Synchronisation of a machine-integrated monitoring system for recording process emissions in additive manufacturing

In the context of additive manufacturing, process monitoring is of significant importance, given the inherent challenges associated with achieving stable production. Industrial facilities are already equipped with monitoring systems that utilise photodiodes to record process emissions across various wavelength ranges. The photodiodes are coupled to the laser optics, thereby ensuring that only the emissions in the melt pool are recorded. An approach has previously been demonstrated whereby the production strategy of an industrial machine is adapted in such a manner that process emissions are also recorded at a greater distance from the working laser. Nevertheless, the absence of synchronisation between the measurement results poses a significant challenge in this context. This is accompanied by a paucity of clarity regarding the exact location of the recorded process emissions. The present article thus sets out a methodology for synchronising the measurement data, and consequently, for localising the process emissions.