Sigma Labs Inc (SASI)

[kanya]

Combine CT Scanning with Additive Manufacturing

http://www.digitaleng.news/de/combine-ct-scanning-additive-manufacturing/?ajs_uid=5912A2543389F0Z

Dense materials might be difficult or impossible to scan. This is an important limitation in some aerospace and automotive applications where different types of metals are present. Titanium, for example, can be scanned but materials like cobalt chrome (which is used in high-heat applications) cannot.

“The holy grail is to be able to 3D print turbine engine components with a lot of internal features rather than cast them,” Gaskell says. “CT struggles with that because the material is very dense, and that problem applies whether those are cast or printed parts. There’s not a machine powerful enough to scan the blades that is also accurate enough for the metrology on the inside of the part.”

Schwaderer thinks there could eventually be combined print and CT scan systems that do in-line inspection of builds as they are being made. “You could evaluate a print line by line because the printers operate so slowly,” Schwaderer says. “That would allow you to adjust the machine during the build, or stop a bad print early and start over.”