New capability allows engineers to print a QR code directly onto a part so the digital thread is continued throughout the part lifespan.
Today at the Additive Manufacturing Users Group Conference in St Louis, Missouri, Rize has announced a new capability for its Rize One machine - Digitally Augmented Parts, allowing engineers to 3D print parts featuring digital information.
Rize's Augmented Polymer Deposition (APD) technology launched back in 2016 with unique extrusion and voxel-level ink jetting capabilities which enable parts to be printed with blue ink markings. Now that process can be utilised to 3D print secure information on an industrial part, such as a QR code for example, which can be scanned with a smartphone and instantly display the corresponding digital information.
This means users can now create a digital thread between the digital and physical part and accelerate Industry 4.0 technologies like blockchain and AR/VR applications. Rize says this capability will help overcome some of the challenges the industry faces such as parts that are non-compliant due to design changes, piracy, counterfeit and obsolescence.
Speaking with Andy Kalambi, President and CEO of Rize during the event, he described how this capability changes the user experience by ensuring that the digital thread can go from a file to a physical part so that the entire process is inclusive to that user experience.
"Additive is a part of a bigger strategy for many companies which is a digital strategy or an Industry 4.0 strategy but really that digital strategy is not fully realised because when you print the part, the digital link breaks," Andy told TCT. "The moment the part gets printed on the machine it's a physical part and there is no digital element left in it. The break of the digital link is a big issue for this industry overall to realise the promise of what is called Industry 4.0.
QR code can be scanned on a standard smartphone so the end-user can view digital information about their part.
"So we took our marking capability that we had natively in our machine and what we did was we started working on a digitally augmented part so we said let's 3D print in at a voxel level a marker which enables you to connect this physical part to the digital world and keep it constantly connected."
APD is the latest technology to come from the Boston company which is perhaps most known for its take on post-processing.
During my visit to the Rize booth, Andy briefly stepped aside to chat to an engineer from the aerospace sector who appeared intrigued by Rize's much-publicised zero post-processing claims. Stating the common bug bear felt by almost any engineer working within additive, he said simply: "I hate post-processing". When Andy demonstrated how easy it was to pop off supports both cleanly and safely, it was great to see first-hand just how much of a welcome step-change that truly is for users of this technology.
