Accurate analysis of 3D printed parts

Membership of the Technology Transfer Centre Anaxaminitiated in 2019 by the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW), the "Swiss Nanoscience Institute" (SNI) and the canton of Aargau, on the one hand promotes the exchange of experience among researchers in the growing field of "additive manufacturing". Above all, however, important additional analytical equipment is now available to industrial companies - an important factor in staying ahead in quality control in 3D printing.

X-ray tomography for heavy and light

Three Empa devices in particular should be of interest to developers of 3D printing solutions. In the Linac high-energy X-ray tomograph, which is particularly suitable for large workpieces, workpieces up to 70 centimetres in diameter and up to 2 metres high can be examined. The X-rays penetrate steel up to 35 centimeters thick. X-ray images of samples made of reinforced concrete are also possible with this device without any problems. On the other side of the scale is the RX X-ray tomograph, which can produce images with a resolution of 0.6 micrometers. This means that even the smallest material defects can be detected. Empa's phase-contrast X-ray equipment is particularly well suited to lightweight materials, such as plastic components, which show only low contrasts in X-ray light. Thanks to a special analysis of the scattered X-rays, this new method can achieve resolutions down to one micrometre.

The available equipment at Empa's X-ray Centre is complemented by the Empa Platform for Image Analysis, which uses sophisticated image processing methods to make the information in the two- and three-dimensional X-ray scans accessible. And with training courses for industry, Empa's experts ensure that the analytical methods are used safely and effectively.

Expertise for the industry

The Anaxam Technology Transfer Center, which Empa has now joined, is part of the "Advanced Manufacturing Technology Transfer Center" (AM-TTC) alliance, which Empa helped to launch. The AM-TTC initiative is a measure in the Federal Government's Action Plan on Digitization of the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) to promote innovation and accelerate knowledge transfer.

Source: Empa

Joint event 

One year after their foundation, the two Technology Transfer Centers m4m and Anaxam present themselves in a joint event: on Friday 3 December from 4 to 7 p.m. in the "kultur & kongresshaus aarau".

Registration under https://hightechzentrum.ch/aktuelles/veranstaltungen