1 | hexagonmi.com

AM Data and Innovation

Michael Taylor

Lead Consulting Engineer

Virtual Manufacturing & Costing, Hexagon

michael.taylor@hexagon.com
2 | hexagonmi.com

Production machining

Production Software

Mould & die design 

and manufacturing

Sheet metal 

fabrication Woodworking CNC simulation Factory automation

Dimensional analysis Metrology-assisted 

manufacturing

Robot & machine 

calibration

Reverse engineering

Metrology

Design & Engineering

Structural analysis Multibody dynamics Thermal & fluid 

dynamics

Acoustic simulation Materials modeling Manufacturing 

process simulation

Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence

Portfolio spans the physical and virtual worlds
3 | hexagonmi.com

Additive Manufacturing Portfolio

Process 

Simulation

Simufact Additive

• L-PBF / EB-PBF

• MBJ

Simufact Welding

• Arc & Laser DED

Digimat AM

• FDM / FFF / CFF

• SLS

Metrology

Hardware

• Laser Scanners

• Structured Light

• Laser Trackers

• CMMs

Software

• Inspire

• PC-DMIS

• Spatial Analyzer

Analysis

Volume Graphics

• Computed Tomography 

(CT) Inspection

• AM geometry 

compensation 

Apex GD

• Generative Design

Data 

Management

Sim Manager

• Simulation Process and 

Data Management 

(SPDM)

Material Center

• Materials Lifecycle 

Management (MLM)
4 | hexagonmi.com

Frontline Metal AM Tools

Additive Manufacturing Portfolio

Simufact Additive

• L-PBF Process

• Distortion & support optimization

• MBJ Sinter Process

• Shrinkage & distortion 

optimization

Simufact Welding

• DED Process

• GCode driven

• Distortion prediction

Volume Graphics

• CT Inspection

• Full metrology suite

• Analysis tools for powder, foam, 

lattice, porosity, inclusions

• AM Geometry Correction

• Scan-based compensation for 

AM input files

Image courtesy of FIT AG
5 | hexagonmi.com

Many generators, many consumers, few standards

The AM Data Headache Harmonization Issue

Which data do 

we store?

What format do 

we use?

Where do we 

keep it?

Design

• Geometry

• Loads

• Environment

Simulation

• Calibration Data

• Inputs

• Result Sets

Production

• AM Build Reports

• In-situ Monitoring Data

• MES Records Inspection

• Process Certs

• Inspection Data

• QMS Records

Qualification

• ICME Models

• Process Models

• Physical Tests
6 | hexagonmi.com

Simufact 

Additive

Simulation

Supported

Build 

Geometry

(STL)

Nominal 

CAD

(SLDPRT)

M290 Build 

File

(OPENJZ)

Materialise

Magics

Material Test 

Reports

(PDF)

M290 Exposure 

Settings

(ON SCREEN)

Sente Software

JMATPro

Simufact

Materials

EOSPrint

Orientation, Support Geometry

Dassault

SolidWorks

Simufact

Material Card

(XMT / XML)

CLOSED 

FORMAT

Current State Example

L-PBF Simulation Input Data Flow

!!!

LOST

FIDELITY

!!!

LOST

DATA

Part Geometry

Heat Treat / HIP 

Schedule(s)

(PDF)

!!!

MANUAL

ENTRY

!!!

MANUAL

ENTRY
7 | hexagonmi.com

A Better Way

Adoption of a Standardized Data Model 

Extensible to incorporate:

• Simulation data sets

• New AM processes

• More build parameters

• New in-situ monitoring data

Common Data Model (CDM) Relationships in Material Center 

CDM

• Common Data Model

• Generalized AM data schema

CDD

• Common Data Dictionary

• Process-specific terms & fields

CDEF

• Common Data Exchange Format

• Language for data transfer
8 | hexagonmi.com

What’s to gain?

• AM needs large data sets to move forward

• Users will always select hardware & software that fits their needs

• Many AM “Holy Grails” are only achievable through integrated workflows

• Rapid qualification and “Born Certified” hardware

• Closed loop and sophisticated process controls

• Process-aware design optimization

• Spatially-dependent material properties

• Simulation as a quality tool for build anomaly analysis
Thank You