Oqton Announces Build Quality to Improve Additive Manufacturing Processes
At the Formnext 2023 exhibition in Germany, Oqton has announced Oqton Build Quality, the latest enhancement to its Manufacturing OS (MOS) and 3DXpert products, designed to trace the quality of additively manufactured parts and evaluate build performance. Oqton Build Quality encompasses 3DXpert Build Simulation, MOS Build Monitoring, and 3DXpert Build Inspection to monitor the entire manufacturing process and mitigate anomalies resulting from errors during the build setup, printing, or with materials. Detecting and correcting anomalies early in the process helps ensure the success of each build — from first article inspection through final part — enabling manufacturers to develop repeatable processes for prototyping and production that efficiently yield high-quality parts while reducing costs.
Oqton Build Quality addresses the needs of a variety of manufacturers that rely on additive manufacturing technologies including product and equipment manufacturers, service bureaus and engineering services teams, and those responsible for quality assurance. The solution is designed to focus on key areas before during and after the build to maximize processes and outcomes.
Build Simulation
Before a part is produced, the goal is to predict print quality and prevent design anomalies before the first print even starts. In this phase, 3DXpert Build Simulation is invaluable for predicting printability issues and avoiding parts overheating. This is accomplished by recommending minor revisions to the part design and making recommendations as part of build preparation for part orientation and support strategies. These capabilities are available through Oqton’s 3DXpert which is an easy-to-use, integrated additive manufacturing software. Exploiting the software’s parallelization and voxel technology helps simulation novices and experts reduce iteration time and scrap for first-time-right parts and quality.
Build Monitoring
Once the build begins, MOS Build Monitoring securely monitors, controls, and alerts the additive manufacturing print process in real time. This capability, developed in cooperation with Oqton’s strategic partner, Baker Hughes, uses AI-based models to detect potential defects during printing. Incorporating the functionality of Build Monitoring enables users to track and trace every layer of every part and take corrective actions to build credibility of the process, maintain quality, and eliminate monetary loss related to failed parts.
Build Inspection
Upon completion of the build, parts move into quality inspection to ensure the final parts are free of defects to meet the design and usage specifications. Through the power of 3DXpert Build Inspection, users can analyze the final parts aligned to what was anticipated during build preparation and simulation. If anomalies have occurred in the final part, corrective actions can be taken to the part design and print process to improve the part quality in future builds, maximizing output.
“Recently, metal additive manufacturing has evolved as a technology for reliable serial production of end-use parts,” said Tomasso Tamarozzi, product director, additive manufacturing, inspection & simulation, Oqton. “However, the industry still had to take very deliberate measures to ensure that production quality was held to very high standards. There was a lack of standardized procedures, disparate hardware components, and multiple software vendors, but not one reliable solution. With the introduction of Build Quality, Oqton is delivering a single actionable, reliable solution that addresses all these aspects. Through collaboration with strategic partners, such as Baker Hughes and our colleagues in 3D Systems, Oqton can provide a reliable printer-agnostic solution built on AI and physics-based simulation. I look forward to the opportunity to continue to expand our portfolio with solutions such as this that deliver unique, critical benefits for manufacturers.”
For more information: www.oqton.com.
