Dimensionics Density’s AM Part Validation Captures Sector
Following its recent launch, Dimensionics Density has announced that the commercial introduction of its density determination technology for additive manufacturing (AM) has attracted enormous pan-industrial response and interest. The company’s new densty determination technology contributes to the automation of the AM process chain, something of vital importance as AM is adopted by more and more companies as a production technology.
Philipp Pruesse, Head of Sales at Dimensionics Density, says: “We have been overwhelmed by the response to our commercial launch. Our solution is a revolutionary metrological system designed to deliver rapid and impeccably precise density analysis for various components. AM parts often face the challenge of porosity, which can considerably compromise their mechanical strength and stability. Additionally, porosity poses a threat to the durability of these parts and increases their susceptibility to failure when subjected to stress.”
The impact of porosity extends beyond mechanical concerns, affecting the thermal and electrical properties of AM components and rendering them more vulnerable to high temperatures, corrosive substances, and other environmental factors. Moreover, porosity’s adverse effects extend to the functionality of the parts in specific applications. It limits their capacity to retain liquids, gases, or other substances, thereby influencing their overall performance.
Dimensionic Density’s density determination solution is poised to revolutionize the analysis of component density. Its unparalleled accuracy and efficiency will help identify and mitigate porosity-related issues, bolstering the mechanical integrity, durability, and resistance of AM parts against external stressors and environmental challenges. Users will be able to elevate their manufacturing processes to new heights and unlock the true potential of AM for validated AM components.
Having stimulated such significant interest from the AM sector, Dimensionics Density is set to deliver a number of new announcements over the forthcoming weeks and months.
“The area in which we are working has a number of alternative but imperfect technologies, all focused on density determination,” Pruesse explains. “However, each has significant drawbacks or limitations when it comes to the requirement to check large numbers of parts, and we have made great efforts to highlight these, and to show how Dimensionics Density provides a superior solution to density determination for series manufacturing, whereas microsections and µCT scans are well suited for parameter development of new materials. So saying, we have commissioned an independent report from the Fraunhofer Institute which benchmarks the different density determination solutions, and this is due for release in a couple of weeks. In addition, we have been spending some time developing an intuitive return on investment (ROI) calculator which will soon be embedded on our new website, and which will give customers a view on just how quickly our technology pays for itself and then contributes to the on-going cost-effectiveness of AM part production.”
Dimensionics Density’s technology plays straight into the need for automation in the area of validation and quality control of AM parts. As efforts are made to fully automate the AM process chain, the company’s density determination solutions are fully automated, and of vital importance, are designed to be used in production settings, not just in the laboratory. Also, when it comes to the analysis of finished parts made from steel alloy powders, the company’s density determination technology is the only viable QC option, as the material is too dense for CT scans to see through, and this causes too many measurement distortions.
Pruesse concludes, “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 and can measure density repeatably to 0.001 g/cm3.”
The density of the test object is determined by weighing it in two different media. The first measurement is usually taken in air, the second measurement in a defined liquid medium with a known density. The measuring process takes place fully automatically after the samples have been placed in the universal component carrier. During the measurement process, the system collects all environmental factors that must be taken into account for the density determination. As a result, levels of accuracy in density determination can be achieved that are generally not achievable in an industrial production environment.
The accuracy of the Dimensionics Density system is achieved by combining the time-proven Archimedean principle with the latest automation technology and laboratory-standard precision scales. 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.
Dimensionics Density’s density determination technology is non-destructive and, therefore can be used to verify parts that conform to density requirements and those that don’t in a speedy, precise, and cost-effective manner.
For more information: www.dimensionics-density.com
