Dimensionics Density
Dimensionics Density has announced the commercial introduction of a density determination technology for 3D printing, which contributes to the automation of the AM process chain. Dimensionics says that as additive manufacturing is adopted more as a production technology, the entire process chain is under intense scrutiny, but particularly in the area of part validation.
Phillipp Pruesse, Head of Sales at Dimensionics Density said: “Our technology plays straight into the need for automation in the area of validation and quality control of AM parts, and we have launched an array of tools focused on the determination of AM part density. For AM to continue to disrupt the manufacturing paradigm, the entire AM process chain needs to move towards automation.
“Because of this, our density determination solutions are fully automated, and of vital importance, are designed to be used in production settings, not just in the laboratory. As we all know, AM stimulates design freedom as it is agnostic to part complexity. As geometric complexity increases, density determination of AM parts becomes more difficult using commonly used density determination technologies. Dimensionics Density’s solutions can easily determine the density of freeform parts and highly complex AM parts can measure density repeatability to 0.001 g/cm3.”
Porosity in 3D printed parts can be a problem as it can weaken mechanical strength and stability of parts, reduce durability, and make them more susceptible to failure under stress. It can also affect the thermal and electrical properties of the parts and make them less resistant to high temperatures, corrosives, and other environmental factors.
Porosity can also limit the ability of parts to hold liquids, gases, or other materials, which can impact performance in specific applications.
In the Dimensionics Density system, the measuring process takes place fully automatically after the samples have been inserted into the universal component carriers according to the company. Environmental factors that can affect the density measurement and control systems, and are taken into account when calculating the density from the measurement data.
Dimensionics says that this allows accuracies to be achieved in the determination of the density, which cannot typically be realised in an industrial production environment.
The machine uses the Archimedes Principle according to the company. It measures the density of the test object by weighing it in two different media. The first measurement is usually made in air, and the second is made in a defined liquid medium with a known density.
Dimensionics says that a crucial factor for the accuracy of the result is the positioning on the scale, as deviations from the centre of mass and resulting off-centre measurements of the component will lead to strong deviations. According to the company, this is a reason why the common manual Archimedes measurement solutions are not viewed favourably across industry.
Dimensionics Density
Pruesse added: “To counteract this problem and to ensure the repatability of the measurements, Dimensionics Density offers a universal carrier which can transport most parts, and which can be easily adapted if necessary for more complex geometries. The determined density is compared with the desired specifications, and so qualitatively more accurate assumptions can be made about the density of complex components.
“With a cycle time of less than 2 minutes per component and the possibility of inspecting up to 18 components simultaneously in one inspection process as standard, the Dimensionics Density solution supports the optimisation and efficiency of manufacturing processes.”
