3D Systems' Cimatron CAD/CAM Software Enables Mold Shops to Design and Manufacture More Complex Molds, Faster--Keeping them Ahead of the Competition

ROCK HILL, S.C., Sept. 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, 3D Systems (NYSE:DDD) announced that three leading mold-making shops - Allegiance Mold, Liberty Molds, Inc., and Synergy MouldWorks, Inc.—have addressed market demand for more complex and successful injection mold tooling through the deployment of 3D Systems' Cimatron^® integrated CAD/CAM software. Cimatron software is drawing renewed interest from customers building complex tools as it enables them to move straight from design to the shop floor, ultimately allowing for improved mold design time and time to delivery by up to 50% and 20% respectively. This integrated CAD/CAM software is on the leading edge of helping mold-making firms optimize their shop floors and end-to-end manufacturing workflows, delivering profitability and significant productivity improvements.   

Allegiance Mold Accelerates Prototype and Production Tooling Lead Times
Allegiance Mold, LLC is an injection mold manufacturer that specializes in delivering prototype and production tooling with short lead times. Based in Portage, Michigan, Allegiance Mold has established a niche in the mold-making market for building high-quality, complex injection molds about 50% faster than the competition by implementing Cimatron integrated and dedicated CAD/CAM software for tooling.

"The biggest benefit that I see is that we're using the same software to design the tool in the office as we are using to machine the tool in the shop," said Dave VanDeLaare, senior mold designer, Allegiance Mold. "We use Cimatron for designing and machining because there's no translation errors. It goes from my office right out to the shop floor and the guys can start programming within minutes of me putting it out there. That's a huge time saving."

Synergy MouldWorks Improves Upfront Design Timeline for Complex Tooling
Synergy MouldWorks, Inc. is an injection mold maker and custom machining shop that specializes in higher-complexity, tighter-tolerance tooling for medical, automotive, and consumer goods including cap and closure, food packaging, and cosmetics. Located in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, it reduced its mold delivery time by up to 20% and improved its customer service by offering close, up-front collaboration for better tooling design when it implemented Cimatron integrated CAD/CAM software.

"We've got mold design, product design, and NC all in one software product. It's one-stop shopping," said Cory Robertson, president, Synergy MouldWorks. "Transitioning to Cimatron allowed us to create a new specialty at the shop and be nimbler and more flexible in how we accommodate part changes without extending the overall delivery time. It's been a huge business advantage."

Cimatron software by 3D Systems is a dedicated solution for tooling and addresses the entire tool-making process—from quoting, to design, to applying engineering changes, to NC programming. The access to CAD and CAM capabilities with the latest simulation tools in one software platform allows mold makers to reduce design and delivery time and become more productive.

Liberty Molds Eliminates Errors and Cuts Design Time in Half
Liberty Molds, Inc. is a custom injection mold shop located in Portage, Michigan that uses Cimatron software by 3D Systems to design and manufacture complex, high-tolerance, custom prototype and production tooling. Liberty Molds simplified its stable of software products by replacing three software solutions with Cimatron integrated CAD/CAM software. In turn, Cimatron enabled the shop to eliminate translation errors, resulting in significant cost savings and hundreds of hours saved on re-work.

"Cimatron makes it too easy for us to do a good job -- right from the design into programming," said Brian Scott, president, Liberty Molds.  "In many cases, we've improved our build time by four weeks because translation errors are no longer holding us back."

Although integrated CAD/CAM software has been around for years, the influx of complex part requests is necessitating a simpler way to design and manufacture molds for complex parts.  In order for customers to be successful at this, they need the right design and analysis tools combined with NC for tooling capabilities.  Additionally, more mold makers are adopting conformal cooling channel design for inserts and tools and combine it with the traditional design in relevant areas of the mold, to achieve more consistent cooling of the mold. Cimatron integrated CAD/CAM software delivers expert toolsets for conformal cooling designs plus interactive simulations to determine areas of the design where conformal cooling can assist. These tools validate the design for cooling efficiency, injection-molded part quality, and overall injection cycle time reduction— providing another way to accelerate profitability of a job.  Cimatron by 3D Systems provides mold makers with the automation, and dedicated tools for their respective needs.

"Mold makers have undergone a significant transformation and come out successfully on the other side powered by our engineering software portfolio, which is focused on improving customer productivity and creating new revenue streams," said Radhika Krishnan, senior vice president, software and healthcare solutions, 3D Systems. "We're constantly looking for new ways to innovate at 3D Systems and our Cimatron software provides our customers with the time savings to generate a competitive edge and the confidence to take on any tooling challenge their customers present to them."  

3D Systems' Cimatron integrated CAD/CAM solution provides a full range of NC technologies from simple 2.5 axis milling and drilling to complex 5-axis machining and micro milling. Cimatron is designed to address the entire tool making process — from quoting to design, applying engineering changes and NC programming. This enables tool and mold makers to deliver higher quality tools at lower cost with shorter cycle times.

Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements made in this release by or in reference to 3D Systems that are not statements of historical or current facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company to be materially different from historical results or from any future results or projections expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In many cases, forward looking statements can be identified by terms such as "believes," "belief," "expects," "may," "will," "estimates," "intends," "anticipates" or "plans" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are based upon management's beliefs, assumptions and current expectations and may include comments as to the company's beliefs and expectations as to future events and trends affecting its business and are necessarily subject to uncertainties, many of which are outside the control of the company. The factors described under the headings "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" in 3D Systems' periodic filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as other factors, could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected or predicted in forward-looking statements. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not, and should not be relied upon as a guarantee of future performance or results, nor will they necessarily prove to be accurate indications of the times at which such performance or results will be achieved. The forward-looking statements included are made only as the date of the statement. 3D Systems undertakes no obligation to update or review any forward-looking statements made by management or on its behalf, whether as a result of future developments, subsequent events or circumstances or otherwise.

About 3D Systems
More than 30 years ago, 3D Systems brought the innovation of 3D printing to the manufacturing industry. Today, as the leading AM solutions company, it empowers manufacturers to create products and business models never before possible through transformed workflows. This is achieved with the Company's best-of-breed digital manufacturing ecosystem - comprised of plastic and metal 3D printers, print materials, on-demand manufacturing services and a portfolio of end-to-end manufacturing software. Each solution is powered by the expertise of the company's application engineers who collaborate with customers to transform manufacturing environments. 3D Systems' solutions address a variety of advanced applications for prototyping through production in markets such as aerospace, automotive, medical, dental and consumer goods. More information on the company is available at www.3dsystems.com.

SOURCE 3D Systems

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