High-quality, consistent metal powders are critical for additive manufacturing, as powder defects can lead to catastrophic print failures. Current monitoring approaches such as optical imaging, thermography, and recoater vibration analysis can detect large anomalies but often fail to identify deeper material-level issues like oxidation, thermal conductivity variations, or reuse contamination. As a result, verifying powder quality before and during printing remains a challenge, leaving manufacturers vulnerable to costly inconsistencies and part failures.
This invention employs a 445 nm modulated laser diode (operating up to 10 MHz) in an argon-purged environment to thermally excite powder layers. An infrared photodetector captures amplitude and phase shifts in the thermal response, which are then analyzed using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN) algorithms. This process enables precise classification of powder identity, oxidation level, and reuse status. The system is fast, non-destructive, and easy to integrate into additive manufacturing setups for both in-situ quality control and offline analysis.
• Rapid, non-destructive analysis of powder properties
• Simultaneous detection of composition, oxidation, and particle size distribution
• Accurate verification of powder identity, including reused or contaminated material
• Enables real-time, in-situ monitoring during production
• Supports calibration of energy sources in additive manufacturing systems
• Low-cost system requiring minimal hardware integration
• Machine learning-based classification (PCA, KNN) for automated analysis
• Reduces reliance on destructive or time-consuming elemental tests
• US Provisional Patent Application 63/633,025 – Filed April 11, 2024
• US Utility Patent Application 19/177,470 – Filed April 11, 2025
Prototype – Validated for powder classification, oxidation detection, and reuse evaluation under lab-scale additive manufacturing conditions. TRL ~4.
This technology is available for licensing.
This technology is highly relevant to aerospace, automotive, medical device, and industrial additive manufacturing sectors that depend on consistent powder quality to ensure reliability, reduce costs, and minimize material waste.
Experimental classification results, thermal response data, and integration specifications available upon request.