Velo3D Unveils Flow 3.0 to Support Print Prep

Velo3D, Inc. has released its Flow 3.0 print preparation software. The new version supports larger models of parts that are able to be manufactured on the company’s Sapphire XC (Extra Capacity) printer, which can produce parts that are up to 400% larger than the Sapphire printer. Flow 3.0 also supports the scheduling of additional lasers to maximize efficiency of the Sapphire XC’s eight 1,000 W lasers and increase productivity significantly, compared to Velo3D’s Sapphire printer.

“By providing an end-to-end solution we are able to let engineers focus on building the mission critical parts they need,” says Daniel Russel, Velo3D director of Engineering. “The 3.0 release brings support for the sorts of large models that can be printed on Sapphire XC, warnings and guidance to customers during build preparation, along with tools for managing build preparation on clusters, Amazon Web Services and many other improvements.”

Velo3D’s Flow 3.0 print preparation software enables engineers to upload a traditional CAD file of a part to print, rather than spending more resources designing the part for additive manufacturing (DfAM). By eliminating the need for DfAM, Velo3D enables customers to freely design parts they want and print with precision.

Flow 3.0 uses a generalized set of recipes to precisely prescribe and simulate the layer-by-layer build for the desired part. The software’s composer detects geometric features and applies the corresponding process to achieve that desired outcome. Flow 3.0 uses information from previous layers to inform the print strategy for subsequent layers, resulting in better parts and greater design freedom.

“When we are building new features into Flow we aim to simplify the experience for engineers who want to create parts using our additive manufacturing technology,” says Victorien Menier, Velo3D senior software engineer. 

With Flow 3.0, the print preparation software can generate and leverage meshes of models containing up to hundreds of millions of triangles. The capability is possible by offloading the computation of larger files to Amazon Web Services. The customer sends a CAD file and receives back a compacted file that can be used on any printer to build the part.

The software also includes revised scheduling rules to achieve 98% efficiency of the Sapphire XC’s eight lasers, the company reports.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.