2024-03-07 17:02:45
The second generation of AM-Flow’s quality control system reduces the time for a quality check of 3D printed parts to 5 seconds. The costs drop to a few cents. 3D printing service agencies, just like injection molding companies, can guarantee 100% quality and compete on the basis of short lead times and the fact that no tooling or minimum order quantities are required.
More than a year ago, AM-Flow introduced the first version of automated quality control for the additive manufacturing industry. However, the 17 seconds that the check took is still too long for series production. The development team explores and develops new modules and options such as certified metrology together with partners Hexagon, Sioux, and MTA. This has led to the new generation QC module.
The actual measurement only takes 4 seconds
2×4 high quality cameras
“We no longer have to turn the part around, as in the first version. The part lies on a glass plate and is scanned from above and below by 8 high-quality cameras,” says Stefan Rink, CEO of AM-Flow regarding the new generation QC system. One of the challenges for the developers was how to prevent the reflection of light on the glass plate from influencing the measurement result. This problem has been solved with optimal positioning of the cameras in a spherical shape and a complex algorithm that corrects for all optical disturbances. The actual measurement only takes 4 seconds. With clever features such as a brush, the glass plate can be automatically wiped clean following each measurement to prevent contamination that would affect the measurement result.
Dime work
Stefan Rink: “If the product is on its side, this would make a difference to the measurement. We identify which camera is suffering from a shiny spot and then take the image from one of the other cameras, so that we always have a complete image. We compensate for reflection and distortion through the glass plate.” The cameras used, GOcator laser line scanners, are high-quality and not cheap, but this is possible AM-Flow automate the quality control of thousands of parts per day. “This reduces the costs of quality control to a few euros per part,” says Stefan Rink. “That has never been available before in the AM industry.”
Now competing with injection molding companies
He sees this as the solution to enable 3D printing to compete with injection molding. Injection molding companies can produce thousands of parts per day and guarantee 100% quality because they have control over the process. 100% quality guarantee is not yet possible in the AM industry because the costs are too high. “Not anymore with our system,” says Stefan Rink. “We can check 20,000 parts per day. In two hours we checked the entire day’s production of a typical 3D printing service company. We remove the defects and you can print them once more.”
3D printing service companies can now compete with the Amazon’s of this world who keep everything in stock
Shorter lead times
3D printing will never achieve the error-free production that you can achieve with injection molding. Issues like warping and other typical 3D printing defects are unavoidable. But these parts can now be automatically removed from the production batch so that the customer receives 100% correct parts. The short lead time is then the fact with which 3D printing competes. “The shorter total lead time compensates for the longer print time. That can make the difference. 3D printing service companies can now compete with the Amazon’s of this world who keep everything in stock. Ordered today, printed tomorrow and delivered the day following tomorrow with 100% quality.”
Result of cooperation in the Brainport region
The new quality control system was developed in less than a year by AM-Flow and MTA, Hexagon and Sioux with support from the 3DoP project announced during Formnext 2022. “That is the advantage of the collaboration in Brainport,” says Stefan Rink.
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