Hollow Build Software Introduced for the Manufacture of Light-weight Prototypes

By DE Editors

From DSM Somos (Elgin, IL) comes a new software application that will allow stereolithography users to create light-weight prototypes with enhanced structural integrity.

TetraShell hollow build software is based on patented technology from the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE), and will use MSOE’s TetraLattice* technology to facilitate the manufacture of hollow stereolithography parts with variable skin thicknesses, utilizing a patented and proprietary TetraLattice support structure. DSM Somos envisions customers will use this software for investment casting patterns,  reduced-density metal clad composite structures and light-weight large,  thick-sectioned parts. It will be useful for applications that were not cost effective in a solid SL model yet demanded enhanced structural integrity.

Other advantages of the TetraShell hollow build software include the ability to allow SL part builders to build parts with varying wall thicknesses, and to adjust support parameters. DSM Somos expects that the software will reduce costs for customers with big or weighty parts, while increasing the accuracy of part building.

Supported by Materialise’s Magics software, TetraShell software is a proprietary DSM Somos application module that can be used on all current SL equipment. By the end of the year, DSM Somos expects to offer the software along with Somos resins. For more information, visit DSM Somos.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.