Case Study: Conestoga College advances wire arc additive manufacturing with OCTOPUZ

Additive Manufacturing From Teach Pendant to Offline Programming

Conestoga College’s Manufacturing Engineering Welding and Robotics students wanted to explore whether Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing could be improved by moving from teach-pendant robot programming to offline robotic programming. Using OCTOPUZ Offline Robotic Programming and Simulation Software alongside SolidWorks and Slic3r, the team aimed to simplify programming while expanding the complexity and shape options of the printed part.

OCTOPUZ helped the students interpret Slic3r-generated G-code and convert it into 6-axis robot code for a FANUC ARC Mate 100iC with Lincoln Electric welding equipment. The result was a more advanced additive manufacturing project, greater hands-on experience with offline programming, and a successful demonstration that OCTOPUZ could bridge 3D-printing code and industrial robot motion. While no hard numeric metrics were reported, the project showed clear gains in capability, flexibility, and student learning.

Conestoga College