DISCMAM completes a key project milestone on portable AM quality
- The work delivered, led by ADAXIS, brings together digital capture, process optimisation and data-driven quality assurance, paving the way for full system integration, digital twin and validation within DISCMAM.
Quality assurance in portable additive manufacturing remains a key challenge for on-site production environments. Addressing this challenge, the DISCMAM project has successfully completed the milestone “Optimised manufacturing strategies to ensure quality in portable Additive Manufacturing systems”, marking an important step towards reliable, high-quality digital manufacturing solutions.
This achievement concludes the project work line dedicated to the development of digital tools for on-site process optimisation. Led by ADAXIS, the work has been carried out by a multidisciplinary team with strong roots in European research and extensive experience in manufacturing innovation within the defence sector, contributing decisively to DISCMAM’s steady and consistent progress.
Core technical developments enabling on-site manufacturing
The achievement of this milestone has been made possible through a series of coordinated technical actions, developed with the active involvement of all consortium partners at different stages of the process.
The work began with the definition of methodologies for 3D scanning, view planning and geometry recognition algorithms. Dedicated workflows were established to support 3D scanning prior to manufacturing or repair operations, laying the foundation for subsequent activities within DISCMAM. In this phase, three different 3D scanning solutions were identified and tested across two predefined operational scenarios.
Building on this foundation, a comprehensive methodology was demonstrated for integrating 3D scanning and DED-LB deposition strategies into a CAM software platform, using AdaOne as the central and unified environment. This approach enabled the full virtualisation of the robotic cell for both DED additive manufacturing and 3D scanning operations, ensuring accurate kinematic representation and alignment with the physical setup. 3D scanning played a key role in virtualising damaged components, recognising missing geometry—such as a damaged lug—and supporting repair using the DED-LB wire process.
In parallel, the project addressed the optimisation of laser scanning strategies to ensure quality in deployable PBF-LB systems. This work led to significant advancements for on-site Powder Bed Fusion – Laser Beam manufacturing, including reduced post-processing requirements, adaptable quality levels, increased production speed and enhanced process robustness. Together, these results demonstrate a flexible and efficient approach to the production of temporary spare parts tailored to defence-related operational needs.
Quality assurance and predictive models for on-site operations
Further work focused on the definition of Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC) methodologies for portable PBF-LB machines, as well as for LORTEK’s repair solution based on Directed Energy Deposition – Laser Beam (DED-LB), addressing maintenance scenarios relevant to defence applications.
To conclude the activities associated with this work package, DISCMAM developed a rapid-response, system-level predictive model targeting key quality metrics for both PBF-LB and DED-LB technologies. The resulting digital twin directly links in-process monitoring to critical quality indicators such as porosity, dimensional accuracy and surface texture, providing traceable, data-driven evidence of quality for on-site manufacturing and repair operations.
As DISCMAM enters a pivotal phase of the project, almost all committed milestones have now been achieved. This steady progress paves the way for the final stage, focused on the full integration of the developed solutions and on the validation of the complete DISCMAM platform.
