The College of North Florida (UNF) has acquired a Nationwide Science Basis (NSF) grant to develop a real-time quality-control system for steel additive manufacturing. Dr. Longfei Zhou, Assistant Professor of Superior Manufacturing Engineering at UNF, will lead the venture alongside a staff of pupil researchers.
The work targets a problem in LPBF whereby a machine’s powder-spreading arm can drag or disturb steel powder throughout printing, leaving streaks that introduce structural flaws. This usually forces producers to then discard elements or restart total builds.
The system Zhou’s staff is constructing would monitor every layer as it’s deposited and apply focused corrections solely the place issues are detected, quite than halting or restarting the whole course of.
“I’m grateful to share that my NSF ERI grant is awarded,” mentioned Dr. Zhou in a LinkedIn publish. “Excited to work with our college students and collaborators on this venture to enhance steel 3D printing processes.”
Open entry and broader affect
Past defect discount, the venture is designed to profit the broader manufacturing neighborhood. The staff acknowledged it plans to publicly launch datasets, educated fashions, digital-twin software program, and baseline choice insurance policies in order that producers exterior UNF can apply the analysis to their very own operations.
The curriculum at UNF will even mirror the venture’s scope, with new course modules and lab actions overlaying how knowledge and automation are reshaping manufacturing processes.
Three superior manufacturing engineering seniors — Maria Fernanda Ocrospoma Figueroa, Tessa Baur, and Taylor Uhruh — are a part of the analysis staff.
