Testing closer to the process
The material statement moves out of a late laboratory route and closer to manufacturing, component flow and production-near quality assurance.
Application
Inline quality assurance for additive components and process-near materials testing
QA
Production
Automotive
Defence
Marine
Inline Testing
Why i3D® becomes relevant for process-near quality assurance
Inline quality assurance with i3D® for additive manufacturing and process-near materials testing: robot-assisted testing, local material properties and automated component evaluation directly in the manufacturing environment.
Automatable and robot-assisted
A testing module can be connected to a six-axis robot and integrated directly into process-near component evaluation.
Particularly relevant for additive manufacturing
Especially for 3D-printed components, process data, geometric defects and local mechanical properties jointly determine the real component quality.
Faster feedback into QA and production
Local deviations become visible earlier and can be fed back faster into release decisions, process adjustment or serial decisions.
Inline quality assurance with i3D®
Inline QA here is clearly focused on additive components and process-near quality assurance within the Enabl3D project.
The focus is on an economical and reliable testing method for 3D-printed components that makes local material properties measurable directly in the manufacturing environment.
- process-near testing instead of a late laboratory-only route
- local material properties directly on the additive component
- strong for 3D printing, serial transfer and QA
Enabl3D project overview
The solution was developed together with Fraunhofer IPA, Fraunhofer IAPT and VisiConsult in the BMWK-funded Enabl3D project.
The combination of indentation testing, high-resolution process monitoring and µCT analysis creates a multi-stage testing method that combines local material properties and defect locations.
- process-near testing concept for additive components
- combination of i3D®, monitoring and µCT
- local mechanics and defect information in the same quality context
Robot-assisted integration into manufacturing
The testing module can be connected to a six-axis robot. This allows fully automated testing directly in the production line.
From a materials-testing perspective, this matters because not only the measurement itself counts, but also the reproducible integration into real manufacturing cycles, component handling and release logic.
- fully automated testing without manual reclamping of the component
- suitable for process-near serial and release environments
- connects material data with manufacturing reality
Fields of use and outlook
Aerospace, automotive and medical technology are typical fields in which additive manufacturing is expected to grow from prototyping to serial production.
Inline QA becomes interesting there when mechanical safety and economic efficiency must be fulfilled at the same time.
- relevant for additive manufacturing and quality-critical serial routes
- strong for aerospace, automotive and medical technology
- suitable for process monitoring, component release and industrialisation
Contacts
Discuss process proximity, automation and component testing directly with the right contact
If robotics, serial logic, additive manufacturing or release requirements define the testing route, integration should be coordinated technically and cleanly at an early stage.
