Cases

EOS Electro Optical Systems is a worldwide leading manufacturer of laser-sintering systems that was founded in 1989. EOS employs 300 people worldwide, including 250 in Krailling near Munich.

EOS utilizes its in-house laser-sintering systems to manufacture end-use production components used in the final assembly of their commercial laser-sintering systems - a prime example of e-Manufacturing. In order to streamline these activities, EOS has partnered with Materialise to install a solution that fulfils all its requirements. The solution – Magics e-Solution Suite – will help to facilitate planning, improve communications, manage data and ensure process traceability.

For EOS, one major advancement in its e-Manufacturing process granted by Magics e-RP is the ability to maximize the efficiency of its laser-sintering systems. ‘The smooth integration of Magics e-RP into our existing e-Manufacturing process enables accurate machine planning via a real-time machine monitoring tool. This ensures that we get maximum short and long-term productivity from our laser-sintering systems’ comments Mr. Klink, Executive Vice President of EOS.

Mr. Klink remarked: “Magics e-RP shares, stores and records all build information for planning purposes” and is accessible around the world by anyone who has been granted access permission. This enables multiple employees from various locations around the world to access the same live information simultaneously. Magics e-RP enables different departments to view the live status and planning of the machines and then subsequently place their own orders for components, which reduces administration and minimizes the risk of human error. Stefanie Markl, EOS Application Engineer commented: “Magics e-RP has the option to enable our designers to directly order components in the desired quantity, material and finish. This eliminates the need for many emails with .STL files and order information to be exchanged between multiple employees”.

Materialise has not only provided EOS with a software solution designed specifically for the e-Manufacturing industry, but is able to tailor the solution exactly to the needs of EOS. EOS is particularly looking forward to Materialise deploying a customized solution that further improves traceability. The solution is e-Label, a server-based labeling application that automatically integrates unique labels into series of parts. At EOS e-Label will be linked with Magics e-RP, which stores a spreadsheet that generates the unique labels to be applied to parts. Stefanie Markl commented on the forthcoming solution at EOS: “The deployment of Materialise’s e-Label will be a big step forward for us in terms of traceability. e-Label and Magics e-RP will be fully integrated, meaning that we will be able to trace components back to their origin. From the unique labeling via e-Label we will be able to instantly identify a physical component, even when there are thousands of identical components on a build platform. This unique label will be automatically linked to a particular .STL file and build location on the platform. From here it will be possible to identify the build orientation and if we desire, in Magics e-RP it will be possible for us to view any operation that has ever been carried out on that file and if the file is an iteration of a preceding .STL file.”