Abstract: An example additive manufacturing apparatus includes an energy source to melt material to form a component in an additive manufacturing process, a camera aligned with the energy source to obtain image data of the melted material during the additive manufacturing process, and a controller to control the energy source during the additive manufacturing process in response to processing of the image data. The controller adjusts control of the energy source based on a correction determined by: applying an artificial intelligence model to image data captured by a camera during an additive manufacturing process, the image data including an image of a melt pool of the additive manufacturing process; predicting an error in the additive manufacturing process using an output of the artificial intelligence model; and compensating for the error by generating a correction to adjust a configuration of the energy source during the additive manufacturing process.

Abstract: A device and procedure for checking the health of a pressure transducer in situ is provided. The procedure includes measuring a fixed change in pressure above ambient pressure and a fixed change in pressure below ambient pressure. This is done by first sealing an enclosed volume around the transducer with a valve. A piston inside the sealed volume is then driven forward, compressing the enclosed gas, thereby increasing the pressure. A fixed pressure below ambient pressure is obtained by opening the valve, driving the piston forward, sealing the valve, and then retracting the piston. The output of the pressure transducer is recorded for both the overpressuring and the underpressuring. By comparing this data with data taken during a preoperative calibration, the health of the transducer is determined from the linearity, the hysteresis, and the repeatability of its output. The further addition of a thermometer allows constant offset error in the transducer output to be determined.

Abstract: A multi-sensor transducer and processing method allow insitu monitoring of the senor accuracy and transducer ‘health’. In one embodiment, the transducer has multiple sensors to provide corresponding output signals in response to a stimulus, such as pressure. A processor applies individual weight factors to reach of the output signals and provide a single transducer output that reduces the contribution from inaccurate sensors. The weight factors can be updated and stored. The processor can use the weight factors to provide a ‘health’ of the transducer based upon the number of accurate versus in-accurate sensors in the transducer.