Founded in 2020, SelectAM is a complete software solution to identify parts for additive manufacturing (AM), allowing the user to screen and define business cases from large part inventories to unlock the full potential of AM. The software simulates digital manufacturing workflows with most relevant industrial AM machines and materials available to provide insights on the technical feasibility, the economic potential, and the redesign opportunity of assessed parts.

Founded in 2020, SelectAM is a complete software solution to identify parts for additive manufacturing (AM), allowing the user to screen and define business cases from large part inventories to unlock the full potential of AM. The software simulates digital manufacturing workflows with most relevant industrial AM machines and materials available to provide insights on the technical feasibility, the economic potential, and the redesign opportunity of assessed parts. The user can choose between a top-down (up to 100k parts at once) or a bottom-up (single parts) approach with either the standard or company-specific AM machine and material profiles. The company recently launched its first commercial cloud-based software ‘Identify 1.0’ which offers a free-of-charge 1-month trial, and helps 3D nesting for accurate cost calculations.

Brains behind this

SelectAM is the brainchild of co-founders Dr. Niklas Kretzschmar, Lukas Jakob Hafner, Dr. Eero Huotilainen, and Dr. Inigo Flores Ituarte, from Helsinki. Their team comprises of AM experts, experienced software developers, and advisors.

The Before and The After

Today, less than 0.2% of the world-wide manufacturing value is served by additive manufacturing technologies, even though its potential is much larger. Reasons for this situation are multiple, like for e.g., there are knowledge gaps related to AM, the unavailability and inaccessibility of AM in organizations, the poor level of digitization, and overly expensive ways to identify relevant components. Within companies, AM part identification is often performed by engineers in a bottom-up part-per-part approach, uploading CADs and additional part-related information to AM platforms and services. Feedback is retrieved only for the uploaded part(s) regarding the offered AM capabilities of the related contact point in a manual and slow manner. Furthermore, in many cases, CAD data is not even available for numerous parts, which makes it impossible for companies to assess these in respect to the feasibility for AM. To first digitize all parts and then send them to an AM platform is too costly and time-consuming.

Technology

SelectAM conducts this identification approach in an automated, rapid, and user-friendly manner, making it possible for companies to assess their whole digital part portfolio efficiently.

The software is data and process agnostic, considers all available industrial AM processes, and is more automated than any other solution in the market. The user can start with uploading information only on weight and material of the parts to figure out if a potential AM business case exists. CAD data is not needed in the first assessment steps in the software solution. The software chooses to rather inform the user which parts to digitize to avoid unnecessary CAD file creations. On the other hand, all available data of a part can be harnessed for assessments. Unlike other part identification software solutions, there is no limit to just a few AM processes. The algorithms and technical assessment steps are built in a robust but flexible manner to even ensure the addition of the next AM process innovations to come seamlessly. SelectAM fully automates workflows to provide the first fully automated solution to allow a screening of the whole data library of a large company in less than a workday.

AM Ventures Asks

Along with the Technological innovations, it is important for start-ups to understand how their innovation is addressing the world’s biggest Environmental, Social and Governance Challenges. AM Ventures, our co-collaborator for this AM start-up series, poses a question to SelectAM on their contribution to the world’s biggest ESG challenges.

SelectAM strives to help the world manufacture viable AM applications faster, smarter, and more ecologically. They know their solution can help manufacture parts more sustainably, since they aim at boosting the adoption of AM in organizations. More parts being produced with AM can mean less waste and a closer manufacture to the end-customer to reduce the shipping of end products.

Funding Facts

• First pilot customer in 2020: testing and validating the solution
• First paying customer in 2021: top-down approach to retrieve price indications rapidly
• In 2022, their office was moved to Maria 01, a leading start-up campus in Northern Europe (Helsinki)
• Official software launch in September 2022 with 10+ companies applying or testing the solution

They seek:

They would like to invite more companies from all around the world to test their solution and provide feedback using the free 1-month trial. They are keen that organizations really try it, join the community, and participate in the tech deep dives. They also look forward to more strategic alliances with software vendors and AM machine manufacturers to create mutual value from real-time data exchange. In addition, industrial AM service providers are also a very interesting stakeholder group where they can work on their network aspect. Going forward, they will be looking to onboard more customers and co-workers once the time comes!

Contact Details

niklas@selectam.io

https://selectam.io

A Quick Recap

• Founded in 2020, SelectAM is a complete software solution to identify parts for additive manufacturing (AM), allowing the user to screen and define business cases from large part inventories to unlock the full potential of AM.
• The software simulates digital manufacturing workflows with most relevant industrial AM machines and materials available to provide insights on the technical feasibility, the economic potential, and the redesign opportunity of assessed parts.
• The user can choose between a top-down (up to 100k parts at once) or a bottom-up (single parts) approach with either the standard or company-specific AM machine and material profiles.
• The company recently launched its first commercial cloud-based software ‘Identify 1.0’ which offers a free-of-charge 1-month trial, and helps 3D nesting for accurate cost calculations.
• SelectAM is the brainchild of co-founders Dr. Niklas Kretzschmar, Lukas Jakob Hafner, Dr. Eero Huotilainen, and Dr. Inigo Flores Ituarte, from Helsinki.
• Their team comprises of AM experts, experienced software developers, and advisors.
• Today, less than 0.2% of the world-wide manufacturing value is served by additive manufacturing technologies, even though its potential is much larger.
• Reasons are multiple:
  • Knowledge gaps related to AM,
  • Unavailability and inaccessibility of AM in organizations,
  • Poor level of digitization,
  • Overly expensive ways to identify relevant components.
• Within companies, AM part identification is often performed by engineers in a bottom-up part-per-part approach, uploading CADs and additional part-related information to AM platforms and services.
• Feedback is retrieved only for the uploaded part(s) regarding the offered AM capabilities of the related contact point in a manual and slow manner. Furthermore, in many cases, CAD data is not even available for numerous parts, which makes it impossible for companies to assess these in respect to the feasibility for AM.
• To first digitize all parts and then send them to an AM platform is too costly and time-consuming.
• SelectAM conducts this identification approach in an automated, rapid, and user-friendly manner, making it possible for companies to assess their whole digital part portfolio efficiently.
• The software is data and process agnostic, considers all available industrial AM processes, and is more automated than any other solution in the market.
• The user can start with uploading information only on weight and material of the parts to figure out if a potential AM business case exists.
• CAD data is not needed in the first assessment steps in the software solution. The software chooses to rather inform the user which parts to digitize to avoid unnecessary CAD file creations.
• On the other hand, all available data of a part can be harnessed for assessments. Unlike other part identification software solutions, there is no limit to just a few AM processes.
• The algorithms and technical assessment steps are built in a robust but flexible manner to even ensure the addition of the next AM process innovations to come seamlessly.
• Fully automates workflows to provide the first fully automated solution to allow a screening of the whole data library of a large company in less than a workday.
• Strives to help the world manufacture viable AM applications faster, smarter, and more ecologically.
• The solution can help manufacture parts more sustainably, since it is aimed at boosting the adoption of AM in organizations.
• More parts being produced with AM can mean less waste and a closer manufacture to the end-customer to reduce the shipping of end products.
• First pilot customer in 2020: testing and validating the solution.
• First paying customer in 2021: top-down approach to retrieve price indications rapidly.
• In 2022, their office was moved to Maria 01, a leading start-up campus in Northern Europe (Helsinki).
• Official software launch in September 2022 with 10+ companies applying or testing the solution.
• Inviting more companies from all around the world to test their solution and provide feedback using the free 1-month trial.
• Keen that organizations really try it, join the community, and participate in the tech deep dives.
• Look forward to more strategic alliances with software vendors and AM machine manufacturers to create mutual value from real-time data exchange.
• Industrial AM service providers are also a very interesting stakeholder group where they can work on their network aspect.
• Looking to onboard more customers and co-workers once the time comes!

Disclaimer: This AM Chronicle Startup series is powered by AM Ventures and companies mentioned in the series are not necessarily funded or supported by AM Ventures directly, unless otherwise mentioned.

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