Nikon SLM Solutions highlights case for in-situ quality assurance in metal AM
Nikon SLM Solutions, headquartered in Lübeck, Germany, has highlighted the growing role of in-situ quality assurance as metal Additive Manufacturing moves towards serial production, pointing to its integration of Additive Assurance’s AMiRIS technology across the NXG platform.
AMiRIS Inside provides real-time melt pool and layer analysis on Nikon SLM Solutions’ large-format, multi-laser PBF-LB systems. According to the company, manufacturers are increasingly looking beyond productivity, build volume and laser count towards process data that can support validation and production quality assurance.
Kaj Merten Berggreen, Product Manager at Nikon SLM Solutions, stated, “Ten or twelve years ago, in-situ monitoring was seen as a research tool. People collectefascinating process data, but the industry was still working out what to do with it. Today, as customers move into industrial production, the question isn’t just what you can measure. It’s whether that information helps build a better understanding of the process and supports more confident decisions.”
Nikon SLM Solutions stated that its evaluation of AMiRIS focused not only on sensing hardware, but on the combination of data acquisition, software and analysis. The system is intended to provide additional information on build quality alongside machine, atmosphere and laser data.
“On a large build, the most expensive moment to find a defect is at the end. For customers running NXG in production, quality assurance has to work inside the machine, not after it. Embedding AMiRIS Inside means the evidence behind every part is gathered while the part is being built saving an enormous amount of cost in post-process control, and that is what qualifying large-format additive manufacturing for serial production depends on,” commented Simon Merkt-Schippers, EVP Product Management, Nikon SLM Solutions.
The company argues that in-process quality data could help manufacturers reduce reliance on late-stage inspection, over-testing and rework by providing earlier information on whether a build is operating within expected conditions.
Berggreen added, “AMiRIS gives customers another vital part of the puzzle. It contributes to a more holistic understanding of what’s happening during manufacture.”
