Materialise NV, a leading provider of additive-manufacturing software and of sophisticated 3D-printing solutions, partnered with Arcam to create the Arcam Build Processor. Similar to the way 2D printer drivers work, Materialise’s user-friendly build processors simplify the 3D printing workflow and give users more control over their 3D print.

Users of Arcam’s electron beam melting (EBM) machines are mainly active in the orthopedic implant and aerospace industries. To reduce the weight of parts or to facilitate bone ingrowth for implants, complex designs such as porous, lattice and lightweight structures are created. These complex designs can easily be created in Materialise’s 3-maticSTL software. With the Build Processor, the user can avoid the large STL data stage by using a compact file format and slice-based operations.