Multi-axis printing: Simulation of a multi-axis process is now fully supported in the application. In the DED Process Wizard or in the G-Code Clustering object, under Print Direction, choose Multi-axis to enable the functionality. (In previous releases, the multi-axis option was called 3D (Beta).)

The G-Code clustering technique for multi-axis simulation is completely new, resulting in substantially faster cluster generation (at least ∼100x faster!), improved connectivity checking for stable solver performance, and more robust handling of complex geometries as compared to the Beta feature. The new connectivity check finds and corrects badly connected elements if they exist. The check is turned on by default. You can turn it off when testing simulation setup to increase cluster generation speed.

Multi-axis simulations require a Cartesian mesh but you can set the Projection Factor to something other than 0 to improve the quality of contact for better convergence.

It is useful to choose multi-axis simulation even with a single print direction when you have multiple parts with various layer heights to avoid any misalignment problems.

DED Process Wizard: The DED Process Wizard includes built-in automated functions to make DED simulations as easy as possible, while the project tree workflow empowers those users who prefer more direct control. With each new release, we add more smart checking functions into the wizard, so we are strengthening our guidance to use the wizard whenever possible to set up your DED simulations. At this release, the wizard now detects whether there is shared topology among bodies in the model and adjusts settings accordingly. Shared topology between the part and the base body is recommended when you have a curved base. The wizard is particularly helpful for multi-axis simulations where several new Named Selections are required to generate clusters and facilitate contact creation—the wizard creates these Named Selections and the contact connection (DED_Contact) automatically.

Direct cluster manipulation using cluster output file: The build settings of deposition rate, preheat temperature, and dwell time can already be controlled down to the individual cluster level by using the cluster settings table. As an alternative, you can now edit the output file, DEDClusterOutput.json, from the cluster generation process directly. Change the build settings or add, remove, or move elements among clusters.

Use the new right-click options on the G-Code Clustering object to do this. Right-click the G-Code Clustering object and choose Open DED Clustering Directory. From there, edit the DEDClusterOutput.json file as you wish. This is the output file from the cluster generation process. After editing, right-click the G-Code Clustering object again and choose Update Clusters and Settings. This action regenerates the Named Selections and updates cluster settings but will not rerun the clustering algorithm.

Controlling heating and cooling per cluster during the build process: You can now control the additional build settings of power (for power based heating method), or process temperature (for temperature based heating method), and radiation emissivity and gas convection coefficients during the build for both the part(s) and the base using command snippets (Commands object) with specific DED parameters. This may be useful to lower power in areas where there may be overheating, say, or to adjust build conditions for different materials.