ZEISS and EOS collaborate in in-process monitoring for metal powder bed

The joint goal is to develop and market a powder bed monitoring system for 3D printing. A trained neuronal network will automate analysis procedures and reduce costs.

Oberkochen, Germany | 08 November 2021 | ZEISS Industrial Quality Solutions

ZEISS and EOS, a leading supplier for responsible manufacturing solutions via industrial 3D printing technology, have declared their intent to jointly integrate and market the ZEISS AM in-process monitoring for in-situ surveillance of the powder bed for industrial 3D printing with metals. At the Formnext exhibition from 16th to 19th November both companies will present details of the future collaboration.

A uniformly distributed powder bed is essential for a stable and reliable AM-Process. To detect grooves and elevations in the powder bed with a high degree of certainty, a patented technology of ZEISS to capture height information of the powder bed is used as the core of the product. The goal is to analyze the acquired 3D information by a trained neural network. As a result, customers receive automatically marked and classified irregularities in the powder bed.

ZEISS In-process Monitoring identifies and classifies defects in the powder bed

An evenly distributed powder bed is essential for a stable and reliable additive manufacturing process

The cooperation aims at integrating the ZEISS AM in-process monitoring into the DMLS® systems of EOS to give customers the possibility to have the powder bed supervised to assess its quality during the printing process as well as afterwards and to intervene manually or automatically according to predefined rules.

“We are confident that ZEISS can contribute with this product to help further industrialize additive manufacturing and that with EOS we found a strong partner for a successful market entry” explains Heiko Degen, Business Development Manager Additive Manufacturing Process & Control at ZEISS.

"The automated analysis of the powder bed quality and quick reaction to identify defects opens immense potential for cost savings. We are, therefore, developing an interface for our EOS M 290 that enables the communication of a ZEISS solution on our 3D printing system. As an example, information from the ZEISS product can be used to correct detected powder bed defects by triggering a second recoat step," adds Dominik Hawelka, Product Line Manager at EOS.

We kindly invite you to visit ZEISS (hall 12.1, booth B81) and EOS (hall 21.1, booth D01) at the Formnext to learn more.

Press Contact

Bernd Balle
ZEISS Industrial Quality Solutions
Phone: +49 7364 20-8148
bernd .balle @zeiss .com

About ZEISS

ZEISS is an internationally leading technology enterprise operating in the fields of optics and optoelectronics. In the previous fiscal year, the ZEISS Group generated annual revenue totaling 6.3 billion euros in its four segments Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology, Industrial Quality & Research, Medical Technology and Consumer Markets (status: 30 September 2020).

For its customers, ZEISS develops, produces and distributes highly innovative solutions for industrial metrology and quality assurance, microscopy solutions for the life sciences and materials research, and medical technology solutions for diagnostics and treatment in ophthalmology and microsurgery. The name ZEISS is also synonymous with the world's leading lithography optics, which are used by the chip industry to manufacture semiconductor components. There is global demand for trendsetting ZEISS brand products such as eyeglass lenses, camera lenses and binoculars.

With a portfolio aligned with future growth areas like digitalization, healthcare and Smart Production and a strong brand, ZEISS is shaping the future of technology and constantly advancing the world of optics and related fields with its solutions. The company's significant, sustainable investments in research and development lay the foundation for the success and continued expansion of ZEISS' technology and market leadership. ZEISS invests 12 percent of its revenue in research and development – this high level of expenditure has a long tradition at ZEISS and is also an investment in the future.

With over 34,000 employees, ZEISS is active globally in almost 50 countries with around 30 production sites, 60 sales and service companies and 27 research and development facilities. Founded in 1846 in Jena, the company is headquartered in Oberkochen, Germany. The Carl Zeiss Foundation, one of the largest foundations in Germany committed to the promotion of science, is the sole owner of the holding company, Carl Zeiss AG (status: 31 March 2021).

Further information at www.zeiss.com

ZEISS Industrial Quality Solutions

ZEISS Industrial Quality Solutions is a leading manufacturer of multidimensional metrology solutions. These include coordinate measuring machines, optical and multisensor systems, microscopy systems for industrial quality assurance as well as metrology software for the automotive, aircraft, mechanical engineering, plastics and medical technology industries. Innovative technologies such as 3D X-ray metrology for quality inspection round off the portfolio. In addition, ZEISS Industrial Quality Solutions offers a broad global spectrum of customer services with ZEISS Quality Excellence Centers close to its customers. The company is headquartered in Oberkochen. Production and development sites outside Germany are located in Minneapolis in the USA, Shanghai (China) and Bangalore (India). ZEISS Industrial Quality Solutions is part of the Industrial Quality & Research segment.

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