'The final check on parts will always be a form of quality testing despite advances in simulation' - Dr Jimmy Campbell
The final check on parts will always be a form of quality testing despite advances in simulation, according to Dr Jimmy Campbell.
Campbell, who serves as the Chief Technology Officer of UK-based Plastometrex, discussed the use of simulation to predict manufacturing outcomes on the latest Additive Insight podcast.
Simulation software tools powered by computer-based modelling are increasingly becoming a part of manufacturing processes because of their ability to help engineers understand how outcomes might differ in response to local changes and project quality issues. And with suppliers of such technologies frequently espousing the accuracy of their models, there is understandably a discussion to be had about how much of part testing can be done digitally.
“We are doing a physical test, but the core of our technology is really based on simulation,” Campbell said. “I think there’s some talk in the industry – and I attended a panel session looking at qualification using simulation back at ASTM's International Conference for Advanced Manufacturing last year – but at the end, people did always come back to testing. The final spot check – you can do all the simulation you would like – but you do need to then validate it at the end with a physical test.”
Plastometrex’s Profilometry-based Indentation Plastometry (PIP) technology, as Campbell explained on the podcast, relies on both physical and digital processes. PIP works by first performing an experimental indent to a prescribed depth and measurement of residual profile shape, before finite element modelling simulations are carried out to compare the data between what was modelled and what has been measured.
Campbell, then, is no stranger to the benefits of digital simulations. He notes the role digital twins and in-situ monitoring can play in assessing the integrity of parts, and expects to see these capabilities improve moving forward, but despite that, he doesn’t see a future whereby manufactured parts aren’t physical tested before shipment.
“As computer power grows, there’s no doubt we’re going to see more of that,” Campbell said. “But I think, certainly to some extent, that the final cross check will always end up being some form of testing – it might be educated by what you’ve seen in your models, but it will still involve some kind of quality test at the end.”
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