Siemens Energy's global additive manufacturing (AM) business unit has partnered with DNV, a Norwegian international accredited registrar and classification society, to create a quality assurance platform for 3D printing.
The partners say the collaboration will accelerate commercial AM production to ‘the next stage of maturity’ with quality control at every stage and layer in the printing process.
Siemens Energy wields the design freedom AM offers to develop and modify gas turbines to run on green fuels such as hydrogen. The firm’s experts in Finspång, Sweden, have developed the first generation of an ‘AM Cockpit’ platform, which will provide automated, reliable quality control to metal 3D printing. The platform collects sensor data streams and powder bed images during printing and generates a digital summary of each part, highlighting any problematic areas of the print.
In parallel, DNV has developed the Independent Quality Monitor (IQM) platform as part of the EU-project InterQ, which is striving for zero-defect manufacturing. IQM is a customer portal that continuously quality-assures digital solutions, monitoring data quality continuously through newly developed algorithms and compliance logic.
Through combining the two solutions, DNV will launch a commercial solution for the AM industry that ensures 3D-printed parts can easily be compared to a so-called approved ‘master print’, while also enabling automated, remote process certification. With it DNV aims to become the global energy sector's preferred choice for digital risk management.
Klas Bendrik, chief digital and development officer at DNV, said: “Succeeding in AM industrialisation relies on a successful digital transition. The combination of the AM Cockpit and the IQM is a significant step forward for additive manufacturing.”
Manish Kumar, head of business development, strategy and sales of Siemens Energy’s Additive Manufacturing Business, added: “With decades of experience in industrialising additive manufacturing, Siemens Energy is an excellent partner for DNV in advancing quality assurance of additively manufactured parts.”
The two partners assure that with their combined solution, AM end users will be confident that their 3D printing processes are meeting the necessary quality standards.