Infrared camera to ensure high-quality 3-D reproducibility of parts

The addition of a new infrared camera at Argonne's Advanced Photon Source narrows the gap between basic and applied research in additive manufacturing. One of the largest challenges facing the 3-D printing industry is how to ensure high-quality reproducibility of parts. Without better insights into how to detect and stop defects, the technology has limitations when producing commodity parts.
That much-needed insight is at industrial designers fingertips now, thanks to a new tool available to industry and researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory. The installation 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.