Live Parts™
DESKTOP METAL®
Live Parts™
Live Parts is a generative design software that enables designers and engineers to easily engage with additive manufacturing techniques and automate the design process to create parts optimized for 3D printing.
Live Parts. Manufacturing-ready models in a matter of minutes.
It is not only difficult but it’s also expensive and time-consuming to create complex geometry of generative parts via traditional methods. But, additive manufacturing is the only way to access a new design space. Generative design for 3D printing (DfAM) uses software tools to create highly-optimized parts backed by complex computational simulations.
Live Parts is the tool you need to achieve geometric freedom and easily produce stable, optimized designs in a matter of minutes.
Features
Design Freedom
Complex geometries of parts are no longer an issue with generative design software such as Live Parts.
Part Accuracy
You can now produce complex geometry parts with outstanding accuracy & performance with the help of Live Part generative design & simulation software.
Lighter Parts
Generative parts only put material where it's needed which results in parts as much as 50% lighter yet equally strong than conventional designs.
Live Parts, a DfAM software tool that makes
product designers’ & engineers’ life easier.
Designs & Optimized Parts for the Real-World
Live Parts accounts for compounding environmental and application forces like strengthening parts for both expected and unexpected conditions.
You can view the FEA analysis throughout part generation to assess progress and performance. You can visualize how your part, in its designated material, will stand up to real-world conditions by toggling between von Mises stress and displacement in real-time.
Interactive Modelling. Easier like never before.
Users can take control of the modeling process. With the ability to adjust parameters on the fly, you can see designs change in real time and easily export them to CAD software for refinement.
The parts are generated in real-time and respond to forces as they’re applied. This means that users can quickly arrive at the best solution without waiting for a black box algorithm or analyzing multiple options for selection.
Parameters such as force, magnitude, material, and direction can be adjusted live while running the simulation. You can immediately see the impact of the changes in real time throughout the build. Forces, material, support angles, and so much more can be modified on the fly during the part’s growth.
Live Parts™ enables direct export to Solidworks and other CAD software for assembly and further finite element analysis (FEA) and modeling. Designs can easily be moved between CAD software and Live Parts, simplifying iteration without repeating setup processes.
Manufacturing-ready parts
With the ability to set constraints on build direction, supports, and more, designs generated by Live Parts™ can be optimized for 3D printing success.
The part geometry is automatically smoothed. It creates clean files and avoides issues of concentrated stresses, resulting in geometry ready for manufacture.
You can export files in the format you need for your manufacturing method, whether additive or subtractive, including water-tight STLs and solid-body models. Or import them back into CAD for further refinement and featuring.
Part Gallery
Generative Piston Head
Generative Design, Prototyping 4140
Prototype piston head for a reciprocating engine, optimized with generative design. Typically CNC machined from aluminum alloy, pistons can be time-consuming and difficult to rapidly prototype and test.
Full Description
It often takes months or even years to move from design to production. With the Studio System, various piston designs can be easily prototyped and tested—speeding up product development timelines, reducing time to market, and introducing new opportunities for optimization, including generative design—all while avoiding CNC backlog and lead times.
Specs
- Size (mm): 105 x 105 x 54
- Cost to print ($): 271.00
- Cost to machine ($): 568.13
- Savings vs. machining: 52.30%
Technology/Process
Bound Metal Deposition™
Generative Bracket
Generative Design
This bracket holds a sensor in place on an industrial machine and leverages generative design to reduce part weight and material usage.
Full Description
Only 100 brackets were needed for the initial pilot run of an industrial machine. The Shop System is an excellent manufacturing fit as it does not require tooling. Moreover, it allows production to kick off as soon as the design is complete. In other words, it significantly reduces manufacturing lead time and part cost.
Printing these parts on the Shop System also opens up a unique opportunity to easily apply generative design without the same geometric limitations met in traditional manufacturing. For this part, the team used Live Parts™ to optimize the geometry for the specific loading scenarios involved in the application as well as the build requirements of binder jetting.
Specs
- Size (mm): 68 x 43 x 33
- Cost per part ($): 36.51
- Parts per build: 30
- Weekly throughput: 271
Technology/Process
- Binder Jetting
Skateboard Truck
Generative Design, Live Parts™
This part attaches wheels to a skateboard deck and has been optimized using generative design tools.
Full Description
Generative design and 3D printing allow the fabrication of innovative designs impossible with casting (the traditional production method for skateboard trucks).
Studio System 2 can print parts with complex geometries. With the help of generative design, trucks are more aesthetically pleasing, stronger, and lighter.
Specs
- Size (mm): 201 x 76 x 52
- Cost to print ($): 161.00
- Cost to DMLS ($): 1163.00
- Cost reduction: 86.00%
Technology/Process
- Bound Metal Deposition (BMD)