3D printing complements incumbent technologies by offering manufacturers greater design freedom and the potential to reduce waste and increase flexibility.

Hexagon AB, the global leader in digital reality solutions, combining sensor, software and autonomous technologies, has completed the acquisition of CADS Additive GmbH, a fast-growing provider of specialised software that helps companies prepare designs for metal additive manufacturing (AM).

3D printing complements incumbent technologies by offering manufacturers greater design freedom and the potential to reduce waste and increase flexibility. CADS Additive simplifies the process of 3D printing on powder bed fusion (PBF) machines. The software guides users through the build preparation, helping companies turn design files into printer instructions and improve their manufacturing productivity.

CADS Additive has been a partner of Hexagon since 2021, integrating its build preparation and support structure creation capabilities with Hexagon's market leading Simufact Additive process simulation software. Shared development roadmaps will further improve workflows, allowing users to adjust the orientation and support structure of their 3D prints. This will help shorten the additive manufacturing (AM) workflow and provide easy-to-follow steps to mitigate quality implications caused by changes to the orientation or support structure.

The AM Studio software from CADS Additive is already connected to Hexagon's Nexus digital reality platform. The software will complete Hexagon's Nexus-enabled AM workflow, applying its extensive technology portfolio to computer aided design (CAD) model preparation, build preparation, simulation-based optimisations, quality and production intelligence, and the automation of computer aided manufacturing (CAM) to finish parts.

"Our investments reflect the growing importance of additive manufacturing, which has huge potential but has been held back by a fragmented ecosystem that means manufacturers are not getting the results they need fast enough. The acquisition of CADS Additive enables us to provide our customers with integrated tools that empower manufacturing teams to reduce waste and increase efficiency as they move from prototyping to production," said Hexagon President and CEO Paolo Guglielmini. "Opening up the Nexus platform to our ecosystem partners and providing building blocks like CADS Additive helps customers improve their processes throughout the manufacturing value chain and realise the potential of industrial additive manufacturing."

Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Perg, Austria, CADS Additive GmbH has 21 employees serving 150 customers in 25 countries through 19 resellers. The company will operate as part of Hexagon's Manufacturing Intelligence division. The acquisition has no significant impact on Hexagon's earnings.