Episode #7 | Managing Tolerances & Quality for Mission Critical Applications

One of the most common questions we get about additive capabilities is: how do you achieve and manage tight tolerances? Those asking are usually in mission critical applications like medical device, aerospace, or aviation where extremely high levels of quality are required to meet exacting tolerance specifications and performance needs.
Our quality assurance and control process now includes a non-contact, high-accuracy, 3D scanning coordinate measuring machine (CMM). It's an incredible technology that alleviates our dependence on traditional or manual measuring tools which are not effective for parts with nonstandard geometric features and are not scalable for full production. Our CMM measures parts from all directions, capturing millions of data points that allow us to compare 360° scans directly to CAD data to detect deviations and defects or do a wear analysis before and after use of a part. This new tool greatly expands and supports our ability to serve mission critical applications with additive manufacturing.
Watch the full episode on YouTube!
https://youtu.be/4eCNyp-gnTg
Episode Topics
01:00 Most common question
01:35 What we're doing to manage tolerances
02:01 Managing tolerances for production
02:25 Starts with onboarding a project
05:24 Tolerance stack up for additive
05:56 CMM allows us to capture data
07:14 Production runs with dimensional traceability
08:32 Mitigating the risks
10:02 Collecting & analyzing the data
10:40 How we've fine-tuned our processes
11:48 Role CMM plays in PPAP
13:14 Quality is not sexy
13:48 Variations that exist throughout a build
15:02 Our focus is quality
15:46 Pushing the technology as far as it can be pushed
16:42 Aspects of achieving tight tolerances
18:02 Quality is a piece of our culture
18:55 Project that pushed us to invest in the technology
22:48 Continuing to push the boundaries
More about DI Labs: http://www.dilabs.cc