Lockheed Martin
Nikon SLM Solutions NXG XII 3D printers at Lockheed Martin
Nikon SLM Solutions has announced two collaborations this week, first with Additive Assurance and now Oqton.
The metal additive manufacturing OEM said it will embed Additive Assurance’s AMiRIS technology inside its flagship NXG platform, which will use a near-infrared optical tomography system to simultaneously monitor all 12 of the system’s lasers. The integration is thought to be a first for the industry and promises a ‘significant leap forward for process monitoring’ with a fully integrated monitoring solution that provides real-time melt pool and layer analysis for larger, more complex 3D printed components.
Additive Assurance CEO Marten Jurg said the collaboration puts “reliability at the heart of the solution” to give manufacturers more confidence to innovate, while Simon Merkt-Schippers, Vice President Research & Development at Nikon SLM Solutions described it as a milestone that’s “redefining what’s possible in large-scale metal AM.”
The second collaboration for Nikon this week is the validation of Oqton’s 3DXpert build processor. It follows an several months of work, with support from metal 3D printing specialist AMEXCI, focused on advancing industrial-scale AM through open, integrated, and reliable software-hardware ecosystems. The result is said to be a fully validated, production-grade workflow, fully compatible with Nikon SLM’s latest manufacturing strategies and advanced multi-laser platforms, that enables users to prepare, manage, and execute AM build jobs with greater efficiency, consistency, and confidence.
Of the partnership with Oqton, Charlie Grace, Chief Commercial Officer at Nikon SLM Solutions, said, “Together, we’re making additive manufacturing simpler, more reliable, and truly industrial.”
