AddUp Trajectory Generator Offers Faster Slicing, Scanning Computations

AddUp’s latest version of its Trajectory Generator for its FormUp metal 3D printer features advanced algorithms that offer slicing and toolpathing performance, the company says. The program was developed in partnership with Inria (Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies du numérique), the computer graphics experts behind IceSL, a highly efficient hybrid CPU-GPU slicer.

The AddUp Trajectory Generator is a fast slice and toolpath generator that offers smooth upskins and downskins to obtain superior part surface quality. The feature strengthens the existing list of operations available for visual strategy trees, which is a unique approach for AM strategies creation, according to the company.

The slicing and scanning trajectory computation speed is around 1,000 times the build speed of these trajectories, the company says. This performance is achieved through innovative algorithms and efficient parallelization on multi-core CPUs, which do not require specific vendor hardware. Also, slicing performance scales naturally with the number of CPU cores — from home laptops to many-core desktop CPUs. The slicer is designed to make the best use of the target platform capabilities.

Thanks to the visual strategy tree definition, users are given unlimited combinations of operations and parameters, while no programming skills are needed. With such a rapid learning curve, customers can be focused on production from day one, the company says. AddUp Trajectory Generator is included in the AddUp Manager 2021 manufacturing preparation software.