PostProcess Technologies' Connect3D Supports Postprocessing

The Connect3D software platform from PostProcess Technologies expands the company’s Automat3D software for intelligent removal of 3D support materials and surface finishing. Connect3D platform extends this capability into the cloud, allowing the digital thread for additive manufacturing to follow a part from design to print and all the way through to postprocessing. 

According to PostProcess Technologies, the Connect3D software platform is fully adaptable to customer needs and can leverage native CAD or 3D printer-sliced files to automatically define the necessary requirements and algorithms for post-printing. The digital thread enables the software to become “smarter” and more efficient in the decision-making required to deliver optimal results. 

Connect3D is designed to work with a range of materials including metals and polymers and is capable of increasing throughput and reducing cycle times to enable more consistent, customer-ready final parts at scale. 

“Currently, the concept of the ‘digital thread’ within additive manufacturing ends once parts are printed. Conventional finishing processes rely on tribal knowledge and hand tools so there is no ability to collect or transfer data,” says Daniel Hutchinson, founder and CTO of PostProcess. “The lack of transferable data limits the post-print process, but also fundamentally weakens the design process. Design input decisions, such as part orientation, are undermined due to a lack of downstream process data. Critical areas such as maintaining strength along a preferred axis and minimizing the amount of support material are jeopardized. An intuitive process, one that learns from itself, was not viable before today. Now, with Connect3D, PostProcess has brought the first solution to the industry that connects the digital thread through the post-printing step. This is revolutionary for additive manufacturing in its entirety, not just post-printing.”