Argonne National Laboratory installs infrared camera to help improve AM results

With a new infrared camera, Argonne researchers can delve into the detailed dynamics of 3-D printing by measuring thermal signatures across surfaces in real time. Image by Shutterstock / MarinaGrigorivna.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory has installed a new tool available to industry and researchers to help narrow the gap between basic and applied research in additive manufacturing (AM).

The addition of an infrared camera to the high-energy X-ray source at Argonne’s Advanced Photon Source, a DOE Office of Science User Facility, allows researchers to measure thermal signatures across surfaces in real time to help detect and stop defects and ensure high-quality reproducibility of parts.

Researchers can capture X-ray images at 1 million frames per second and thermal images at 100,000 frames per second during the 3-D printing processes. This creates movies of the formation of key defects caused by melt pool instability, powder spatter ejection, and inappropriate scan strategy.

Used with X-ray microscopy, high-speed thermal imaging can deliver new insights into how much and how fast different regions in the part heat up and cool down during the entire build, which involves millions of laser line scans. These insights can be used to reduce variations in the design of parts and improve the efficiency of AM for consumer, defense, medicine, and automotive applications.