What is additive manufacturing
In the process of manufacturing and repairing components, additive manufacturing technology is often applied to layered material applications similar to 3D printing.
In order to ensure the accuracy of the entire process and the quality of the product, imaging systems are used for process monitoring and quality control. When selecting a visual system, it is necessary to fully consider limited spatial conditions and ensure that it can meet high-performance requirements to ensure manufacturing accuracy and efficiency.
Using machine vision systems
Control the quality of additive manufacturing processes
The optical detection role of machine vision systems in additive manufacturing is crucial. When manufacturing metal or plastic components, the stacking and application of each layer of material requires extremely high precision.
Optical detection technology relies on high-precision optical sensors and image processing technology, which can track the entire manufacturing process in real time, accurately detect the flatness, uniformity, and potential defects of materials.
This non-contact detection not only improves efficiency and accuracy, but also quickly identifies and corrects problems in production. In high-precision processes such as laser metal deposition, optical detection plays an important role in ensuring the quality and performance of precision components.
1. Laser beam
2. Powder supply
3. Molten pool
4. Applied materials
5. Workpiece
When using laser metal deposition method to produce metal components, the powder enters the laser beam through the nozzle and is precisely melted and coated by the laser beam in the melt pool. Machine vision can monitor the process of executing these processes.
Therefore, using machine vision systems for optical inspection can not only strictly control product quality, but also help optimize the overall manufacturing process.
Breaking spatial limitations:
Innovative and flexible modular machine vision solutions
When facing the challenge of spatial limitations, we have launched a flexible camera solution specifically for the field of molten pool monitoring.
The unique requirement of molten pool monitoring sets a dual level for image processing systems: it requires layout in extremely limited space while ensuring high-speed real-time data monitoring.
For this purpose, we have specially introduced a modular Dart M board level camera equipped with GigE interface. The compact modular design and excellent performance level of this camera meet the strict requirements of melt pool monitoring, bringing convenience and efficiency to such application scenarios.
Modular Design of Dart M
The Dart M camera can be adjusted according to the installation conditions of different applications and configured in a modular manner to fit the camera:
The core of the Dart M vision system is a small camera module with a size of 27mm x 27mm, equipped with the Sony Pregius IMX287 chip, which can achieve a frame rate of 290 fps at VGA resolution. In addition, it can also be equipped with Sony IMX273 (1.6 million pixels) or IMX392 (2.3 million pixels) chips according to different needs.
The camera module is connected to the interface board through a 15cm flat flexible cable. This cable allows for physical separation between the camera module and the interface board to save space in the image acquisition location (i.e. melt pool), and can also flexibly adapt to the interface board. In addition, Basler also offers flexible cables with lengths of 5cm and 30cm.
The interface board is equipped with GigE standard RJ45 connectors and PoE (Power over Ethernet) technology, making it easy to connect a single cable between the camera and the host PC. The GigE interface also supports connecting the host PC through longer cables, allowing for a maximum spatial distance of up to 100m between it and the camera. An AUX powered version is also available.
In the application scenario of molten pool monitoring, S-mount lenses are also needed, so appropriate lens interfaces need to be used. The size of the S-mount camera module is 29mm x 29mm, and it weighs only 15g, still meeting the requirements of small size and light weight. CS mount and CS mount with infrared cutoff filters are also available.
Transform Dart M machine vision system
Advantages of using in additive manufacturing
Applying the Dart M machine vision system to the field of additive manufacturing has the following significant advantages:
The flexible module design of the Dart M camera effectively saves space and reduces production costs;
The Dart M machine vision system is equipped with Python software and GigE vision system API, with fast and simple hardware integration, significantly reducing the difficulty of technical integration and lowering time costs;
The Dart M camera supports high-speed GigE data transmission, ensuring real-time image quality;
The Dart M machine vision system is equipped with a GigE interface and is suitable for multiple application fields such as multi camera setup and factory automation, logistics, robotics, medical technology, and electronic detection;