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Re: NetFabb VS. Materialise - better nesting capabilities?

Hello everyone.

My name is Gilles and I work for a service bureau that has recently purchased a 3D metal printer.
Up till few weeks ago, we used to work the old fashioned way using molds and other stuff. Today, as 3d printing has become increasingly popular, we decided to move forward with technolgy. I am in charge of the whole 3D thing in my company - updating our old working methods and adapting them to the new era of 3d printer, indoctrinating other employees this kind of knowledge and most importantly - purchasing the necessary and the most efficient softwares.

Since we mass-produce and mass-print metal parts, we are trying to figure out these days which software - Netfabb or Materialsise - has a better nesting tool. This is crucial for us.

We'd be grateful to hear your feedback if you use one of the above. Please let us know both their drawbacks and their advantages.

Thank you in advance, your help is much appreciated,

Gilles.

2 (edited by ysb 2015-03-27 13:18:26)

Re: NetFabb VS. Materialise - better nesting capabilities?

the two softwares can do 3D nesting... perhaps the price can be a point of choice ?

for me, Magics seem to offer more tools than netffab... and the new v19 sinter module ( http://software.materialise.com/magics-sintermodule ) seem to be great for your metal printer.. (see the Nester video in the link also...)

i tested Magics a lot for the repair and modification tool only and i never tested the pro version of netffab...

the problem is that the nesting capability can only be usefull with pro sintering printer, and i don't see a lot of people here that can use this type of printer... perhaps your are the first one smile

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Re: NetFabb VS. Materialise - better nesting capabilities?

Hi ysb,

Thanks for replying!

I know nesting is not a beginners-oriented tool, however, I thought it would be worth asking.
Any ideas how I can reach the pros? big_smile

Thanks

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Re: NetFabb VS. Materialise - better nesting capabilities?

nope.. sorry... if some are in the vicinity, i'm sure they will ring the bell...

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Re: NetFabb VS. Materialise - better nesting capabilities?

Hi Gilles,

Did you get some experience with netfabb, materialise or any other nesting software in the meantime? We would be interested to learn which features are important in nesting for 3D printing. How well are they supported in the different products?

The company I work for has been providing nesting solutions in 2 and 3 dimensions for more than 20 years. We are currently evaluating how to transfer our experience from textile cutting and packing automotive parts to 3D printing. For this, we would like to learn about the requirements in that industry.

If you have some time, we would also like to ask you to try a time limited version of our 3D nesting software (designed for packing of automotive parts for transportation). It might partially solve your problems. It would also be interesting for us to learn about the uses and limitations of our software from your point of view.

Best,
Tobias