nTopology and Betatype: A Partnership Story

At nTopology our mission is to help our customers create better parts, faster. To help our customers achieve this we partner with companies across the board from software to hardware ensuring a smooth transition from one product to the next. This allows our customers to get the most out of their software and hardware investments so that they can spend their valuable time designing and manufacturing their products rather than worrying about IT headaches. Further, nTopology purposely partners with innovative companies who share the common belief that new tools and processes are necessary to realize the full potential of additive manufacturing. A partner with whom we share many values is Betatype. Betatype’s mission is to collaborate with customers across a variety of sectors including consumer, industrial, aerospace, medical and motor sport – working together to deliver functional components through AM.

Located in London, Betatype is a powerhouse partner for us which is clearly illustrated in our rocket nozzle case study found here. Partnering with Betatype gives our shared customers the ability to realize designs that would otherwise not be cost effective to manufacture. Beginning with nTopology, in nTop Platform our customers design their parts. Then with Betatype’s Engine software they are able to optimize time-to-market and cost-efficiency by significantly reducing build times.

“The secret is to gang up on the problem, rather than each other.” -Thomas Stallkamp

But I should back up. How does this work? Why does it matter? Here’s why: creating complex geometries that can’t be realized in traditional CAD is the first step. This is where nTop Platform comes into play. After the design is validated then manufacturing is next. These innovative designs must be manufactured with reliability and efficiency so that the new designs, materials and processes can make business sense to our customers. This is precisely why our partnership is key to success.

Optimized rocket nozzle prototype, collaboration between nTopology and Betatype.

nTop Platform helps our customers realize and validate their new designs. Our models are mathematically based so you know they work in the real world and in the virtual world. Our software does, indeed, let you design better parts, faster. Valuable engineering time has been saved. Moving to the manufacturing portion we need to make sure you are getting the exact parts you’ve designed while ensuring you save time and money. Given that around 70% of the cost of a part is the amortization of the machine depreciation over a 3-5 year time frame, one of the best ways to reduce part cost is to reduce build time. Make sense? This is where Betatype’s Engine software comes into play. Their expertise and unique algorithm can result in up to 12x increase in productivity of the laser-based AM system resulting in up to 90% reduction in part cost as shown here. What’s more is that nTopology and Betatype’s software work seamlessly together ensuring no broken communication between the software, no IT headaches and results in better parts, faster.

Source: nTopology