Additive manufacturing has transformed industries by providing designers the freedom to create complex structures that traditional manufacturing cannot accommodate. However, along with this innovation comes significant challenges, particularly in accurately predicting thermal behavior and mechanical properties during the manufacturing process. Enter Pan Optimization, a pioneering firm in this domain founded in 2022 by its CEO Pan Michaleris, Ph.D., alongside co-founder and Chief Engineer Erik Denlinger, Ph.D. Denlinger and Tyler Nelson, principal engineer, spoke with Machine Design about the company’s roots, its core offerings and differentiators.
In the first of a three-part series, we learn that the roots of Pan Optimization trace back to Michaleris’ journey as a professor and entrepreneur, where he initially founded Pan Computing in the early 2010s. With a focus on process simulation tools for additive manufacturing, their product CUBES laid the groundwork for advancements in simulation technology, which later evolved into Autodesk’s Netfabb Simulation. Following a brief retirement, Michaleris reinvigorated his vision in 2022, igniting the creation of Pan Optimization to further enhance simulation capabilities within additive manufacturing.
At the core of the company's current offerings is Pan X, an advanced finite element analysis (FEA) solver designed to tackle the unique challenges faced by engineers. Unlike legacy software, which often struggles with scalability and accuracy, PanX introduces a novel modeling approach, significantly improving the precision of predictions related to distortion, stress, strain and temperature. Denlinger explained how traditional tools often fall short when simulating large and complex designs, such as heat exchangers, resulting in failure due to computational limits. PanX’s architecture is built to handle these intricate geometries without crashing, expanding the possibility for users.
Three Key Differentiators for More Complex Parts
The primary differentiators of PanX lie in three pillars: accuracy, scalability and optimization. Unlike older solutions, PanX employs multi-grid modeling to adaptively reduce problem sizes without sacrificing accuracy, which enables it to simulate more complex parts efficiently, according to Nelson. This approach allows engineers to avoid the cumbersome and often inaccurate necessity of creating two models—one simplified and another detailed.
PanX also integrates with existing computer aided design (CAD) tools, allowing for smooth transitions in the design process. This is interoperability ensures engineers can efficiently work within their established workflows without extensive retraining.
The software also has been designed with accessibility in mind. Unlike traditional FEMA tools that may require extensive training, the PanX user interface simplifies the modeling process, making it approachable even for engineers without extensive simulation backgrounds. A comprehensive support system, backed by experienced professionals like Nelson, provides users with the assistance needed to master the software swiftly.
Watch additional parts of this interview series with Erik Denlinger and Tyler Nelson:
Part 3: The Right Tool for the Job: Cloud vs. Local Solutions
