“Surface quality in injection molding quality”: Why non-planar slicing software is a game changer for additive manufacturing

How can 3D printing be made faster, more economical, and with injection molding quality? What role does slicing software play in this? K-Mag got answers to these questions in a chat with Lukas Pelzer from Layer Performance GmbH.

Mr. Pelzer, what specific problem in additive manufacturing did you want to solve with your software?

Lukas Pelzer: Additive manufacturing offers many advantages over conventional manufacturing processes, such as tool-free production of any complex geometry and a very high degree of agility: profitability is no longer linked to the number of identical parts, products can be customized, and on-demand manufacturing is possible.

However, there are challenges that inhibit the transformation of the industry through additive manufacturing technologies: The layer-based approach often leads to poor component quality in terms of surface finish and mechanical properties.

This is where our software comes in: The Layer Performance process preparation software takes over and optimizes the slicing step and creates application-specific machine code for any material-extruding additive manufacturing system. Compared to previous solutions, the 3D-optimized machine code enables up to ten times faster production with 90% less material and 96% less energy, with up to four times higher mechanical strength of the components and injection molding-quality surface finish.

What are some typical challenges in everyday production?

Pelzer: One typical challenge is the tension between mass production and customization: Increasing demands for modularity, upgradeability, and functionalization require us to rethink production, especially in high-wage countries. The Layer Performance Slicing software enables innovative approaches by making the combination of conventional and additive manufacturing processes simple and accessible: Thanks to the 3D-optimized, non-planar machine code, our customers are no longer limited to building components on flat construction platforms. Instead, strands, layers, and entire geometries can be applied directly to existing components with free-form surfaces. This allows individual products to be manufactured faster, more cost-effectively, and in a scalable manner.

How does your software solution work in concrete terms, and what is special about your approach?

Pelzer: In additive manufacturing, components are usually created in layers. This leads to several disadvantages, such as poor surface quality and low mechanical properties perpendicular to the layers.

An example: The mechanical properties of 3D-printed components are currently highly directional. While the properties of the base material are achieved in the strand direction, the components exhibit significantly lower strength and stiffness in the build direction due to the layer composite. Fiber composites exhibit similar behavior, but this is not considered a disadvantage here—on the contrary, the anisotropy of the material is specifically exploited. And we make this possible for additive manufacturing with our slicing software: Strands can be aligned based on a load case. This can increase strength by a factor of four.

How can your software be integrated into existing machine parks or production processes?

Pelzer: In the additive manufacturing process chain, Layer Performance comes into play at the slicing stage. We do not introduce any new process steps, but replace conventional slicing programs with our optimized, browser-based software. The resulting machine code can be used for all material-extruding systems and all materials.

How important is the topic of design for additive manufacturing—and what influence does your software have on it?

Pelzer: It's an important topic. Thanks to 3D-optimized path planning, Layer Performance offers significantly greater geometric freedom in design and manufacturing.

For example, for the first time, free-form surfaces are no longer just approximated, but precisely reproduced. Printing on free-form surfaces is also possible. Avoiding the typical staircase effect ensures excellent surfaces in injection molding quality without any post-processing. By avoiding support material, overhangs can be designed to be significantly steeper, which allows for greater freedom in design.

For highly functional components, the targeted definition of mechanical properties analogous to the processing of fiber composites offers completely new possibilities. The targeted programming of local stiffnesses is advantageous for a wide range of industries, for example for ergonomic customization in the medical and healthcare sectors.