Leuven (BELGIUM), October 17th, 2008. robotmech Rapid Prototyping GmbH has been using several software solutions of Materialise NV, world leader in software development for the Additive Manufacturing (AM) industry, in its daily operations since 1998. Now robotmech has also acquired Materialise’ e-Stage software for automated support generation. e-Stage automates the work preparation process, eliminating all manual editing, and also helps save on resin, finishing time and build time.

Opened in Austria in 1992, the family-owned company robotmech Rapid Prototyping GmbH has become one of the leaders in the rapid prototyping industry. robotmech’s initial successes were rather modest. Within a few years, however, it became a world class achiever. Materialise and its software range contributed significantly to its development. From the first time robotmech engaged Materialise’ services in 1998, the two companies have maintained a close relationship. Materialise’ e-Stage software is robotmech’s latest acquisition.

“In our industry, especially the rapid prototyping market, everything comes down to speed”, say Gerald and Wilfried Stössl, Managing Directors of robotmech, for whom this is the guiding principle that persuaded them to choose e-Stage. In fact, they were already using many Materialise products.

The e-Stage software not only automates prep work, eliminating the need for processing the support structures manually, it also enhances the manufacturing process. Its excellent support structures guarantee shorter production times and lower resin consumption.

e-Stage offers the added benefit of reduced time spent on the overall project. The supported model can be removed more efficiently from the platform and the support structures can be removed more quickly and easily from the model. Both save a lot of time. The unique new connection between the supports and the component substantially cuts the time required for model post-processing. e-Stage can cut project time by up to 25%.

robotmech Rapid Prototyping GmbH has already successfully completed numerous projects with e-Stage. Its automatic support creation makes it possible to complete even large, highly complex projects quickly and accurately.

“We’ve never been able to receive and process orders so fast! The time from receipt to product delivery has been shaved to a minimum. e-Stage allows us to produce accurate, precise results in the shortest possible time”, says Stössl. e-Stage does, indeed, lead to huge time savings while ensuring a perfect end product. In fact, e-Stage’s hallmarks are its automation and reliability. “The fully automated e-Stage system enables its users to keep a cool head in the face of capacity constraints, because it eliminates typical errors from the beginning, ensuring 100% accuracy”, Stössl adds.

More information can be found at www.robotmech.com