Bridging big science and industry quality control for laser manufacturing processes

Bridging big science and industry quality control for laser manufacturing processes Discover how researchers are making the PETRA III Swedish Materials Science beamline’s X-rays accessible for tracking the evolution of material properties during laser processing. The business model of Swedish manufacturing companies is increasingly dependent on guaranteeing the performance of complex products, which are composed of advanced materials and manufactured to exacting standards. To guarantee product performance and avoid costly or dangerous failures, manufacturers have rigorous quality control (QC) systems. QC systems involve testing components and their materials. Destructive testing methods have been traditionally used; for example, to assess weld seams, a section of the component around the weld is cut out, ground and polished, then examined using microscopy techniques. Such destructive testing methods, however, only look at the surface; they can’t look within the material or weld. Furthermore, destructive testing only gives an indication of quality – and doesn’t say if the actual product shipped to a specific customer will perform or not. Non-destructive QC methods, such as X-ray imaging, are therefore now increasingly used to guarantee the performance of a specific product shipped to a customer, providing a competitive edge.