Software for Additive Manufacturing

This chapter deals with software that is commonly used for Additive Manufacturing. In particular, we will discuss the STL file format that is used by most machines for model input data. These files are manipulated in a number of machine-specific ways to create slice data and for support generation. Basic principles of STL files are covered here including some discussion on common errors and other software that can assist with STL files. We consider some of the limitations of the STL format and how it may be replaced by something more suitable like the Additive Manufacturing File format. A proliferation of software tools for AM are emerging and becoming a major productivity aid for AM users. This includes software for build preparation, machine scheduling, process modeling, automated design, and more. As such, the reader is encouraged to search the latest literature, in addition to this chapter, to better understand this dynamic aspect of the AM industry.