Process Monitoring at Aconity3D
High-Speed CMOS CAM

Aconity3D has shown first results of its high-speed CMOS process monitoring tool during 2018’s Aachener Kolloquium for Laser Technology (AKL) in Aachen.
The process monitoring tool allows for in-line identification of the influence of changed process parameters on the to-be-built part.

The featured video shows a comparisson of the size of the melt pool for contour scans of two consecutively scanned layers.

Accordingly, the influence of changed modulation frequency and modulation length on the size of the melt pool may be identified with all remaining laser processing parameters remaining constant. As a consequence, the process monitoring tool may be utilized to generate extended process know-how and isolate underlying effects which may be applied for efficient material research in the field of 3D metal printing.

The featured video is part of Aconity3D’s ongoing effort towards increasing process understanding in the field of powder bed based laser melting (PBLM) with the ultimate goal of qualifying AM of metals for series applications. Further investigations are focused on in-line process control based on sensor data, directly drawn from the process like the above-mentioned high-speed CMOS, but also extends to further signals like pyrometry.

Inline process monitoring is available for all Aconity systems. Try our online machine configurator to configure your individual system now: https://configurator.aconity3d.com/EN/units/AconityMIDI

A complete article covering current activities of Aconity3D GmbH in the field of process monitoring has been published under the title “Process Monitoring of Laser Beam Melting: Towards in-situ Process Control for Powder Bed Laser Melting” in the current issue of the Laser Technik Journal, Volume 15, Issue 2, April 2018.

A complete version of the article may be downloaded under the following link:

http://www.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/latj.201800009/abstract