Text: Thomas Masuch, 3 September 2024
Additive Assurance has developed a flexible QA system for metal 3D printing
Quality assurance is an essential part of the additive process chain, and the young Australian company Additive Assurance focuses on ensuring quality in the 3D printing of metal components. Its solution, which was developed for L-PBF systems, and includes software, hardware, and an analysis tool that identifies defects to ensure part consistency. "Its unique sensor allows us to achieve an accuracy down to 30 microns across the whole powder bed," explains founder and CEO Marten Jurg.
The Amiris system can either be retrofitted to customers' machines from the outside or integrated directly into systems by the manufacturer. The company has now developed suitable solutions for 12 different machine types, with more to follow. "We’ve also entered into cooperation agreements with various manufacturers," Jurg explains. These manufacturers also see Additive Assurance acting as a preferred partner for quality assurance. "This helps machine manufacturers to close high-value sales for critical industries," continues Jurg, who is particularly interested in the aerospace and defense sectors.
In 2019, Additive Assurance was founded out of Monash University in Melbourne by Jurg and Andrey Molotnikov. Prior to this, the aerospace engineer had worked in Germany (including for Airbus) and had already begun to build up an extensive network in the AM community.
German roots
Its connection to Germany would also have an influence on the further development of the young company later on. For example, Additive Assurance was initially represented in the start-up area of Formnext for several years in a row and succeeded in establishing contacts with various partners and customers, including Volkswagen.
The automotive group was one of the first industrial customers to purchase an Amiris system and has been using it in its AM center in Wolfsburg ever since. Co-founder Andrey Molotnikov also has German roots, and former Siemens engineer (and native German) Jürgen Schneider is on Additive Assurance’s board of directors.
In 2021, the company introduced Amiris to the world, with US$1.6 million in venture capital funding from investors in Australia and the UK also serving as a driver of further growth. Two years later, the company scaled up its products with Amiris-LF, a process monitoring and quality control solution for large-format machines.
Just a phone call away
Formnext remains by far the most important trade fair for the young company, although it does take part in other events around the world. "Formnext is fantastic for making new contacts in all areas of the AM industry. The best thing is that there’s always this exciting experience of so many people wanting to make new contacts and learn," enthuses Jurg. "Even as an exhibitor, I always walk through the corridors and learn things I've never seen before."
Additive Assurance's customers are mainly from the USA and Europe, with some also coming from Singapore and Japan. No wonder Marten Jurg is on the road around half the time, usually venturing out for several weeks six to seven times each year. He doesn’t consider this a burden and views distance as “not necessarily a bad thing" – after all, many things can be discussed and dealt with digitally these days. "We may be on the other side of the world, but we're only a phone call away," he points out.
For the native Australian, the attractiveness of his home country with its proximity to the sea, the city of Melbourne, and the very relaxed and friendly mentality of Australians also plays an important role for his company. "It's a great place to live, so it's quite easy to convince good people to work for you here. We also have a very good talent pool thanks to the excellent universities in Melbourne and other cities in Australia," Jurg reveals. Plus, since the manufacturing industry in Australia is traditionally much less developed than in places like the USA or Europe, Jurg sees much less local competition for AM companies.
Technical development continues
Meanwhile, Jurg says that his young company has now built up a very good reputation in the world of Additive Manufacturing. This is also due to the fact that it "covers all aspects of the quality chain with the Amiris solution," as he puts it. However, development continues unabated, and the next generation of AM quality control is now in the works, with Additive Assurance collaborating with various customers. Among other things, this involves comparing individual components in order to create identical duplicates. The company also plans to include data from CT scans in this analysis.
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- Quality management and measurement technology