Making metal parts by means of laser consolidation has gained much publicity in recent years. However, unlikelaser welding or traditional machining, the experience base of know how to produce good parts is not wellunderstood yet. There are many variables in metal additive part production such as source energy, the speed of thesource movement, the consistency of the material, and any flaws or “inclusions” in the prepared work material.These issues are not unlike finding the best feed and speed for machining or working from a near net shape castingwithout encountering porosity, cracks or voids in the work material. There already exists a wide range of opticalgages and inspection tools ranging from IR sensors to laser gages to high resolution video which is in wide use inouter manufacturing sectors. This paper will examine the needs for monitoring and measuring metal additiveproduction that have been identified by the industry and reference those needs against the commercial tools ofoptical metrology and inspection. Specific examples of possible applications will be presented through a matrix ofpotential solutions including the pros and cons of each method.
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