Data preparation

From data preparation to finished component

Data preparation is the first activity when producing a part with Additive Manufacturing and comprises all steps from initial design to sending the machine data to the printer. The data preparation phase can already significantly influence the costs of the entire process, especially during printing and post processing.

What you will find in this section

Data preparation for Additive Manufacturing

Small effort for serial production components

For a serial production of a metal Additive Manufacturing application, the data preparation is usually a one-time cost that can thus be allocated to the total production quantity. The result is typically a negligible cost for data preparation per part. For prototyping applications or low batch sizes, on the other hand, the data preparation cost can be a significant amount of the total manufacturing cost. Besides personnel cost for the engineer, the data preparation software cost has to be considered. Yearly license fees can range from 2 000 € to 20 000 € or more.

Powder Bed Fusion

Broad range of software for data preparation

Pre-processing for Powder Bed Fusion involves several steps, including:

Part orientation: Optimizing build efficiency and minimizing support material.
Support structure design: Necessary for overhangs and intricate geometries.
Build job layout: Arranging multiple parts in the build volume for optimal nesting / build job utilization
Simulation and redesign: For complex geometries, simulation may be required to ensure manufacturability and minimize defects.

While these tasks are software-driven and relatively straightforward, part complexity may extend preparation time from minutes to hours. Nevertheless, data preparation costs typically represent a minor share of overall production costs for PBF.

Sinter-based technologies

Predicting the shrinkage during sintering remains the biggest challenge

Source: Desktop Metal

Material Extrusion: Straightforward but Limited by Sintering Challenges

Data preparation for Metal ME is simple and typically completed within minutes. Tasks include:

Loading the CAD file.
Setting the optimal orientation.
Arranging parts in the build volume.

However, predicting shrinkage during sintering remains a major challenge. Current software lacks full optimization, often requiring trial-and-error cycles to achieve acceptable results.

Metal Binder Jetting: Maximizing Build Efficiency and Managing Sintering Complexity

Key steps in MBJ data preparation include:

Predicting and compensating for sintering shrinkage, which is partially supported by OEM or third-party software but still requires significant manual adjustments.
Nesting and stacking parts: Since print time is independent of the number of parts, maximizing build volume is critical to reducing costs.

For low-quantity production, the manual effort involved in nesting and shrinkage prediction can make data preparation a cost driver.

Source: Desktop Metal

DED Technologies

Complex data preparation for DED technologies

In DED processes such as Laser Metal Deposition (LMD) or Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM), data preparation is comparable to CNC programming and includes:

Path definition: Using CAM software for generating tool paths.
Collision detection: Ensuring safe and efficient tool movements.
Manual programming: Often required for customization, especially in repair or low-volume applications.

While modern CAM packages streamline many aspects of DED data preparation, significant manual programming persists, particularly for repair or spare parts manufacturing. This makes data preparation a cost-intensive factor in DED, given the typically low production volumes.

Formula

How to calculate costs for data preparation

Cost calculation for data preparation is straight-forward. Simply multiply the total time spent for data preparation Tdata by the hourly rate Re of involved employees and divide it by the number of parts Np.