Full sintering of metal in an additive manufacturing process often benefits from some type of vision/sensor control system that lets engineers see deep into the sintering process. Several companies offer such control, including Concept Laser and EOS. Recently Sciaky, Inc., a subsidiary of Phillips Service Industries, Inc. (PSI) and provider of metal additive manufacturing (AM) solutions, announced its patented closed-loop control, called IRISS, for its industry-leading Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing (EBAM) systems.

IRISS, which stands for Interlayer Real-time Imaging & Sensing System, provides consistent process control for part geometry, mechanical properties, microstructure, and metal chemistry for large-scale 3D printed parts. This closed-loop control, which is exclusive to Sciaky EBAM systems, monitors the metal deposition process in real time and makes adjustments to the process parameters that compensate for variation throughout the build process. EBAM systems use wire feedstock, which is available in a variety of metals such as titanium, tantalum, niobium, tungsten, molybdenum, Inconel, aluminum, stainless steels, nickel alloys, and more.

As the most widely scalable metal 3D printing solution on the market (in terms of work envelope), Sciaky’s EBAM systems can produce parts ranging from 8 inches (203 mm) to 19 feet (5.79 meters) in length. EBAM is also a fast deposition process, with gross deposition rates ranging from 7 to 20 lb (3.18 to 9.07 kg) of metal per hour. Plus, with a dual wirefeed option, you can combine two different metal alloys into a single melt pool to create “custom alloy” parts or ingots. In addition, you can change the mixture ratio of the two materials to create “graded” parts or structures.