Sigma Labs and Additive Industries Expand Partnership to Streamline Additive Manufacturing
Sigma Labs, a company that specializes in quality control software for the additive manufacturing (AM), has expanded its partnership with Additive Industries.
Additive Industries specializes in metal 3D printing equipment. The goal of this partnership is to help make metal additive manufacturing more mainstream and to OEM PrintRite3D software. The two companies have collaborated to develop and certify this quality assurance software.
This software is ready to be sold to customers who utilize Additive Industries trademark MetalFAB1 3D printers.
The Partnership
Metal laser sinter 3D printing is not something that is brand new. However, in the past few years, the industry seen the process develop and transform a lot.
The goal is to master the process and to increase the yield of products produced by these machines. With this partnership, the PrintRite3D software will monitor the processing of the parts made by MetalFAB1 and will collect data points to reduce errors and increase uniform specification requirements.
"Our engineering teams have truly accomplished a remarkable milestone in 3D metal printing by designing and building a high performance computer platform that processes sensor data and produces a near real time visualization for a quad laser printer," said Mark K. Ruport, CEO of Sigma Labs. "We are very pleased to be working with an industry leader such as Additive Industries to accelerate the industrialization of 3D metal printing. The MetalFAB1 is a remarkable printer and it's a privilege to have it certified as PrintRite3D Ready."
About the Printrite3D Software
When a part production is underway, the Printrite3D software takes data points for each layer of the print. These data points are collected through the PrintRite3D SENSORPAK, which consists of off-axis and on-axis sensors.
The PrintRite3D Melt-Pool Monitoring solution. Image courtesy of Additive Industries.
The data is then analyzed through PrintRite3D INSPECT and CONTOUR, which monitor the in-process metallurgic data and geometrical data in part. Not only is the part being studied with these features, but it is also undergoing post-processing test data to ensure that the part is suitable and meets spec.
With this software, the data collection is transformed into correlations and trends that PrintRite3D will analyze to yield better results throughout every print and warn the operator before any potential failure occurs.
"The integration of the PrintRite3D Melt-Pool Monitoring solution in our MetalFAB1 is an important addition to our product portfolio. The PrintRite3D solution matches very well with our focus on quality and reproducibility, allowing our customers to benefit from reduced post-processing cost and faster part qualification," said Mark Vaes, CEO and CTO of Additive Industries.
Software Features
This software aims to optimize parts through rigorous data analysis. Not only can real-time data be accessed while the part is being produced, but the software generates a production report with the results, comprehensive data, and troubleshooting in the event of a failed print.
A graphic showing how the PrintRite3D software works. Image courtesy of Sigma Labs.
The software inspects the production of the part by maintaining a measurement accuracy of a 100μm feature in-plane. The PrintRite3D software will not only be available for just MetalFAB1 3D printers but will be able to retrofit or integrate into other metal or alloy additive manufacturing machines as well.
Powder bed fusion and metal laser sintering technology will soon become a mainstream and first choice option for manufacturing thanks to advancements made through the partnership of Sigma Labs and Additive Industries.
