Automated In-Process Quality Control of Recycled Filament Production and FDM Printers

Cornerstone Research Group Inc.’s (CRG) demonstrated expertise in polymer AM materials development, systems engineering, and feedstock recycling for ISRU offers NASA the opportunity to obtain AM process monitoring and control systems for online quality control of feedstock production and printed parts. CRG’s proposed approach applies sensors, hardware, and software algorithms to monitor and adjust feedstock production AND printing processes in real time as well as certify feedstock and print quality. Hardware and software developed on this program by CRG will be integrated into systems already being developed to support NASA’s ISM on complimentary efforts. CRG’s proposed approach will initially be applied to FDM feedstock production and print quality, but is applicable to other AM processes using the same control hardware and software with different sensor inputs.