4D_Additive, the CAD software dedicated to the additive manufacturing of CoreTechnologie

at the origin of the printing process is the entire modeling part: getting a 3D model is essential to start the creation of your piece

This key step uses CAD software that offers a number of features to optimize the manufacturing process and minimize the risk of errors. For example, the creation of media, the correction of topology or the deletion of material. There are many solutions today that reflect the full potential of additive manufacturing.

Among them, there is the 4D_Additive software developed by the French-German company CoreTechnologie: the solution offers modeling in exact geometry and can control and repair all types of models. We met the General and Technical Director of CoreTechnologie France to learn more about 4D_Additive and understand its main advantages for 3D printing.

_3DN: Can you introduce yourself as well as CoreTechnology?

CoreTechnologie was created in 1998. Our headquarters is in Germany, most of the development is done in France. We are located in the United States, Japan, Ireland, we have resellers in Italy, Russia, India and Korea. We innovate for interoperability, analysis and corrections of CAD data. Our best sellers are 3D_Evolution® software (conversions, migration, simplifications) and 3D_Analyzer® (viewer, analysis, control / validation).

I am responsible for the software development of the group. My main missions are to organize the technical teams and their projects, to integrate the requests of evolution and, with our director of research and innovation, to anticipate the technical needs of the contractors and the subcontractors.

A few years ago, like many industrialists, we anticipated the explosion of the additive manufacturing market. We have cultivated our technical know-how and decided to diversify ourselves by developing a CAD data preparation software dedicated to additive manufacturing. 4D_Additive® innovates by using modeling in exact geometry, existing solutions using triangulated geometries. To reward our technological performance, 4D_Additive® has been nominated for the 2019 Global Industry Awards in the New Technologies category.

_3DN: What are the main features of the 4D_Additive ® software?

Its DNA integrates the best of our technologies. This software offers all the necessary features to prepare a CAD model up to its 3D printing and for the majority of existing processes. 4D_Additive® imports data from many native and standard formats and then repairs poor quality or corrupted models with its tools dedicated to 3D printing: automatic filling, removal of superimposed elements, corrections of the topology ...

Then, our solution proposes an arsenal of functions of analyzes to adapt the model to the constraints of manufacture, to define the best orientation, to optimize the filling of the plate of impression and finally to create supports (simple, honeycomb ...) when that is necessary. Other more specific features, such as textures, are also available.

The workshops and tools of 4D_Additive® "work" in exact modeling. They are more precise and more efficient on the models. This technical added value is a great economic lever: perfectly printable parts are obtained more easily, faster and with greater precision.

_3DN: You have developed a module to add textures: what is it?

The idea is to be able to modify a 3D model to add a surface condition, a particular granulosity. Concretely, this amounts to finely deforming the surface in an area of ​​the model to recreate the granulosity of a material such as leather for example or to produce a visual effect by repetition of geometric patterns.

3D printing is particularly suitable for making this type of part because it makes it easy to generate these details and to quickly produce parts in small series. Here again, the benefits of using exact geometry are considerable: ease of creation of areas to texturize, better application of textures on the surface and creation of an adaptive mesh less "greedy" in triangles for model generation 3D.

4D_Additive allows the reading of Substance files giving a wide choice of materials (textures) created by the software Substance by Adobe. Immersive and aesthetic, the textures make it possible to create unique models. Our users access thousands of customizable Substance Source® textures and can easily create their own textures with Substance Designer®.

_3DN: How does 4D_Additive software provide access to mass customization?

First of all, by the extraordinary ease with which these textured patterns are generated. Secondly because the possibilities of personalization have only the limit of the imagination of the designers-designers. All visions, all ideas can become reality.

Industrial customization is a technical challenge and all requests must receive the same quality of manufacture. By working with the exact models, we respect the design and the model, without interpretation, for an impression of very high quality.

_3DN: Who are your target areas? Why is adding textures particularly interesting for them?

Automotive, aerospace and in general all sectors that capitalize on a design-signature and customer experience. Customers - BtoB / BtoC - want products in their image, customization becomes the norm. For a controlled cost, the additive manufacturing allows to answer concretely this request.

3DN: A last word for our readers?

Precision additive manufacturing offers a new innovative and creative breath to industrialists. The contractors and subcontractors can rely on our software solutions to support them technically and economically.