Authentise releases digital powder tracking tool to reduce waste and cost
September 23, 2020
Authentise, a developer of data-driven workflow tools for Additive Manufacturing based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, has released Material Management, a new addition to the Authentise Manufacturing Execution System (AMES) to simplify the digital tracking of metal powders in the Additive Manufacturing process.
Material Management enables customers to track all actions associated with a material, such as sieving, blending, testing or Additive Manufacturing, to provide a full digital thread of the material. Operators can update the status seamlessly using apps on handheld devices, while full reports and details, such as a full material genealogy tree, can be viewed in the browser.
The company explains that tight integration with AMES associates the material traceability report with any part additively manufactured on the machine it was loaded into. This is said to enable a detailed end-to-end digital thread that accounts not only for the full material history but also operator actions, machine data, and more.
“Digital Material Management is the missing piece of the puzzle for us,” stated Miguel Zavala, project leader in Laser Additive Manufacturing at TWI Ltd, UK. “As a certified Lloyds Register lab, we have to prove that we’re following the right process at all times.”
Zavala continued, “The combination of AMES with a seamless material tracking tool delivers full digital traceability of not only what we’ve done but everything that has happened to the part. We can use that data to improve our processes, provide automated reports to clients and work with our partners to develop better machines, materials, processes and designs.”
Andre Wegner, CEO of Authentise, commented, “We’re excited to be the only independent provider with an end-to-end digital material and part traceability solution. There’s still so much we don’t know about the additive process: How do storage conditions affect end part quality? How many times can we recycle, under what conditions? As a result, too much money is wasted as we default to the most secure and expensive options.”
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“Too many parts still end up being printed with virgin powder unnecessarily. The integration of our unique ability to draw together data from machines, operators, testing and now materials finally gives us the tools to understand these processes fully, and explain them to our partners.”
