What if a 3D printer could catch its own mistakes — and tell you instantly whether a part is good to use?
At the Department of Energy’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, researchers are making that possible with Peregrine, an AI-enabled technology that brings greater intelligence to metal additive manufacturing.
Peregrine acts like a vigilant digital inspector, watching every layer as a component is built.
“Instead of lengthy and expensive inspections to see if a part meets performance standards, technologies like Peregrine can give you a thumbs up or down as you print the part,” said Luke Scime, a staff scientist in Manufacturing Systems Analytics at the MDF. “It also solves the problem of geometries that can’t be inspected non-destructively, even if you had infinite time and money.”
Over the years, the research team has transformed Peregrine from a basic monitoring concept into a sophisticated artificial intelligence platform with sensors capable of analyzing builds as they happen and even stopping a print before a defect becomes a costly failure. Future improvements include drawing on historical manufacturing data so the system can suggest better printing strategies.
“We’ve focused mostly on laser, electron beam and binder jetting powder bed systems,” Scime said. “But in theory, this approach can work for any powder bed printing process.”
By expanding AI capabilities, Peregrine gives US manufacturers faster answers, lower costs and greater confidence in every build.
The research was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO) in the Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation, the Air Force Research Laboratory and DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy, with additional support from the Genesis Mission.
MDF, where this work was conducted, is supported by AMMTO and acts as a nationwide consortium of collaborators focused on innovating, inspiring and catalyzing the transformation of U.S. manufacturing.
UT-Battelle manages ORNL for DOE’s Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time.
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