CONFIADIT. ONLINE CONTROL OF LASER ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING PROCESSES BASED ON BISPECTRAL IMAGE (VIS AND IR)

OBJECTIVES:

The objective of the CONFIADIT project is the development of a new real-time monitoring and control system for laser additive manufacturing processes adapted to new techniques such as those that use high-speed galvo-scanners to direct the laser spot.

This is the case of LAM technologies based on the PBF-LB powder bed, which is being adopted in numerous industrial areas with high added value.

GENERAL OBJECTIVES OF CONFIADIT:

• Development of a prototype for the monitoring and control of laser additive manufacturing processes based on the real-time and simultaneous acquisition of images of the process in two spectral bands: visible and infrared.
• The CONFIADIT prototype will be integrable in a coaxial configuration, on axis, both in new industrial additive manufacturing equipment and in equipment already on the market.
• The prototype will be validated in a relevant environment according to a test plan defined in an initial phase of the project.

SPECIFIC TECHNICAL OBJECTIVES:

At the end of the CONFIADIT project, a prototype of a process monitoring and control system for laser additive manufacturing validated in a relevant environment will be available. To this end, the following partial objectives have been identified:

1. Manufacture of an optical adapter that allows the simultaneous obtaining of images of the process area in two spectral bands: Visible (0.4-0.8 microns) and Infrared (1-5 microns).
2. Selection and manufacturing/acquisition of sensors. Laser processes are characterized by being very fast. The sensors of the CONFIADIT demonstrator will be high-speed cameras. In the case of the VIS channel, a CMOS camera suitable for the requirements of the process will be selected and acquired. In the case of the infrared channel, a new 128×128 polycrystalline PbSe IR sensor manufactured by NIT will be developed and adjusted to the speed requirements of the application.
3. Development of electronics that is capable of acquiring, merging and processing in real time the large amount of process information provided by the sensors.
4. Development of software that runs in real time on the developed electronics and that provides control signals for basic process parameters such as laser power or deposit speed.
5. Integration of the CONFIADIT system in a laser head in a laser additive manufacturing system (LMD-LB, or PBF-LB powder bed) and validation in additive processes described in a previously defined test plan.