In this section, you will find everything necessary to connect Formlabs printers & software to the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.
What to experience inside our apps with this collaboration ?
- To retrieve all the materials along with their properties from the printer model.
- To define strategies for geometry output generation.
- To generate an output as proprietary file format, it is meant to be opened in PreForm software program.
Prerequisite
- To install PreForm software program from "https://formlabs.com/software/preform/" .
- Purpose: to open the generated job file in their proprietary slicer before sending it to your printer.
- To install PreFormServer from "https://support.formlabs.com/s/article/Formlabs-API-downloads-and-release-notes" .
- Purpose: it grants connection between 3DExperience and their APIs.
Procedure
This video guides you from how importing the Formlabs Additive machine models to generating a job file.
To be noticed, workflow is the same for all published models.
0/ To start a command prompt (as Administrator) then access folder containing PreFormServer.exe file.
To run: PreFormServer.exe -p 44388
1/ To launch 3DEXPERIENCE.
2/ To your Additive Machine model then to import the 3DXML file into 3DEXPERIENCE.
3/ To start your Additive application.
4/ To open "Search Machine" command then to pick the uploaded model.
5/ To open PLM tree and to left-click on it. To click on "edit machine" button from the bubble bar. Or, you can right-click on it then inside the contextual menu, go to Additive Machine then click on Edit NC Resource
6/ To check that "Machine type" & "Preform server" custom parameters are defined.
7/ To open "Virtual Machine" expander, to click on "Check library load":
To verify that following services are checked: "Get list of available rules" ; "Create jobfile from geometry" ; "Get Settings"
8/ To open "Rules" expander, to click on "Update list of rules". To check that Rules are added under the "Build Process" node.
9/ To prepare the build...
... Once the build is ready for export:
10/ To open "Generate output" command then to check that "form" option appears inside the "Format" dropdown list.
11/ To click on "Build strategy" button.
12/ To pick one from dropdown list next to Build process rule then to validate.
13/ To click on Generate.
14/ To open generated form file in PreForm.
15/ To review build preparation then to send it for manufacturing.
Available models
About AM models versioning
These models were created from a specific 3DEXPERIENCE Platform version (and compatible with later releases) and with the ongoing Formlabs & PreFormServer versions ; new releases may have been published since then. As results, new PreForm parameters might not be implemented. If so, do not hesitate to raise this issue and the R&D team will shortly answer to it.
Same remark if an Additive Machine model is missing or not available with your version, do not hesitate to ask for its implementation.
External parameters
The Formlabs knowledge to export the build as a job file is contained inside our "build process" rule. Depending on the process type (Powder Bed vs. SLA), Formlabs exposes different parameters (e.g. proposing raft for SLA) and our rule object fits to their behaviors and lists all the parameters exposed by PreForm.
The "Generate output" command allows you to select the rule then to export the build layout as job file.
Find out more about them by reading articles dedicated to Available models section.
