ADDIMADOUR was launched by and for companies to support them in the development of their metal additive manufacturing projects. Born from the meeting of industrial needs and of scientific & technological means of the Higher School of Advanced Industrial Technologies (ESTIA), ADDIMADOUR is the platform for offering expert and innovative services in metal additive manufacturing of ESTIA.
ADDIMADOUR's missions are:
- Realize industrial proofs of concept at part sizes that no center offers today,
- Support companies from A to Z in their metal additive manufacturing projects, from ideation to the manufacturable part,
- Ensure the transfer of projects to companies from low maturity levels,
- Improve knowledge in metal additive manufacturing,
- Train future engineers to the needs of industries.
With the objective of improving the quality of robotic laser / wire DED (Direct Energy Deposition) processes, ESTIA wishes to observe and control the process by image analysis. The speed of the physical phenomena involved and the control by vision in a difficult and on-board environment (laser illumination, molten metals, light pollution, robotics) implies a strong reflection on the imaging system which must be compact and allow the high speed capture of usable images.
The imaging solution chosen for the application is the SWIR WidySens 640V-ST camera developed by New Imaging Technologies. Its short exposure time and HDR mode compensate for the strong light disturbances induced by the process. In addition, its acquisition speed of 240hz ensures the acquisition of the main transient phenomena.
The image processing algorithms developed by the Addimadour teams are built with the Matrox MIL10 library. They allow real-time control of process parameters.
i2S was able to be proactive in the choice of equipment and our great flexibility in loaning cameras has made it possible to test many sensors in real conditions and to validate compliance with technical requirements.
The solution resulting from the exchanges between Addimadour and i2S currently makes it possible to visualize the process with good quality. With a Class 4 laser environment, this camera becomes the eyes of the operator.
Guénolé Bras, Robotics and Additive Manufacturing engineer at ADDIMADOUR, adds: "The image processing and control algorithms based on the WidySens camera have greatly accelerated the maturity of this innovative and particularly demanding robotic process".
