, it also
doesn’t need a
temperature
dependency. For
more information
about the relevant
▪ A Sintering filter is available under Material properties to easily find material properties,
suitable materials with properly defined parameters for the sintering please see the
simulation. tutorial chapter
“Materials for
▪ Choose the powder material 316L_dilatometry_powder

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Additive“.
Simufact provides three possible ways to define the densification of a
material. For more information, refer to the infosheet linked in the
Sintering dialog.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 326

Example: Metal Binder Jetting
Validating Dilatometry Data
b Take care that
you have imported
your temperature
data with the correct
unit!

The theoretical
density is given in
the thermal
a properties section of
the material card. A
fully dense material
is assumed for this
value.
◆ After importing dilatometry data into your process, it must be validated
◆ This serves to extract the shrinkage rate and thermal expansion To get to know
coefficients for heating and cooling before starting the simulation. the required data
format, you can find
For the dilatometry validation, it is important to define the correct initial the dilatometry data
relative density. It is the ratio of the measured green part density to the of this material in the
theoretical density. directory
…\simufact\additive\<v
There are some limitations on the dilatometry data to get a successful

Copyright © Hexagon AB
ersion>\examples\meta
validation! These are listed in the Infosheet linked in the Sintering tab. l_binder_jetting\hinge_
sintering\CAD-Data

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Example: Metal Binder Jetting
Specifying the sintering properties
a

c
If you import
measured data with a lot
d of data points into the
sintering stage, the GUI-
performance might be
slowed down significantly!

The thermal cycle

method is used, i.e. the
sintering cycle is applied
as a nodal temperature
◆ Enter a value of 62% for the initial relative density. This should be the boundary condition.
same as in the used material card.
◆ For your simulation, it is recommended to use the same temperature-
time curve as for your dilatometry test, but you can replace the
measured data with few data points.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
◆ For the material card the dilatometry data is only present until a cooling
to 400°C. In this case you can simply extrapolate the curve to a
temperature of 20°C for the sintering stage.

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Example: Metal Binder Jetting
Use the optimization You can use
smaller values (e. g.
-0.5) for the
compensation factor
if the simulation
does not well
converge because
of bad mesh or
a b inside out elements.

If multiple parts
are in the process,
they will all appear
◆ The distortion compensation is in the dialog. Each
selected part will be
activated in the manufacturing c covered in a
and optimization widget. separate
compensation run.
◆ Select the part to be optimized,
specify the acceptable distortion
and the number of steps, i.e. the
max. number of iterations to be
performed.
◆ If desired, a compensation factor can be defined, default value is -1

Copyright © Hexagon AB
◆ Activating the option “Interrupt between runs“ deactivates the
automatic running of the distortion compensation and enables
changes to be made before running a new variant
◆ You can optionally specify an export directory for the geometries
Simufact Additive Tutorial 329
Example: Metal Binder Jetting
Creating volume mesh and finishing model setup

◆ Create a tetrahedral volume mesh with the default element size

You can also mesh the part and the setter separately with the
extended volume mesh menu
Only Live setters are meshed with Tet-elements. Ceramic
setters are rigid bodies
Since the part origin was a CAD file and the setter is only STL
data, two different meshers will be used

◆ After the volume mesh was created, we fix some degree of

freedoms of some nodes to avoid rigid body movement. You
can view these boundary conditions with the Meshes view

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Example: Metal Binder Jetting
Advanced numerical parameters
◆ Simufact offers some advanced parameters.
These might help for specific models to get
realistic results or a stable simulation. For this
tutorial we keep the default settings.
◆ Friction: The used friction coefficient should be
close to reality
◆ Contact: Different contact settings might result
in more realistic deformation results in the
contact areas. For example, you could define a
high number of separations and a low separation
stress. However, this might come at the cost of a
much higher simulation time
◆ Time stepping: Cutbacks are used to decrease
the time for one increment when needed,
particularly useful with large distortion or with exit
code 3009

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 331
Example: Metal Binder Jetting
Starting the simulation
◆ If all settings are specified, start the simulation

a
b

The part will

expand initially due
◆ As soon as results are available you can access them via the result menu to the thermal
expansion effects
during heating.
Make sure that the
expanded part does
not exceed the
c machine space. In
that case the
simulation will abort.

Increment 0 Last Increment

Non-compensated geometry Non-compensated geometry

◆ During the sintering process, the part shrinks significantly. The total
shrinkage can be evaluated by activating the result value “total
displacement”.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 333
Example: Metal Binder Jetting
Evaluating the relative density
◆ Relative density

The result of the

simulation is a
distribution of the
relative density.

Note that the

initial relative
density is however
homogeneously
distributed as an
Increment 0 Last Increment inhomogeneous
Non-compensated geometry Non-compensated geometry density distribution
is currently not
◆ The initial relative density is 62%. During the sintering process, the part supported as input.

is subjected to an intense densification. The final relative density reaches

a maximum value of 98%.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 334
Example: Metal Binder Jetting
Evaluating the grain size
◆ Grain Size

The grain size is

homogeneously
distributed. The
thermal cycle is
applied to all nodes
simultaneously,
therefore, no
temperature gradients
Increment 0 Last Increment are present.
Non-compensated geometry Non-compensated geometry

◆ During the sintering process, the grain size increases according to the
material data.

In the numerical
parameters, you can
◆ As mentioned before, elastic, thermal and visco-plastic strains are happening activate additional
during the sintering strain tensors to be
output
◆ Thermal strains are not output by default. With the dilatometry-densification
approach, the solver uses different thermal expansion coefficients for heating
and for cooling. Therefore, the thermal strains at the end of the simulation would
not be 0, but still be very small.
◆ Since elastic strains are negligible, we don’t calculate these in our simulation
◆ Instead, the visco-plastic strains are output under the name Equivalent elastic
strains

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 336
Example: Metal Binder Jetting
Viewing the Stage history plot
◆ When viewing results, it is possible to display the stage
history plot
◆ This shows the contour plot alongside the current
progress in the temperature cycle of the sintering
process

a
c
b

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 337
Example: Metal Binder Jetting
Evaluating the iterative optimization
Note that the
◆ Since you have activated the distortion compensation in the dimensions of the
manufacturing and optimization widget and specified all settings for that, compensated part
will increase, as
an iterative optimization will be performed after the sintering process. shrinkage effects
are considered. It
might happen that
the compensated
part exceeds the
machine space. In
that case the
Initial sintering optimization will
Iteration 1
abort.
Iteration 2
The distortion
compensation is an
◆ After the sintering process is finished, a new instance of the process with iterative process.
a modified scaled geometry is created automatically. The default target
geometry is the
◆ It is also possible to run iterative optimization without the GUI using initial shape.
additive_optimization.exe, please refer to the installation guide and
application for more details regarding installation and usage. The maximum
number of iterations

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Example: Metal Binder Jetting
Starting optimization on existing process

◆ For an existing process with results, optimization can be started by right-

clicking on the process and selecting “Start distortion compensation”
◆ This will open the optimization widget and allow the optimization settings
to be defined before starting

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 339
Example: Metal Binder Jetting
Monitoring the optimization progress
◆ As soon as results are created, you can access them in the results widget.
The distortion compensation results can be viewed with a graph in a
separate dialog.

Variant 1

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Example: Metal Binder Jetting
Evaluating the compensation results
◆ The compensated geometry is larger than the initial target geometry.
◆ The sintering result of the compensated part meets the target geometry
within the specified tolerance.
sintered
compensated
compensated

target target target

Initial geometry Compensated vs. Target vs. sintered

(target) target geometry compensated geometry

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 341
Example: Metal Binder Jetting
Exporting the compensation results
◆ To export the compensated geometry, open
the distortion compensation results window
and open the table view
◆ The variants and their max distortion are listed,
right click on the desired part to export the
geometry
a

c d

Example: Machining

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Back to p.1
Simufact Additive Tutorial 343
Example: Machining
Introduction
◆ The Machining module provides the possibility to simulate the stress relief
of a part by removing machining volumes. The changes of stress and
distortion in the part resulting from the removal of material can be
evaluated.

◆ In this example, the machining process of a bracket from a rolled block is

performed, the block contains residual stress resulting from the rolling
process.
◆ Main parts of the workflow are:
▪ Importing the required geometries for the The complete
machining simulation project files of the
➢ Raw part which contains residual stress example presented
in this tutorial are
➢ Finished machined target geometry referenced in the
➢ Volumes to be removed in the planned steps Demos & Examples
➢ Fixation geometries to constrain the part explorer.
(optional)
▪ Assigning a properly material to the geometry
▪ Specifying the machining process properties
▪ Creating voxel and surface mesh

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Example: Machining
Creating a project and defining process properties
◆ Create a new project and select the Machining process type.
◆ Rename the project to ‘machined bracket’ and store it in your desired
location.
Please note that
b it is not possible to
change the process
type later.

There is only
one single stage
a type “Machining”
available in the
machining process
c chain, but you can
add multiple
“Machining” stages
to consider the
sequence of the part
machining or to use
different fixation
positions in the

Simufact Additive Tutorial 345

Example: Machining
Required CAD-geometries for a machining simulation
◆ There are 4 groups of geometries to be imported in the “Machine” widget
for a machining simulation:

▪ In the Parts entry, the geometry which contains the residual stress and
the machining allowances should be imported.
For the
▪ In the Machined parts entry, the finished milled or machined target Machining process
geometry should be imported. type, you can import
one geometry or
multiple geometries
into Parts, Machined
▪ In the Machining volumes entry under Additional geometries, you can parts, Machining
import any number of the geometries corresponding to the volumes to volumes and
be removed in the planned steps. Fixation geometries
entry.

▪ In the Fixation geometries entry under Additional geometries, you can

import any number of the geometries from which the part fixations can
be calculated automatically (optional). Alternatively, you can also

Simufact Additive Tutorial 346

Example: Machining
Importing CAD-geometry for Parts
You can access
◆ There are 2 ways to import geometry with residual stress: the properties dialog
▪ You can import the geometry with results from the previous processes either by using left
in the same Simufact Additive project if they exist. In this case, right- double mouse click,
click on Parts and select “Import from results”. Please note that this or using the right
mouse click and
option is not available if no process exists in the same project. selecting properties.
▪ You can also import the geometry with results from another program
such as Simufact Forming. You can find the
CAD-file in the
◆ In this example, we use the second method to import the geometry. following path:
◆ Therefore, go to “Machine” widget, double-click on “Parts” or right-click on it …\simufact\additive\
and select “Import”: version\examples\na
chining\machined_br
acket\CAD-
Data\[Link]

a
The import of the
geometry into Parts
entry can be done in
c the following file
d
b formats:

Simufact Additive Tutorial 347

Example: Machining
Result and CAD import options
◆ In the next dialogs you can set up the import options of the results and the
geometry. Make sure to
◆ Since the geometry to be machined is manufactured from a rolling process select the right unit
system for the
in Simufact Forming and exported in Simufact default unit system, in the geometry and the
result options dialog please select Simufact default unit system as Unit results when you
system and select Meter as Unit in the geometry options dialog. import a part.

The geometry
should at least
contain following
post values:
Temperature,
Effective plastic
strain, Stress tensor.

Missing of the
required post values
will trigger a warning
during the model
check and have an
impact on the

Simufact Additive Tutorial 348

Example: Machining
Importing CAD-geometry for Machined part
◆ In the same way, double-click on “Machined part” under part group in the
machined parts sub widget or right-click on it and select “Import”.
◆ You can find the CAD-file of the finished machined target geometry
Machined_bracket.stl in the same path:
The geometry to
be machined and
the finished
machined target
geometry must be
d positioned correctly
a so that the results
can be mapped
correctly at the end
c of the simulation.
e This can be done
b before import or
using the positioning
◆ Import the geometry with the Unit Millimeter: tools in Simufact
Additive.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 349
Example: Machining
Importing CAD-geometry for Machining volumes
◆ Now right-click on “Machining volumes” under Additional geometries and
You can select
select “Import”: multiple geometries
◆ You can find 15 CAD-files of the geometries to be removed in 3 steps from by holding CTRL to
import them all at
Machining_step_1_1 to Machining_step_3_1.stl in the same path: once.

Activate “Use
unit for all imported
a geometries” in the
geometry options to
select unit for all
geometries to be
c imported at once.
b
At this point, you
may receive a
warning that there
are non-manifold
geometries to be
imported. You can
ignore the warning
since they will not

d
◆ Import all the geometries with the Unit Millimeter.
Simufact Additive Tutorial 350
Example: Machining
Importing CAD-geometry for Fixations
◆ Now right-click on “Fixation geometries” under Additional geometries and
select “Import”:
◆ You can find 2 CAD-files of the fixations [Link] and [Link] in the
same path:

c
b

Copyright © Hexagon AB
◆ Import all the geometries with the Unit Millimeter.
Simufact Additive Tutorial 351
Example: Machining
Model view after geometry import
◆ Your model view should now look like this:

By default, the
Part is displayed as
transparent in the
model view,
Machining volumes
and Fixation
geometries are
displayed as red/
green and
transparent
respectively for a
better view.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 352
Example: Machining
Assigning a material
◆ To assign your part a material, in the “Machine” widget double click the
Material entry or right click on it and select “Library”:

a
d

c
b

◆ Choose the material TiAl6V4_c3 for this example from the library and
confirm your choice with OK.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
◆ Then you will notice that the status bar below the machine widget turns
green, which means that all the required informations are defined in the
machine widget.

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Example: Machining
Specifying the machining stage properties
◆ Go to the ‘Manufacturing & optimization’ widget and open the Machining
stage properties by right-clicking and selecting “Configure” or double-
clicking on it directly:
◆ There are 2 properties to be defined in this
dialog:
a
▪ Machining order: You can specify which
machining volumes should be removed in
the current stage and their order.
c
b

▪ Fixations: Some degrees

of freedom of the part
should be fixed during the
machining process. You
can define the fixation
position and direction by
selecting nodes manually

Copyright © Hexagon AB
or you can import fixation
geometries and activate
them to calculate fixations
automatically.
Simufact Additive Tutorial 354
Example: Machining
Defining the fixations automatically – fixation geometries
◆ In the Fixations area, select Geometrical (a) to switch the mode of defining
the fixations. There you could see all the fixation geometries available in the
model. They are active by default (b). Right-click or double click on the Fixing
directions column (c) to define the fixation direction for each geometry.

c
For each
fixation, at least one
degree of freedom
b
should be fixed.

◆ Activate both fixation geometries and leave the direction with x, y, z. After
Geometrical you will see the total number of the active fixation geometries.
◆ You can use the buttons on the right side (“Select all”, “Clear selection” or

Simufact Additive Tutorial 355

Example: Machining
Specifying the Machining order
◆ In the Machining order area, select step1_1 to step1_12 by holding and
dragging the left mouse through the list or using CTRL + left mouse on the
name of the machining volumes. Then click Assign (a) to remove them in At the beginning,
the current stage with their original order: all machining
volumes are in the
“Unassigned
machining
volumes” list which
means that these
volumes will not be
removed during the
a simulation.
By using the buttons
( , ) you can
b
assign or unassign
single or multiple
machining volumes,
or you can assign or
unassign all the
machining volumes
at once with the
buttons ( , ).

Copyright © Hexagon AB
◆ Activating the option “Remove at once” (b) allows to remove all the
volumes in the Machining order list in a single step without order.

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Example: Machining
Adding multiple Machining stages
◆ In this example, we planned 3 steps for the machining process, in some of
which the part should be reclamped. As soon as during the machining
process the fixation setting is to be changed, a new machining stage
should be created. In the ‘Manufacturing & optimization’ widget right-click
on “Stages” and select “Configure” or double-click on it directly:

a You can also

complete this step at
the very beginning
c when you create the
project and select
b the process type.

d
e

Copyright © Hexagon AB
◆ In the process properties dialog, click on Insert stage (d) and select
Machining (e) to add 2 other machining stages into the process.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 357

Example: Machining
Specifying the machining stage properties
◆ Using the same procedure, please specify the machining order for the
second and the third machining stages:

Definition of the
fixations in the
second stage can
remain unchanged
as the first
machining stage.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
◆ In the next slide you will be introduced how to define the fixations
manually by selecting nodes in the model for the third machining stage.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 358

Example: Machining
Defining the fixations manually – selecting nodes
◆ In the Fixations area, stay at Manual mode (a) and click Add fixation (b) to
add entries in the list and enter the coordinates of the fixation center
manually. Or you can click Select from view (c) and Pick nodes (d) to
select nodes in the model view directly:

a
b

Your fixings
c should look similar
to the table on the
d left but not
necessarily be the
same.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
◆ For the third machining stage, select the nodes to be machined in the
model view and change the diameter of the sphere to change the areas to
be fixed as shown above.

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Example: Machining
Creating Voxel mesh Simufact
Additive uses
◆ Go to “Analysis” widget, double-click on “Voxel mesh” or right-click on it and hexahedral
select “Configure”. elements (voxel
elements) for the
◆ Please change the parameter for the voxel meshing as shown in figure calculation, where
below: all components
share common
nodes. It is
recommended that
the voxel mesh is
d fine enough for
e results mapping.
a
In “Advanced”
there are more
mesh settings that
c can be changed.
Especially with the
b refinement criterion,
f
number of elements
for thin-walled parts
can be reduced
significantly. For
more details, please

Simufact Additive Tutorial 360

Example: Machining
Visualisation of the voxel mesh
◆ After creating the voxel mesh, you have the possibility to switch the view
between the complete voxel mesh, voxel mesh of the machined part or
machining volume.

The voxel size

should be so
selected that the
machined part can
be represented well.

If there are too

many areas of
machined part
missing voxels,
problems will occur
during the
a calculations.
Normally, a finer
voxel mesh can help
with these problems.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 361
Example: Machining
Checking the fixations in all the machining stages The “machining
fixation distance”
◆ After generating the voxel mesh, all the defined fixations can be visualized defines the distance
by right-clicking in the analysis view and selecting “Show boundary used to search for
conditions – Show fixed displacements”: fixed nodes. This is
useful if your fixation
geometries are not
positioned exactly at
the place in contact
with the part.

Distance
between part voxel
mesh nodes and
fixation geometry
will be checked. If
the distance is
smaller than the
defined distance,
nodes are to be
fixed.

Part voxel mesh

nodes which are
Under “Numerical parameters – Advanced – Machining” you have the located in the

Copyright © Hexagon AB
◆
fixation geometry
possibility to define a parameter “machining fixation distance” according to (intersection) will be
your fixation geometry. In this example the default value 0.01 mm is used. considered as fixed,
regardless of
distance.

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Example: Machining
Creating Surface mesh
◆ Although the machining simulation is performed on the voxel mesh, results Please make
can be mapped to the surface mesh of the machined part at the end of the sure that the surface
analysis. For this purpose, we need a surface mesh of the machined part. mesh is not too
coarse. This is
◆ If the existing surface mesh is not uniform or fine enough when importing important when
the geometry, it is recommended to remesh the geometry in Simufact mapping the results
to the surface mesh.
Additive. The remeshing can also be performed after the simulation.
◆ To remesh the machined part, in the “Analysis” widget (a), right-click on the Beneath „Voxel
machined part under Surface mesh (b) and select “Configure” (c) or mesh“ is the
„Volume mesh“
double-click on it directly. Enter an Element size of 2.0 mm (d) and entry. There you can
generate a new surface mesh (e). mesh your parts with
tetrahedral
elements. This is
only used for a
a volume export of
d your results and not
for the S+ process
itself. Therefore, to
perform a machining
b simulation, a volume
e
mesh is not

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Example: Machining
Finishing model setup and starting the simulation
◆ In the ‘Numerical parameters’ dialog in the “Analysis” widget you can set up
the parallelization options. For this example, keep the default setting: the
number of domains to 8 and for each domain 1 core.

◆ Run the simulation!

The indicators below the “Machine”,

“Manufacturing & optimization” and

Simufact Additive Tutorial 364

Example: Machining
Finishing model setup and starting the simulation
◆ You will get a warning message after clicking the “Start analysis” which
indicates the machined part area with missing voxels as mentioned before:

These local
areas are less
critical to the
calculation, so we
◆ Click the link to open the will ignore it.
view of these areas. In our Otherwise, with a
finer voxel mesh the
example there are 2 small model will become
areas at the female threads too large and greatly
where the voxels are impact the
calculation time.
missing.

◆ Go to meshing dialog again

to see the details of voxel

Simufact Additive Tutorial 365

Example: Machining
Postprocessing: Equivalent stress
◆ Stress relief of the part by removing machining volumes

You can choose

between surface
and voxel results.
The solver
calculates the output
results for the voxel
mesh which are
mapped on the
surface mesh at the
end of the
Initial Final calculation.

◆ Generally, a higher value of equivalent stress appears in areas where the

machining volumes have been removed.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 366
Example: Machining
Postprocessing: Total displacement
◆ You can also evaluate the total displacement of the part by removing
machining volumes:

Copyright © Hexagon AB
◆ Because of the rigid body movement, the total displacement is not a good
measure to evaluate the result quality. Therefore, we will apply the best fit
function and evaluate the result value ‘Surface deviation’.

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Example: Machining
Postprocessing: Shape comparison
◆ To evaluate the surface deviation, click on the “Result” widget, then right
click on “Surface results” and select “Shape comparison”:

b c

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 368
Example: Machining
Postprocessing: Surface deviation
◆ First, switch to the mode “Surface deviation” (a) and then click on the blue
arrow (b) to proceed the best fit alignment with the initial shape as
reference. Then activate the visualization of surface deviation to see the
You can import
desired result (c). more reference
geometries and see
the surface
deviations, by
default the geometry
of machined part is
selected as the
a initial shape for
b evaluating the
surface deviation.
c
The best fit
method is very
reliant on the quality
of the input surface
meshes. Make sure
that the surface of
the imported
machined part is of

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Example: Machining
Export of machined part for further processes
◆ If you have imported the machined part with volume mesh or generated for
it in Simufact Additive, you have the possibility to export the machined part
for further processes.
◆ Therefore, in the „Results“ widget (a) right-click on Voxel results (b) and
select UNV export (c). In the UNV export dialog select the machined part
(d) and the corresponding increment (e) to be exported.

Further
information about
a UNV export can be
found in the
infosheet
e ‘UNVExport_en.pdf’
linked in the dialog.

b c

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 370
Example: Machining
One step machining – Fast mode
◆ Sometimes you may want to get a rough idea of the deformation behavior
after the machining process in a short time, or just only the final results are
of interest, or perhaps there is no machining volume available.

◆ A fast mode, the so-called one step machining can help.

◆ In the one step machining mode, only part and machined part are required.
Machining volumes are not necessary and the fixation (geometries) are
optional. No intermediate results will be calculated, the simulation will be
performed in a single load case and significantly accelerated.

◆ You can switch between the two modes quite easily with a few clicks. The
final results of the both are comparable.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 371
Example: Machining
Creating a variant of one step machining In the one step
machining, all voxels
◆ To switch the normal in-sequence machining to one step machining, create that do not belong to
a copy of the original process and rename it as the machined part
“Machined_bracket_OneStep”. are removed in one
single step, thus
◆ Double-click on the process name and change the Machining Type to “One only the fixations
step”. You will then find that the multiple machining stages are reduced to who fix nodes of
machined part will
one stage as only one single stage is supported in this mode. make sense.
◆ In the Machine widget, you can choose whether to keep or remove the
fixation (geometries) as they are optional. In this example, we remove them If no fixations
are present in the
as they only fix nodes which would be removed during the machining. model (manual or
geometrical),
simulation will be
performed with
predefined
numerical stabilizer.

The stabilizer
has a stiffness of
10000 N/m by
default, you have
the possibility to

Simufact Additive Tutorial 372

Example: Machining
Creating Voxel mesh and starting the simulation
◆ As the last step, go to “Analysis” widget and create voxel mesh again with
the same settings as original process.
◆ Now you can start the one step machining simulation after all widgets turn
green! The simulation is finished in a few minutes compared to the in-
sequence machining simulation in nearly 1 hour.

Materials for Additive

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Back to p.1
Simufact Additive Tutorial 374
Materials for Additive
Introduction
◆ For a simulation, the material data is crucial for a successful completion
with good result quality.
◆ The Simufact Additive installation comes with a separate installation of
Simufact Material, that offers a vast database of various materials.
An extensive
◆ Simufact Material is used with our products Simufact Forming and documentation on
Simufact Welding as well, whereby the installed material database is Simufact Material
and the existing
always the same. properties comes
◆ This means that only a portion of the delivered materials are suited for with the Material
Simufact Additive processes. installation in form
of a tutorial and
◆ Also, the material cards includes properties, that are only of interest for various
Simufact Forming or Welding, which makes them irrelevant for Simufact infosheets. This
chapter only
Additive. serves the
◆ This tutorial chapter should enable you to find the relevant materials and purpose of
describing what is
to differentiate what properties need to be defined for your Additive relevant for
simulation. Simufact Additive.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 375
Materials for Additive
Simufact Material
◆ To search for materials, you can use the filters on the left side of Simufact
Material.
◆ Depending on the current process type, an ‘Area of application’ filter
might be preselected
◆ You can also filter by other criteria (creep properties → transient heat
treatment or HIP, sintering → Metal Binder Jetting)
◆ The filter system is only there to organize the database. You can also use The category
Powder doesn’t
materials outside of the mean that the data
preselected area of are powder
properties, but the
application, if the required properties of the
material properties are defined. bulk material that is
the result of the
◆ On the next slides the manufacturing
material card sections are
presented, with advice on
what properties are necessary
for the different process types

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 376
Materials for Additive
User defined Material
The installed Simufact database entries are read-only
You can create your own material from scratch or copy an existing one
and change some values. The entry in Simufact Material will be marked
with a ‘U’, indicating a user defined material
◆ You can also change a material that was imported into a Simufact
Additive project and save it to you user database with its right-click
context menu to make it available for other projects as well
Changing material
properties in the
project does not
affect database
entries

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 377
Materials for Additive
Material properties section
◆ On the following slides the material properties tabs are shown, and it is
explained which inputs are needed for which process type
◆ If some properties are defined that are not used in Simufact Additive,
these inputs will be ignored
◆ Many values can be defined dependent on the temperature. For
mechanical Metal Powder Bed Fusion and Machining processes, where Open the material
properties by
the temperatures are not considered, the values at 20°C are taken. double-clicking on
◆ If the build stage is calculated mechanical, but there is a transient heat the material in
Simufact Material
treatment or HIP stage in the process chain, the material data at elevated or Simufact
temperatures is still needed Additive
◆ The material properties also might be dependent on the composition of
Table entries are
the gas in the build space. kept constant
outside of the
defined range

Metal Powder Bed Fusion = MPBF

Metal Binder Jetting = MBJ

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Materials for Additive
General properties
◆ This site mainly serves an
informational purpose
◆ Fill out some fields to find your
material quickly with the filters in
Simufact Material
◆ The options ‘Tool material‘ and
‘Rigid plasticity‘ will influence the
results considerably. They are not
recommended for any process
type in Simufact Additive
◆ The scope fills out automatically
based on the flow curve input, to
get a quick overview if the material
is suited for your use case

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 379
Materials for Additive
Chemical composition
◆ The entered values won’t have an
influence on any process type of
Simufact Additive
◆ This site can be filled out though,
to document this information about
the material

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 380
Materials for Additive
Powder characterization
◆ To access this section, the ‘Area
of application’ has to be set to
‘Powder’ in the ‘General
properties’
The Powder costs field is needed
to perform a cost estimation in the
preprocessing of a MPBF process.
This value should be updated
regularly to keep it up to date
In a thermal/ thermomechanical
simulation of the MPBF process,
the cold and hot spot
temperatures are needed to
review the cold/ hot spots result
values during postprocessing
The average grain size needs to
be defined. It influences effective

Simufact Additive Tutorial 381

Materials for Additive
Thermal properties
The ‘Thermal properties’ and
‘Latent heat’ sections are needed
in a thermal/ thermomechanical
simulation of a MPBF process.
The evaporation temperature and
the latent heat for evaporation are
only optional. Normally the ◆ The Ac1 and Ac3 temperatures are not used in Simufact
process temperatures shouldn’t Additive. Phase transformation is handled in its own tab
exceed them on a voxel element The thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity and
level density are required and should be defined from room to
For MBJ processes, only the evaporation temperature
solidus and melting temperatures •
For a FE-simulation with the MPBF module, tables up until
are required since the T-t-curve is evaporation temperature might result in issues for the
given as boundary condition for all solver. The implemented FE-solver is not suitable to
simulate the behavior of melted metal.
nodes
The melting temperature, evaporation temperature and
For mechanical MPBF and
latent heat for melting are also required. When
Machining processes, the thermal
maximum temperature in the melting pool reaches
solution isn’t solved. Therefore,

Copyright © Hexagon AB
boiling temperature, the keyholing occurs. The boiling
this tab can be ignored for these
temperature is used to determine keyhole onset criteria
processes
and effective laser efficiency during keyholing.

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Materials for Additive
Mechanical Properties
The Young’s modulus and the
Poisson’s ratio are necessary for
MPBF and Machining processes
Thermomechanical: As long as an
element didn’t reach melting
temperature, its Young’s modulus
is scaled with the mechanical
scaling factor from the numerical
parameters
Mechanical: This approach takes ◆ The last four values are engineering values. These
the table values at 20°C for the values are not used for the simulation. They can be
simulation, since the temperature used to scale an existing flow curve in the flow curve
isn’t known. Because during tab or to create a new one at room temperature with
printing a large temperature range the analytical cold forging approaches
exists, it’s recommended to use The ultimate strain is used to review the result value
constant mean values ‘Possible failure (strain based)‘ during postprocessing
Thermal expansion is of MPBF and MBJ processes

Copyright © Hexagon AB
considered for temperature The tensile strength is used to review the result
changes (*for MBJ see also Sintering value ‘Possible failure (stress based)‘ during
section of this tutorial) postprocessing of a MPBF process

Simufact Additive Tutorial 383

Materials for Additive
Flow curves
◆ Flow curves describe the true
stress-strain curves and are
always needed to create a
material in Simufact Material. They
can be described as a function of
the temperature and the strain
rate, in analytical or tabular form
The sintering simulation of a MBJ
process is not affected by the flow
curve since a viscoplastic
approach is used
◆ The flow curves are defined up to a max. effective
For a Machining simulation the plastic strain. After that, the solver keeps the stresses
flow curve isn’t important, since constant
only elastic relaxation happens
For MPBF processes, a max. effective plastic strain of
◆ For Simufact Additive, the strain 0,2 should be sufficient
rate dependency isn’t of interest
If the fast simulation type is activated in the process
For a thermomechanical MPBF properties dialog, the material is considered linear

Simufact Additive Tutorial 384

Materials for Additive
Anisotropy
◆ This tab is not used in Simufact
Additive
Orthotropic inherent strains or an
anisotropic volumetric expansion
factor are not solely material
properties, but rather process
properties and therefore aren’t
defined in the material card. For
more information, please refer to
the tutorial chapter ‘Introducing
the Inherent Strain Method’ and
following

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Simufact Additive Tutorial 385
Materials for Additive
Forming limit diagram, Damage, Electromagnetic properties, Microstructure,
Diffusion

◆ These tabs are not used in Simufact Additive

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Simufact Additive Tutorial 386
Materials for Additive
Phase transformation
If phase transformation is activated in
the process properties dialog, the
corresponding material data is defined
in this tab. This is only available for a
thermal/thermomechanical MPBF
simulation
◆ S+ calculates the resulting phases
defined in the Leblond section. If there
is nothing defined, the CCT diagram is
used ◆ Simulating the phase transformation might be
necessary for maraging steel. The strains due to
◆ TTT and CCT diagrams can only be
phase transformation might surpass the strains
imported from JMATPRO and not be
due to cooling, resulting in positive inherent
created by the user. Transformation
strains. Cantilevers would bend downwards after
data can be freely defined in the
they are cut. In theory the mechanical approach
Leblond section, but only for materials
can work with positive inherent strain values, but
where TTT and CCT data already
in reality, the phase transformation are local
exists
phenomena that depend on the local cooling/

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Materials for Additive
Phase transformation
◆ If phase transformation data is
defined, other material parameters
can be defined for each phase
individually
◆ You can add / remove custom
phases. With the Leblond
approach it is then possible to
define the transformation rules for
these phases

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 388
Materials for Additive
Creep
A creep law is needed if a
transient heat treatment or HIP
stage is simulated
◆ The creep strain rate can be
defined by analytical equations or
by a temperature dependent table
◆ The tables content can be
imported from JMATPRO
◆ Please refer Tutorial chapter
‘Example: Heat Treatment’ for
application details on creep.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 389
Materials for Additive
Sintering
This tab is only necessary for a
simulation of a MBJ process
◆ There are different approaches to
define this section. For more
information, see the infosheet and
the MBJ tutorial
◆ If you use the Dilatometry
approach for the Densification, the
thermal expansion from the
Mechanical properties tab is
ignored. Instead, different
expansion coefficients for the
different sections of the
temperature curve are determined
automatically when validating the
dilatometry data.

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Materials for Additive
Defect Analysis
This tab is only necessary for a
PDA simulation
◆ For further description of these
parameters and how to determine
these, refer to the infosheet and
the PDA tutorial

Postprocessing

Copyright © Hexagon AB
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Simufact Additive Tutorial 392
Postprocessing
Introduction
◆ In this chapter functionalities that are available after simulation results are
present are explained. First, general functionalities are presented. After
that, some selected result values for postprocessing are explained.

◆ Additionally, each of the Example chapters of this tutorial also cover

some postprocessing content relevant for the specific module and model
configuration.

◆ For a more complete list and description of all the available result values,
refer to the Result Values tutorial located in:
..\simufact\additive\<version>\doc\Tutorial\ResultValues_en.pdf

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Simufact Additive Tutorial 393
Postprocessing
General postprocessing - Results view
◆ As soon as the first results exist, the Results view can be accessed.
Model views
(Components or
Meshes view)
Components view:
machine, base plate
and components are
displayed.
Results view
Meshes view:
voxel, surface and
volume mesh as
well as the boundary
conditions can be
displayed.

Results view:
Results can be
viewed for
◆ For further information regarding the animation toolbar at the bottom and postprocessing.
the camera toolbar on the right side, please refer to the infosheet linked

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Postprocessing
General postprocessing - Result widget
◆ Depending on the used simulation module and model setup, the Results
widget has different options that are available to you.

Switch view

Refer to the GUI

Overview chapter for
◆ In the context menus of the results, several options are available. For a list of the available
example, a result transformation can be applied, or the result export can options.
be performed.

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Postprocessing
General postprocessing – Result transformation
◆ With a result transformation you can define a new local coordinate
system.
◆ After defining this, your part is repositioned in the Results view.
◆ Also, some result values like X-, Y-, Z-displacement, -stresses etc. are
recalculated accordingly.
◆ An active result transformation will be marked accordingly and can be
removed or exported.
With the result transformation, you can compare simulation results with
data from your measuring device. Define the zero positions just like with For more
your measuring device and ‘measure’ points with the query tool described information on the
on following slides. topic refer to the
dialogs infosheet.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
After defining a local cylindrical coordinate system, axial, radial and
tangential stresses will automatically be available in the results selection.

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Postprocessing
General postprocessing - Shape comparison
◆ The shape comparison option allows to visualize geometric differences
between the final, deformed shape and a reference geometry. By default,
the initial geometry is used as reference. A best fit alignment to negate
rigid body motion can be applied. Afterwards the surface deviation can be
displayed. For a more
detailed description
see the chapter
Quickstart and the
dialogs infosheet.

a
Best fit To use a
different reference
b geometry add it to
c the additional
c c geometries section
in the machine
Visualize surface deviation widget. Afterwards it
will be available in
the shape
comparison menu.

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Postprocessing
General postprocessing - Export
◆ There are multiple export options available depending on what you
want to export.
◆ UNV export creates universal FE-mesh files including simulation results.
Check if your UNV file contains surface triangles (Surface results
context menu) or volume elements (Voxel/Volume results context
menu).
◆ With Export results you can either export the deformed geometry or the
FE-mesh with result in native Simufact format.
A voxel mesh
For a distortion compensation there is a separate dedicated dialog to can not be exported
export the compensated geometry. Refer to the Distortion as UNV. Instead,
compensation chapter. you need a volume
(tetrahedral) mesh.
◆ The Export CAD feature lets you export
the deformed shape as CAD data
based on a morphing of the original
CAD. This requires its own
licensing. Refer to the Distortion

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Postprocessing
General postprocessing – Manage results
◆ With the Manage results dialog you can view what solver increments are
saved on your hard drive and how much space they need.
◆ Additionally, you can delete selected result increments permanently to
free some disk space.
Deleting result increments means that these increments won’t be
available anymore in the result view
Simufact result files are of the format .arc and .spr. ARC files are written
for every result increment. SPR files (or Prestate files) are written only at
the last increment of a loadcase (with default settings) and are used for a
restart (see also chapter Heat treatment). By deleting only SPR files, all SPR files are
larger than ARC files
increments in the result view are maintained, but a restart is not possible
anymore.

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Postprocessing
General postprocessing – Export to Machine
◆ The Export to Machine feature is available for the MPBF and PDA
module.
◆ With this you can directly export your laser scanning path for your print
job based on the geometries used in the simulation.
◆ This is only possible for selected AM-Machine manufacturers and
depending on the manufacturer an additional Simufact license for
SF_ADDITVE_PRINT_JOB_EXPORT is needed.

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Postprocessing
General postprocessing – View tools
◆ In the right-click context menu of the view, there are three view tools that
can be useful during postprocessing.
▪ Clipping
▪ Measuring
▪ Query dialog

◆ With the clipping tool you can create a clipping

plane to view internal result distribution
These view tools
(e.g. stresses). are also available
during
Don’t do this with surface result. See also preprocessing.
chapter Quickstart.
◆ With the measuring tool you can measure
distances, angles and diameters.
◆ With the query tool you can create
post-particles. This is shown on following slides.

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Postprocessing
General postprocessing – Post particles
◆ With the query tool you can create multiple post particles on your mesh.
This way you can:
▪ View the value of the displayed result at a specific point
▪ View the points coordinates
▪ Create a path plot of a result value by selecting multiple points
▪ Create a time-history plot at these points

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Postprocessing
General postprocessing – Post particles With this button
the curve can be
moved from this
separate dialog into
an embedded
window in the result
view. Then this
curve will be part of
pictures or movies
created in Additive.
(see following
slides)

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Postprocessing
General postprocessing – General filter
◆ The right-click context menu of the result view provides
a filtering tool.
◆ You can filter for node or element IDs useful for
advanced debugging.
◆ You can also filter by result values. For example, the
picture on the right side shows only areas with a surface
deviation of >0.4mm for our aircraft component
example.
◆ If the result value shows discontinuous result regions
(for example defect map or possible failure results), you
can also filter by these regions

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Postprocessing
General postprocessing – Synchronizing multiple result views
◆ It is possible to open multiple result views at once with the right-click
context menu of the result view.
◆ This way you can compare different processes or different result values
of the same process.
◆ In the lower section of the camera toolbar, you can define window
synchronization. You can synchronize things like view angle, time step,
result value and many more.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 405
Postprocessing
General postprocessing – Video/ image creation
◆ You can create a video of your result animation or images of the
result view from within Simufact
◆ In combination with multiple result views, it is also possible to create on
video of multiple result animations

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Simufact Additive Tutorial 406
Postprocessing
Result values – Scalar vs. vector results
◆ In the result view you have access to multiple result values displayed as
scalars in a contour plot. Result values marked with this icon can
additionally be viewed as a vector plot.
◆ You can find more information in the Result Values tutorial in
…simufact\additive\<version>\doc\Tutorial\ResultValues_en.pdf

For some
instructions on how
to adjust the color
legend to your
needs refer to the
Quickstart tutorial or
the color legends
properties infosheet.

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Postprocessing
Result values - Histogram
◆ The legend of the result view also shows a histogram of the result. It
highlights the sum of nodes having that specific result value and thereby
improves interpretability.

Histogram

◆ Users can adapt the type of the histogram to their needs in the right-click
context menu of the color legend.

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Simufact Additive Tutorial 408
Postprocessing
Result values - Optional result
◆ In addition to the standard result values optional result values might be
available in the output results section of the numerical parameters

◆ The additional values enable a more advanced result analysis but

increase the file size and may slightly slow down the calculation.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 409
Postprocessing
Result values - Recoater contact
◆ Recoater contact marks areas of the part/supports where the recoater
might collide with the part/supports.
◆ This is done by setting the AM-layer z displacement in relation with the
layer thickness. The
Manufacturing
◆ Additionally, the user defined result values enable you to tailor your own, issues category
calibrated recoater contact results. For more, see following slides. contains post values
which indicate
issues which may
lead to problems
during the
manufacturing
process.

Excessive AM-
layer z displacement
is typically present in
unsupported areas
or in areas with
thermal
accumulation.

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Postprocessing
Result values - Possible failure
◆ Based on residual stresses or strains, Simufact highlights areas of
possible failure.
▪ Stress-based failure is suitable for more ductile and strain-based for
more brittle materials.
◆ In order to display these results, the tensile test results have to be
defined in the mechanical properties section of the material.
Courtesy of: Safran Group User-defined
failure results can be
defined too. See
following slides.

Binder Jetting
processes only
show the stress-
based failure result.

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Simufact Additive Tutorial 411
Postprocessing
Result values - Layer offset intensity
◆ The layer offset intensity displays possible shrink/ shift lines during
the printing stage.

The layer offset

intensity results are
only available for
increments of the
build stage.

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Simufact Additive Tutorial 412
Postprocessing
Result values - Additional result
◆ Depending on the model setup there may be additional results regarding
baseplate fixation forces or a stage history plot for a temperature-time
curve.
◆ This is explained further in other tutorial chapters, for example
Mechanical Simulation or Heat Treatment

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 413
Postprocessing
Result values - User-defined result values
◆ User-defined result values offer the possibility to define customized
results based on the existing results.
◆ They are defined by setting the available results in relation to each other
using arithmetic formulas, condition statements, etc.
◆ For example, a custom crack criterion can be defined or the recoater
contact can be adjusted to a more precise value, e.g. through scaling with
a factor known from reality.
◆ You can find more information in the Result Values tutorial in
…simufact\additive\<version>\doc\Tutorial\ResultValues_en.pdf
or in the dialogs infosheet.

Example: Geometry Inspection

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Example: Geometry Inspection
Introduction
◆ This example will introduce you to the process ’Geometry Inspection’ with
a step by step tutorial of a project setup and some background
information.

◆ The process type ’Geometry Inspection’ allows you to directly compare a

scanned .stl body with the corresponding CAD file, calculate the surface
deviation between the two geometries and generate a new, compensated
geometry.

◆ For this process no time-consuming simulation is necessary, which

makes it very fast.

◆ The overall goal is to find an input geometry for a printing job, which
results in smaller deviations of the printed part compared to the original
geometry.

For demonstration purposes we don’t use a scanned body in this tutorial,

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Example: Geometry Inspection
Model setup
◆ Create a new project and chose ’Geometry Inspection‘ as process type in
the process properties dialog.

You can change every process type into ‘Geometry Inspection’ but be
aware that you can’t switch from a geometry inspection process into

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Example: Geometry Inspection
Model setup
◆ Now you need to import the geometries of the part and the reference.
The reference has to be the scanned/ deformed geometry and the part
the nominal/ undeformed geometry since it’s the undeformed body that
gets compensated.
◆ To import the part, right-click on ‘Parts’ and select import. The part is in
the following examples folder of your installation directory
If you copy a
▪ …\Simufact\additive\<version>\examples\metal_powder_bed_fusion\ calculated process
mechanical_build_stage\geometry_inspection\CAD- without results and
Data\01_aircraft_component.stp change the process
type to Geometry
Inspection, the part
is already defined
and only the
reference body has
to be loaded.

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Simufact Additive Tutorial 418
Example: Geometry Inspection
Model setup
◆ To import the reference, right-click on ‘Reference geometries’ and select
import.
▪ …\Simufact\additive\<version>\examples\
metal_powder_bed_fusion\mechanical_build_stage\geometry_inspec
tion\CAD-Data\[Link]

Make sure to
select the right unit
during the import of
part and reference.

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Simufact Additive Tutorial 419
Example: Geometry Inspection
Model setup
◆ Now you should see both parts in the model view.

◆ As you can see, the parts are positioned differently in the model view. To
compare the part with the reference they need to be repositioned, so the

Copyright © Hexagon AB
software can calculate a meaningful surface deviation. To do this, right
click on your part in the model view and select ‘Transformation’ →
‘Define’.

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Example: Geometry Inspection
You can import
Model setup multiple reference
geometries. Then
◆ In the ‘Initial transformation’ dialog, you can choose between the make sure that the
transformation methods ‘Best fit’, ‘3-point definition’, ‘3-2-1 plane’ and correct reference is
selected at the
‘Cylindrical coordinate system’. bottom of the dialog.
◆ For the geometry inspection you need to choose the ‘Best fit’ method. For
this, click on the button for best fit transformation and then on the ‘Best-fit Sometimes, for
complex geometries
geometries’ button. and if the part and
◆ Now the part is positioned onto the reference by minimizing the distances reference have
between the surfaces of part and reference. highly different
positions, the best fit
◆ By clicking on the button next to your reference geometry selection, the algorithm might not
surface deviation is calculated and displayed. give good results at
first. Then you can
translate and rotate
the part manually
before the best fit.
a
For more
information
regarding the
b surface deviation,
please refer to the

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Example: Geometry Inspection
Model setup
◆ To finally compensate your part, right-click on your part in the model view
again and select ‘Compensate’.
◆ In the following window you can select the reference geometry, the
compensation factor and you can display the surface deviation again.
◆ Click the ‘Compensate’ button with the default parameters. After the
The
compensation is completed, you can export your compensated geometry compensation factor
by clicking on ‘Export’. describes the factor
by which differences
in the geometry of
a part and reference
are being
compensated.

The export can

b be done in the
following file
formats.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 422
Example: Geometry Inspection
Simulation with the compensated part
◆ Now we will proceed to start a simulation with the compensated part. This
is going to be the same as the “Example: Quickstart” tutorial but with the
new .stl-file we just saved.
◆ For this we will import the process with the calibrated aircraft component
as shown below.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 423
Example: Geometry Inspection
Simulation with the compensated part
◆ Now we need to replace the existing part with the compensated part we
just saved.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 424
Example: Geometry Inspection
Simulation with the compensated part
◆ From now on you will have to set up the model in the same way as
described in the “Example: Quickstart” tutorial. For this, please go back to
the mentioned tutorial.
◆ The model should look like this:

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Example: Geometry Inspection
Postprocessing – comparison of both simulations
◆ To compare the results of the ‘compensated’ simulation with the results of
the ‘nominal CAD’ simulation, you can also import the same process
again and run the simulation without any changes.
◆ Your process tab should look like this:

You can also

import the
process with
results if available
or you can run the
simulation again.

◆ For the compensated simulation you will need to go to Additional

geometries and right-click on Reference geometries. Now we will select
01_aircraft_component.stp located in:
▪ …\Simufact\additive\<version>\examples\
metal_powder_bed_fusion\mechanical_build_stage\geometry_inspection\CAD-

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Data\01_aircraft_component.stp
◆ We need this geometry to calculate and display meaningful surface
deviations.

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Example: Geometry Inspection
Postprocessing – comparison of both simulations

a
c d

b
For the
◆ Go to Results and right-click on Surface results. Then select Shape Quickstart project
comparison. In the Transformation section switch to Surface deviation. you don‘t need to
For the reference geometry of the ‘compensated’ simulation we will select import any reference
geometry, as the
01_aircraft_component and best-fit both results by clicking on the blue reference is the
arrow. For a better comparison visualize the surface deviation as well. initial part geometry.
Select initial shape
as the reference in
the Shape
comparison window.

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Example: Geometry Inspection
Postprocessing – comparison of both simulations
◆ The final comparison should look like this:

Compensated geometry Default geometry

◆ We can see that the compensated geometry has a lower surface

deviation than the CAD geometry. This happens due to the pre-
deformation of the compensated geometry.

Scripting Capabilities

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Scripting
Introduction
◆ Python is an established general purpose scripting language, see [Link],
[Link]/3/. There are many books, introductions, tutorials and courses about
Python available on the web. Take care that the courses are applicable for the Python
version used in Simufact Additive.

◆ Simufact Additive contains an interpreter of python which can be used to create or edit
models automatically. It therefore comes with its own python environment, you don‘t have
to install any additional software, but users have the possibility to add additional python
packages as required.

◆ There is an interactive Python console available, which can be opened from the initial start
window or the project window:

1
2
3

4
5
6

1.
1 Selecting and executing a precompiled script file.
2.
2 Button for clearing the output window.
3.
3 Cancel current script execution.
4.
4 Open the tutorial chapter.
5.
5 Reference - lists all available classes, methods and objects.
6.
6 Direct Input field:

Type Python commands here and press return to execute them. Use the up
and down keys to browse the history of previously executed commands. The
input field also supports multi-line input.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 431
Scripting
How to run your code
◆ Seperate lines of code can be executed using the python console within
the software.

With
[Link], the
splash screen will be
◆ Precompiled scripts can be executed in two different ways: shown while
executing the script
▪ From within GUI (open or drag & drop file into Python terminal): and the GUI will pop
up after the script
execution allowing
immediate open of
the project. Add the
parameter „-q“ to
this command to
disable these
behaviors thus the
▪ By using special batch file within terminal: script is executed
completely silently.
➢ If the script should be executed with showing the GUI and then keeping it
open after executing (allowing immediate further interaction), use:

Copyright © Hexagon AB
"C:\Program Files\simufact\additive\<version>\bin\[Link]" [Link]
➢ If you don‘t want to interact with the GUI at all, you can run the script
remotely by passing the following system command:
"C:\Program Files\simufact\additive\<version>\bin\[Link]" [Link]

Simufact Additive Tutorial 432

Scripting
Simufact Additive module
◆ The Simufact Additive scripting module already contains a lot of functions
and classes to edit the model and its objects.
◆ All available classes and objects are documented in the scripting
reference.
◆ These objects are organized in a tree that matches the object trees
visible in the GUI. A Project object represents the root of this tree. Further
information can be found in the example at the end of this chapter and
The Python
the scripting reference. package installer
“pip” installs
3rd party modules packages user-wise
by default. If you
◆ You can use the Python package installer “pip” to install additional 3rd- want to install
packages system-
party Python packages for use in Simufact Additive: wise, please run the
command prompt as
"C:\Program Files\simufact\additive\<version>\python\[Link]" install somepackage administrator.
◆ In addition to the Python standard library Simufact Additive comes with a
number of pre-installed Python packages including NumPy and Pandas.
To get a full list of the installed third-party packages execute the following

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Scripting
Example – Recreating demo model engine bracket
◆ Running the example script
“C:\Program
Files\simufact\additive\<version>\examples\python_scripting\Scripting_demo_01_Preprocessin
[Link]”

will recreate the engine bracket model from our Demos & Examples. We
will take a look at some lines of code to get familiar with the scripting
environment.

Please note that

◆ Define header and import simufact module: you have to run
#!/usr/bin/env python Simufact Additive as
# coding: utf-8 administrator to run
# Import simufact module this example script.
import simufact Alternatively, you
can change the path
◆ Create new project and process: in the script where
# Create new project - Name: TestModel the sample model
projpath = get_installation_path() + "/examples/python_scripting" should be created.
proj = [Link].new_project("TestModel", projpath)
# Create new process
proc = proj.new_process("Testprocess", "MetalPowderBedFusion")

◆ Delete initial process:

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Scripting
Example – Recreating demo model engine bracket

◆ Organize Stages:

# Organize Stages
# Create Stages object
stages = proc.all_stages()
# Delete unwanted stages
proc.delete_immediate_release_stage()
proc.delete_stage(stages[2])
# Create new stages
proc.create_cutting_stage()
proc.create_support_removal_stage()

◆ Import part and material:

# Import part from D&E

part=get_installation_path() +
"/examples/metal_powder_bed_fusion/mechanical_build_
stage/engine_bracket/CAD-Data/engine_bracket.stl"
proc.import_part(part, unit='m')

Copyright © Hexagon AB
# Create Part object
part = proc.all_parts[0]
# Import material
proc.import_material_from_library("IN-718_powder")

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Scripting
Example – Recreating demo model engine bracket
◆ Create supports for the bracket:
# Choose support group
SupGrp = part.all_support_groups[0]
# Create support parameter object
SupParams = SupGrp.support_parameters_cads()
[Link] = ('Block',)
# Assign parameter to group object
SupGrp.support_parameters = SupParams
# Create supports for part
SupGrp.generate_supports()

◆ Consider base plate deformation:

# Access base plate
Bp = [Link]
# Consider base plate deformation
Bp.consider_deformation = True
# Import material
Bp.import_material_from_library("IN-718_powder")

◆ Define cutting height:

# Cutting stage
CutStage = proc.all_cutting_stages[0]

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Scripting
Example – Recreating demo model engine bracket

◆ Add support group to support removing stage:

# Support removal stages
SupRemStage = proc.all_support_removal_stages[0]
# Add support group to support removal stages
[Link]([SupGrp])

◆ Create voxel parameter and invoke meshing:

# Create voxel mesh
vox_mesh_params = proc.voxel_meshing_parameters
vox_mesh_params.voxel_size_x = 1.5
vox_mesh_params.voxel_size_y = 1.5
vox_mesh_params.voxel_size_z = 1.5
vox_mesh_params.coarsening = 2
vox_mesh_params.meshing_type_baseplate = "Manual"
vox_mesh_params.voxel_size_baseplate = 6
proc.generate_voxel_mesh(vox_mesh_params)

◆ Define inherent strain values:

# Build stage
BuildStage = proc.build_stage
# Create object for mechanical build parameters
Mechanical_build_parameters = BuildStage.mechanical_build_parameters
# Change inherent strain values
Mechanical_build_parameters.inherent_strains = (-0.0026, -0.0012, -0.01)
# Assign pamameter object to build stage
BuildStage.mechanical_build_parameters = Mechanical_build_parameters

◆ Save project, write .dat file and start the solver directly:
[Link]()
proc.write_dat()
analysis = proc.start_analysis()

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Scripting
Example – Postprocessing
◆ In a second example we will use the scripting API to run predefined
postprocessing of the previous examples results. The script will be
executed within Simufact Additive hence the model needs to be opened.
◆ Define header and import simufact module:
#!/usr/bin/env python
# coding: utf-8
# Import simufact module
import simufact
◆ Select project and process:
# Select project
proj = [Link].current_project()
# Select new process
proc = proj.all_processes[0]
# Get component
comp = proc.all_parts[0]
◆ Select last increment and get mesh:
# Choose last increment
last_inc = [Link][-1]
# Get mesh of component in last increment
result_msh = last_inc.mesh([Link], type='surface')
◆ Print nodal result of specific node on result mesh:
# Access to a node (no 13262) result value of Total displacement

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Tutorial

Nexus

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Simufact Additive Tutorial 440
Nexus
Nexus by Hexagon
The manufacturing world of the future

Nexus is an open platform that enhances smart manufacturing collaboration by

connecting people, technologies and data, accelerating innovation and time to market.
[Link]

Nexus will be the foundation for Hexagon’s new offerings in the smart manufacturing space. We have developed a first release of
Nexus and there is a strategic roadmap in place for the platform to better serve the needs of our customers and partners.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 441
Nexus
What Nexus offers?
The manufacturing world of the future
Nexus helps connect people with data from across the enterprise to make processes smarter. Our vision is to
support the product lifecycle from ideation to maintenance, but today we are starting by leveraging the data
sources we own including simulation, production, metrology and quality. In time, Nexus will enable the seamless
use of data from the other products involved in the product lifecycle.

Nexus has two main components:

Nexus platform:
It underpins the advanced functionality within Nexus, initially offering a new and more interactive way for teams to explore and enhance
Hexagon products, find software, hardware, training and support; and developing into an open collaboration platform to simplify
connectivity across product manufacturing – from ideation, design, simulations, production to operations and maintenance.

Nexus solutions:
These are offerings developed by Hexagon and its technology partner network to address specific challenges in various stages of the
manufacturing process. Nexus will be the foundation for Hexagon’s new offerings in the smart manufacturing space. We haven
developed a first release of Nexus and there is a strategic roadmap in place for the platform to better serve the needs of our customers
and partners.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 442
Nexus
Nexus AM Metal Powder Bed Fusion
First release
Additive manufacturing (AM) E2E workflows in general involves multiple phases. Some of them are:
• Generative design
• Performance analysis
• Build Preparation
• AM process simulation
• Compensation and Machining
• Print job preparation
• Production
• Quality inspection and more..

Hexagon MI caters to these user needs with its wide portfolio of products which can be now connected through
the Nexus Platform. Nexus also has the capability to connect with third party products e.g. AM Studio by CADS
Additive.

First hand, we developed a MVP workflow, connecting four different products together via Nexus, to provide a
minimal but combined solution for Metal Powder Bed Fusion process chain.

We picked the most important phases of the entire AM workflow for this functional preview (MVP) to allow
multiple feedback loops with our trusted customers for a reliable solution.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
This release is a functional prototype which opens doors to an explorable future. More
attractive features with better user experience will be available in the upcoming final
releases.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 443

Nexus
Nexus AM Metal Powder Bed Fusion
First release

Generative Build AM process Job preparation

design preparation simulation Slicing & Nesting

Nexus Materials
Connect

Apex GD AM Studio Simufact Additive AM Studio

Simufact Additive Tutorial 444

Nexus
Pre-requisites
Connecting to Nexus Platform
Nexus account:
Customers obtain their login credentials by signing up via the Nexus
Customer Portal to test the connected solution. For further information,
contact your company account manager to create a user account in Nexus
and apply for trial product licenses.

Installation:
We have integrated Nexus into our installers which means one can follow the
regular installation instructions to connect to Nexus without any additional
action.

Licenses:
Nexus connectivity is a premium feature added to the first release connected
products. Hence, there are no requirements to have additional licenses to use
Nexus functionalities along with the regular product licenses.

Support:
Please use the ‚Get help‘ page in the Nexus Portal to submit your queries
regarding Nexus:

Only Metal Powder Bed Fusion module can be connected to Nexus

Simufact Additive Tutorial 445

Nexus
Logging into Nexus Platform
via embedded browser in Simufact Additive
Users need to log-in with their Nexus credentials to connect to the Nexus Platform, which is the gateway to
enter into the Additive manufacturing workflow.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 446
Nexus
Logging into Nexus Platform
via embedded browser in Simufact Additive

• The embedded browser in S+ is

Enter your login credentials Access your project list
based on CEF and displays the
overview of the projects saved in
Nexus.

• One can create, change the cover,

rename, share or delete a project via
Nexus platform.

Login to work on your Additive

projects in Nexus

Copy the URL in your browser and login Access your project list on web

[Link]

Simufact Additive Tutorial 448

Nexus
Creating a Nexus Project
via embedded browser in Simufact Additive

• Once you have

access to the Nexus
Click on ‚Add project‘ Select ‘Design and Additive A new project is created as
Platform, you can Manufacturing‘ and add a name ‚Nexus_WN‘
begin creating your
project.

• To create an AM
project in Nexus, one
has to choose the
‚Design and Additive
Manufacturing‘
project type.

• We assume you
would like to start
working with MSC
Apex Generative

Simufact Additive Tutorial 449

Nexus
Creating a Nexus Project
via Web Browser

Select ‘Design and Additive Manufacturing‘ and add a name A new project is created as ‚Nexus_WN‘

Embedded browser and Web browser are

automatically synchronised.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 450
Nexus
Open a Nexus Project newly in S+
via Simufact Additive embedded browser

Click on the project you want to

open in S+
• To work on a Nexus
project in any of the
connected products,
you have to save the
project locally.

• The GUI will ask you

to save the project in
your local disk once
you open a Nexus
project for the first
time in Simufact
Additive.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 451
Nexus
Open a Nexus Project newly in S+
via Simufact Additive embedded browser

The project name is adapted automatically and file location can be selected The project is saved and the Nexus cloud
data is automatically synced locally

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 452
Nexus
Open a saved Nexus Project in S+
Two ways
Open your Nexus project from ‚Recent projects‘ Choose your project directly from ist directory
indicated by the Nexus icon

A Nexus connected local project always shows the Nexus by Hexagon widget

A standard Simufact Additive project always shows the Hexagon logo

Your user logo can be added as before. The nexus

widget is never part of any movie file or saved image

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 454
Nexus
Open a saved Nexus Project in S+
local synchronization of Nexus data
Opening a saved Nexus project locally automatically The remote state is automatically
connects to Nexus if already logged in synchronized with local state

Nexus Materials Connect is the Material database Select your material from the Nexus Materials
used for material selection within Nexus projects Connect database via the embedded browser in S+

[Link]

Sync your Nexus project to read the View the corresponding material properties
selected material into the GUI in Simufact Material in read only mode

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Simufact Additive Tutorial 457
Nexus
Synchronisation and conflicts
Handling
• Working collaboratively with different connected products and multiple
users leads to
• swift exchange of data
• rapid changes in the Cloud.

• Hexagon used Microsoft’s Fluid framework to exchange this data in

lightning speed.

• Multiple users, sharing and working on the same Nexus project, can
therefore manipulate a specific parameter (e.g. Material) in the Cloud
via any connected product.

• The last modification made in Cloud is saved and synchronized always

with other collaborators working on the project. This means, the last
user change could replace the existing remote/cloud state.

• BUT at times, one change in the project by a collaborator could be

conflicting to few other collaborators working on the same project.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
• Such conflicts are notified to the user when synchronized and the user
can manually decide if he/she wants to proceed with the new state of
the project.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 458

Nexus
Synchronization and conflicts
Status indicator

Remote state (Cloud) is synchronised with local state (GUI) Remote state (Cloud) is NOT synchronised with local state (GUI)

Current State: In Sync Current State: Not in Sync Current State: Not in Sync

No action required Sync: Synchronise ALL changes Sync: Synchronise ALL changes
(download and upload) (download and upload)

Push changes: Local data is not Pull changes: Cloud data is not
in sync with Cloud. By clicking, in sync with the local data. By
only the local changes are clicking, only the cloud changes
are downloaded locally.

Sync with Cloud when desired to not

disturb your current work

Simufact Additive Tutorial 460

Nexus
SDC Debugger
For debugging

Project Details Debugger

[Link] [Link]

Simufact Additive Tutorial 461

Nexus
AM Simulation
Work on your project to simulate the build

Complete your work and start the simulation View results and proceed with Slicing

Simufact Additive Tutorial 462

Nexus
AM Simulation
Activated Optimization tools
Distortion Compensation: Support Optimization:

• One can also compensate the distortions of the • One can also optimize supports and uploads the
simulated part and share the compensated part support structures to the Cloud.
geometry with Nexus cloud. • The best variant out of the Optimization variants is
• The best variant out of the Distortion compensation selected and exported as optimized Support
results is selected and exported automatically to structures.
Cloud.
• ‚Compensated part‘ indicates if the compensated
part is available additionally in Nexus cloud.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 463

Nexus
Limitations
Known issues
• Only Metal Powder Bed Fusion module can be connected with Nexus.
• Only one unique part can be simulated in a Nexus connected project.
• Only the first process from an Additive project is currently connected to the cloud.
• Only manual synchronization is possible currently.
• The native project database is not saved in cloud.
• Only some parameters are currently shared in cloud, they are:
• Part, supports and base plate geometries
• Machine data
• Build parameters
• Build time and costs
• Material edit, import and export via GUI are not possible in a Nexus connected project.
• Cloud data is not versioned to revert to a previous state.
• A local Additive project cannot be uploaded or connected to Nexus. Projects have to be initially created in the
Nexus Platform.

More attractive features will be in the final release. Pilot has laid the backend foundation

Simufact Additive Tutorial 464

Nexus
FAQ
Q: How can I get started with Nexus?
Sign up to Nexus to create a user account via the Nexus Portal [Link] Please be
patient until the official launch.

Q: When is the Nexus launch planned?

Q1 2023- Please stay tuned.

Q: How do I log into Nexus Platform?

Once you have a Nexus account, you can use the same log-in credentials to log into Nexus Platform
[Link]

Q: What does Nexus AM MPBF connected workflow stand for?

Nexus Additive Manufacturing Metal Powder Bed Fusion connected workflow.

Q: How can I get started with the Nexus AM MPBF connected solution?
You need a Nexus account, the Products installers and necessary licenses as pre-requisites. Every
Product is shipped with an additional Nexus Guide in the Documentation which helps you get started.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Q: Can I request trainings or demos to try out the connected solution?
Yes, please use our ‚Get Help‘ page to request trainings or demos. We will be more than happy to
help.

Simufact Additive Tutorial 465

Nexus
FAQ
Q: Do I require all the connected products installed to create a Nexus project?
No, you can create a project via Nexus Platform without any installation. You may have to install the
product to continue working on a project and populate data into Nexus for consumption by other
collaborators. The point solutions can be used individually and connected to Nexus platform

Q: Where can I find the installers?

You can download the installers from the MSC Solution Download Center after official release of the
products.

Q: How do I get licenses?

Please contact your company account manager to request licenses.

Q: Does the connected solution have a pre-defined workflow?

No, Nexus is data-centric and the connected solution does not follow any pre-defined (linear)
workflow. One can begin working on a project via any connected product at any point in time to suit
one‘s desired workflow.

Q: Can I share a Nexus project with externals?

Simufact Additive Tutorial 466

Nexus
FAQ
Q: Do I always need an internet connection to exchange data?
Yes, Nexus is cloud-based and you need an internet connection to synchronize data with the cloud.

Q: Can collaborators work on a Nexus project simultaneously?

Yes, and Nexus aims at collaboration. The last made modification on the Nexus project will be always
synchronized.

Q: How do I use my materials in a Nexus project?

You may have to go to Nexus Materials Connect [Link] to
upload your material database to Nexus. Please ensure that your sub-class is set as powder/baseplate
to find them in your Material selection of your Nexus project.

Q: What does the Sync, Push and Pull changes mean?

‚Push changes‘ helps you upload the local data to Nexus while ‚Pull changes‘ helps you download the
Nexus data locally. ‚Sync‘ helps to synchronize the data in both directions.

Q: How long would it take to upload large models with a stable internet connection?
We use the Microsoft’s fluid framework to exchange data swiftly helping you to upload/download

Simufact Additive Tutorial 467

Nexus
FAQ
Q: How do I know if my data is uploaded correctly?
The Project details are updated once you upload data from a local connected project. For debugging
purposes, one can use the SDC Debugger by copying the project‘s container ID to the URL:
[Link]

Q: Does AM MPBF connected solution support multiple unique parts?

Only one unique part and its nested instances are supported in the first release. We will extend it in
the upcoming releases.

Q: Can I share results for team review to Nexus?

Yes, you can share some results to Nexus which can be visualized using the Nexus 3D Whiteboard for
team review.

Q: Can I share a compensated geometry for the final job preparation?

Yes, you can upload it and it will be automatically consumed by Am-Studio for build preparation.

Q: Can I download the build or print files from the Nexus Platform?
Yes, if the build files are available in Nexus.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Q: Can I upload the native project database to Nexus?
Not at the moment, this will be possible in future releases

Simufact Additive Tutorial 468

Nexus
FAQ
Q: I uploaded a part to Nexus yesterday and I do not see it after synchronization today. What could have
happened?
A bad or lost internet connection should have aborted your upload.
Another collaborator could have deleted/manipulated your part.

Q: I am not able to connect to my Nexus project. What should I do?

Please check your internet connection.
Ensure the project is not missing in you Project dashboard.
Please check if the owner has deleted your project from the Nexus Platform.
Please check the LOG of your product for error codes and contact the support.

Q: Upload takes a longer time than usual. What should I do?

Please check your internet connection, unstable network connection can slow down the upload.

Q: I am not able to share my project with another collaborator. Editing rights won’t suffice?
No, only the project owner can share a project with others. Editing rights only allow you to change the
project content.

Copyright © Hexagon AB
Q: I am not able to view my material database in the ‘Material Selection’. I already imported it to
Materials Connect, what should I do?
Please ensure the sub-class is set as ‘Powder’ for powder materials and ‘Baseplate’ for baseplate
materials. Also make sure you selected the right database for selection.
Simufact Additive Tutorial 469

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