Gravity Pull Systems Ships a New Generation of PAAM to Catch Metal 3D Printing's 'Hidden Margin Leak'

Additive manufacturing software developer Gravity Pull Systems has rolled out a new generation of its Personal AM Assistant (PAAM), an automated toolpath optimization tool aimed squarely at metal laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) systems. The update pushes the software further up the stack — from passive analysis toward actively catching toolpath risk before a build ever starts.

What PAAM actually does

PAAM is built to analyze the scan-path and toolpath layer of an LPBF job — the sequence and geometry of laser moves that determine how heat builds up, how multiple lasers coordinate, and where porosity or poor bonding is likely to appear. The company's pitch is that these failure modes have historically required deep manual expertise to anticipate, and that catching them up front protects part quality, multi-laser coordination, and downstream qualification outcomes.

According to Gravity Pull Systems, the latest release sharpens that pre-build screening and quantifies the cost of getting it wrong. As 3D ADEPT Media put it, PAAM is designed to catch metal AM's 'hidden margin leak' — the build-time inefficiency, wasted powder, and costly reprints that quietly erode profitability on production jobs.

From simulation to scan-path

PAAM sits in a crowded but fragmented toolchain. Tools like Amphyon (from Additive Works) simulate a build virtually and compensate part geometry for predicted distortion — work that happens at the geometry level. Alloyed has developed customized toolpath algorithms to tame multi-laser interference when processing high-emission materials such as magnesium. Gravity Pull Systems positions PAAM as the layer that automates analysis of the toolpath and scan-path itself, rather than addressing a single interference case or a geometry-level correction.

Where it's already running

The software has been integrated into workflows connected to EOS, Nikon SLM Solutions, Aconity, and Materialise systems. Oerlikon AM has licensed PAAM, and the tool has been tested in industrial aerospace applications — exactly the kind of regulated, high-volume environment where qualification risk is expensive and trial-and-error is no longer acceptable.

New: PAAM Diagnostic Benchmark projects

The headline addition in this release is the opening of selected PAAM Diagnostic Benchmark projects. Participating metal AM service providers and industrial users can hand PAAM a single recurring or qualification-sensitive LPBF part; the software then analyzes it to quantify toolpath risk, build-time inefficiency, and material consumption. It's a low-friction way for shops to see the dollar value of toolpath optimization on parts they already print every week.

Why it matters

Metal additive manufacturing is shifting from prototyping toward certified production, and with that shift comes pressure to remove manual guesswork. As production volumes climb and regulatory scrutiny tightens, the economics favor software that can prove a build will succeed before the machine warms up. PAAM's bet is that the scan-path — long treated as the domain of experienced operators — is the next layer of metal AM to be automated, benchmarked, and de-risked.

Gravity Pull Systems is based in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, and the new PAAM generation is available to metal LPBF service providers and industrial users now, with Diagnostic Benchmark slots opening on a selective basis.