Materialise, a 3D printing service provider, and Sigma Labs, a quality assurance developer, are developing a solution that allows for real-time error correction during metal additive manufacturing.
The unique setup, which is a combination of Sigma Lab’s PrintRite3D system and Materialises’s Control platform, allows users to identify and address issues that pop up as alloy powders are merged.
The new platform is hailed as a unique innovation in metal 3D printing.
According to Materialize, adopters may now be able to improve the consistency and scalability of their workflows.
Materialize CTO Bart van der Schueren states,
“The platform is open and versatile, allowing manufacturers to take control of their processes to match their unique applications.”
End consumers would be able to take advantage of AM’s customization and localization benefits by taking advantage of their expertise.”
Sigma Labs And Materialize
Materialise might have its hands in multiple spaces in the industrial sector. Sigma Labs specializes solely in quality assurance in production.
This is done through its primary product, the PrintRite3D,
The company sells a software and hardware tracking solution that uses real-time data to find part problems
and then applies machine learning to figure out what’s causing them.
The platform-neutral solution may be retrofitted to an existing machine or requested as a factory option from printer manufacturers.
Sigma Labs’ revenue remains minimal,
despite the widespread compatibility and part defect analysis benefits of its main product offering,
so it continues to look for new customers and strategies to reach the larger 3D printing industry.
The new monitoring system was created by fusing their respective PrintRite3D
software and Control platform hardware technologies.
The main component of the latter is essentially an add-on that users may insert into laser-based equipment to achieve improved print parameter control.
The company believes that the new platform has the potential to address the “need for post-build inspection and quality assurance”
that makes metal 3D printing more expensive than conventional technologies.
It’s particularly appealing because it can be placed on new machines or retrofitted to improve the print quality of current ones.
Metal printing monitoring in real-time
While several real-time monitoring solutions have been created in the last couple of years,
they have remained largely experimental and not commercially applicable.
Examples of this include the high-speed videography based approach to optimizing the metal material jetting process from a team at the Livermore National Laboratory.
When it comes to tracking powder-based systems, Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have developed AI-based real-time tracking software.
The program, dubbed ‘Peregrine,’ is intended to check the quality of parts during production and could be a cheaper alternative to expensive lab characterisation equipment.
