Big news from trinckle: they’ve signed an exclusive agreement with Stratasys to include the tool in GrabCAD Pro.
If you’re not familiar with trinckle, it’s a German software company that produces a tool, FixtureMate, to very quickly generate 3D models of jigs and fixtures.
Production of jigs and fixtures is a very common use case for 3D printers. The typical setup is having a 3D printer near a factory assembly line, ready to produce any tooling needed by the line operators.
Here’s the problem: the line operators are deeply familiar with the line’s operation, and very often can identify ways to optimize the process. Those optimizations can quickly save time and money, and are highly desirable.
Very often these operators are not 3D modellers and cannot produce the designs required for those new and advantageous jigs and fixtures. They have to send in a request to the development department, where they eventually might make designs that may or may not work.
That’s where FixtureMate comes in: it’s simple enough for the line operators to make the designs themselves. That can save a considerable amount of time, and that would be reflected in the earlier optimization of production.
It’s a great idea, and apparently Stratasys thought so too. The agreement between the companies has FixtureMate being a standard feature in Stratasys’ GrabCAD Pro. GrabCAD Pro is their software tool for preparing & monitoring jobs for their FDM, PolyJet, SAF, and other equipment.
The integration of the two means that those line operators can not only design the new fixture, but then they can print it immediately — if there happens to be a suitable Stratasys 3D printer handy.
That’s the catch here: it seems that FixtureMate will ONLY be available in GrabCAD Pro. trinckle explains:
“Trinckle has taken a significant step toward making additive manufacturing a serious production tool. Its design automation software, FixtureMate, is now exclusively available with the latest release of GrabCAD Print™ Pro. This integration enables an end-to-end workflow – from concept to 3D printed fixture – within a single platform, putting design abilities in the hands of more people, including those without a CAD background.”
GrabCAD Pro is the higher-level version of GrabCAD, and it requires an annual subscription of around US$5,000. It’s sold through Stratasys’ extensive network of resellers.
This arrangement is very good news for Trinckle, as it will almost certainly generate more revenue than they would be able to do so on their own.
For Stratasys, this boosts their offering to manufacturers, as they can now sell an entire package that will certainly optimize operations in a far more efficient manner.
For others who use or might use FixtureMate, the future is unclear. The company did not indicate what happens to existing FixtureMate customers, should they not happen to be using GrabCAD Pro. It is possible, however, that Trinckle could develop new products that exist outside of the Stratasys arrangement.
