Qualification and certification are the ‘billion-dollar problems’ in the industrialisation of additive manufacturing, according to Hexagon Director of Business Enablement Jeff Robertson.
Robertson was discussing the potential of additive manufacturing should it overcome the challenges around qualification and certification on the latest Additive Insight podcast episode alongside FLOW-3D Senior CFD Engineer Allyce Jackman.
Throughout their conversation, they provided insights on computational fluid dynamics and simulation processes, before coming onto what role these technologies play in the qualification – ideally rapid qualification – of additively manufactured parts and processes.
“There’s the desire amongst the participants,” Robertson said, “whether it’s the machine manufacturers, the software companies, the end customers, the government agencies, where the funding comes from at this stage. People want to see metal AM – and polymer AM – be successful. And we recognise we have a ways to go. I like to call the problem of qual/cert the billion dollar problem of AM because if we could figure it out, it’s a billion-dollar potential. I’m not trying to put a number on it, but it’s a big number if we could get over that hump – one of the biggest humps – that prevents widespread industrialisation.”
With the further development of CFD and simulation technologies, opportunities are there for manufacturers to gain better insights on the outcomes of their additive manufacturing processes before parts are printed. Having these insights and detecting defects before they become a problem will, in theory, provide a greater understanding and control of AM processes for those working in highly regulated industries.
Both Robertson and Jackman have been involved in accelerator and collaborative programmes, such as LIFT, to further advance additive manufacturing and the US’ national capability. But they believe more cooperative effort will be required to make the progress that’s needed.
“The drive is certainly there, I don’t think that’s even the issue,” offered Jackman, “It’s a massive problem and a massive undertaking to bring this technology full circle to the point where it’s easily adoptable and it’s easily understood what the benefits are, how it affects part quality, how you can actually adapt it to new applications. To drive standards and qualification is, realistically, probably half a decade off. But you’ve got to put in the groundwork and collaborations have to be there. That’s the biggest thing. Collaborations have to happen for this to work.”
