Stratasys, inventor of the fused deposition modeling (FDM) process and industry leader in direct digital manufacturing and rapid prototyping, is working with ORNL’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF) to develop process monitoring and closed-loop feedback control systems to increase the mechanical properties and production quality of FDM components. FDM represents one approach to polymer-based additive manufacturing that is based upon extrusion of the material. This approach is advantageous because of its high deposition rate and ease of large-scale production. However, the material properties and lack of process control limit this technology to the prototyping market. The goal of the MDF program is to transition the FDM process and materials from prototyping to manufacturing.
Arcam AB is the only producer of metal additive manufacturing systems using an electron beam as the heat source for melting metal powder to produce a solid metal component. Arcam is working with MDF to improve the process reliability of the electron beam melting (EBM) technology by developing in-situ process monitoring and closed-loop control; expand the technology to various materials systems, including Ni-based superalloys and stainless steel; increase the material deposition rate; and increase the build volume. The goal is to evaluate several fundamentally different in-situ monitoring technologies for the EBM system that will be capable of detecting porosity and other processing defects.