Renishaw
Renishaw InfiniAM Sonic.
Renishaw InfiniAM Sonic.
Renishaw has announced the launch of its InfiniAM Sonic acoustic process monitoring software to enable engineers to detect and record acoustic events in additive manufacturing (AM) build chambers.
The company believes the software tool is the first of its kind in the 3D printing industry and will generate useful information around build quality. InfiniAM Sonic represents the latest addition to Renishaw’s process monitoring portfolio which also includes InfiniAM Spectral, to monitor energy input and melt-pool emissions, and InfiniAM Central, which facilitates remote process monitoring of additive manufacturing equipment.
Installed into the RenAM 500Q as a factory fit option, InfiniAM Sonic includes four high-frequency acoustic energy sensors that work to detect vibrations from different locations in the build chamber and gather the sound waves for them to be analysed. With the sensors located in different positions, and thus noises being recorded at different rates due to the speed of sound, the software triangulates the position of the noise on the build plate, while also recording the magnitude of the noise. Users can combine this information with other sensor data, such as that generated by the InfiniAM Central and Spectral platforms, to piece together the conditions of the build of each part.
Renishaw says its InfiniAM software tools are helping users to protect the quality of their additively manufactured parts by giving them ‘eyes and ears’ into each and every build.
“The rapid heating and cooling that takes place during an AM build leads to residual stress in the part. While each laser weld results in a small amount of stress, residual stress can build up within the part, and if it increases past the strength of the metal it may lead to a fracture in the support material or part itself,” commented David Ewing, AM Product Manager at Renishaw. “Renishaw’s InfiniAM software suite makes it a lot easier to understand what is happening during an AM build. Spectral and Central give manufacturers ‘eyes’ inside their AM components and process – now, we’ve launched InfiniAM Sonic as the ‘ears’.
“These tools help engineers to better understand their AM parts and processes and identify potential causes of defects early on. This is particularly useful whilst developing and validating parts. The more data available, the quicker it is to confirm manufacturing is in specification; root cause investigation is simplified, and, if necessary, the build can be stopped, saving material and time.”
Renishaw showcased the InfiniAM Sonic software programme for the first time at the recent Formnext event.
