Quality control in additive manufacturing

The Sauber Group was founded in 1970 and specialises in the development and manufacture of racing cars and high-performance vehicle components. For additive manufacturing as well as in lightweight construction, Sauber Technologies AG uses a ZwickRoell Vibrophore 100. This testing machine offers support during material development and when checking work pieces made by additive manufacturing for the automotive, aerospace and medical technology industries.

In the company’s quality control lab, the identification and documentation of material-specific values for fatigue strength and fatigue endurance is a daily challenge. Of special importance is the hot isostatic pressing process as a method for refining printed parts in order to close porous areas and tears and to achieve a greater density and durability.

The new testing device allows for fatigue tests in the tensile load, pressure load, pulsating stress and dynamic load test areas. The software testXpert is used. The easy-to-read user interface increases the reliability of the tests. This machine makes it possible for the company to achieve a higher rate of flexibility in quality control, as dynamic tests are carried out in proprietary laboratories and test results can more quickly re-enter the production process. Further, testing frequencies of up to 285 Hz are possible, which allows for the simulation of individual test scenarios.