Background

Intrepid Automation is blazing a trail in industrial-scale additive manufacturing systems for high volume production. They’re passionate about finding greener, faster, and more cost-effective solutions to their customers’ toughest problems. In pursuit of establishing 3D printing as the gold standard for automated production, they discovered Lumafield's industrial CT scanning technology as the perfect ally in their digital manufacturing process.

Ensure consistent accuracy

For Intrepid, the goal isn’t just accuracy; it’s repeatable accuracy. This means ensuring that the precision is consistent, whether it’s from ensuring the output of one machine or across machines at different facilities. Industrial CT addresses critical challenges in high-density printing by letting engineers see through individual components and check internal passages for accuracy. Automation plays a pivotal role in this process, ensuring end-to-end consistency as does the closed-loop manufacturing that Intrepid pioneers.

By measuring and feeding this quality data back into their processes, Intrepid can continually refine and enhance their output. Not only does accuracy in additive manufacturing result in superior parts, it also leads to less waste, underscoring Intrepid’s commitment to both quality and sustainability.

Lumafield’s technology enables us to stay competitive and repeatedly accurate in the aerospace, automotive, medical industries across machines and facilities. We can spot even the smallest discrepancies and feed that data back into the manufacturing process instantly with the Neptune scanner. This greatly improves our quality and accuracy which in turn creates better parts with far less waste.

          - Merrin Muxlow, Head of Marketing, Intrepid Automation

See how an Intrepid Automation 3D print becomes a metal knee implant in Scan of the Month.

Compare printed parts to design files

Intrepid harnesses the power of Voyager, Lumafield's browser-based analysis software, to delve deep into the internal structures of their parts, quantifying densities and cross-referencing them with the original design slices. This meticulous comparison between the printed part and the intended design is vital, especially when prototyping or testing compatibility with printers.

Industries with stringent regulations, such as aerospace, particularly benefit from this level of scrutiny. With Lumafield's technology, Intrepid can confidently assure that every aerospace part not only aligns with the design files but also rigorously meets exacting specifications throughout the course of a reliable production process.

With the Lumafield technology, we can inspect, measure, and analyze complex internal structures of the finished product slice by slice against the actual slice we told the printer to manufacture. This level of accuracy in inspection increases productivity when prototyping, testing, or troubleshooting and gives our customers in highly regulated industries like Aerospace confidence their part exactly meets their specifications.

          - Ben Wynne, CEO, Intrepid Automation

Fine-tune production

Integrating Lumafield's Neptune CT scanner has further optimized their quality control process, allowing for the delivery of parts to customers 3 to 10 times faster. This real-time data feedback closes the loop on quality and drives the innovation of producing millions of parts with unprecedented precision. Intrepid Automation and Lumafield are not only envisioning a new era in manufacturing but actively shaping it together.

With the Neptune scanner enhancing our automation and quality control, we can deliver more accurate products to customers 3-10x faster than our competitors, with data to confirm the part suits the need.

          - Merrin Muxlow, Head of Marketing, Intrepid Automation

Conclusion

The partnership between Intrepid's 3D printing expertise and Lumafield's cutting-edge inspection technology has opened the door to a future where industrial-scale production is seamless, accurate, and efficient. Intrepid's commitment to consistency ensures that every part they produce is identical, with customers reporting a remarkable 98% accuracy from design to end-use product. 

The Voyager platform enables Intrepid to show prospective customers that our machines do what we say. We can share actual scans on Voyager, not just screenshots. Our partners can explore, play with the scan, and see that our part will meet their needs. Voyager essentially democratizes data. It's a fantastic way to validate that a part meets requirements before we move into production. Voyager gives our customers confidence in the products we ship. It is the future of manufacturing.

          - Ben Wynne, CEO, Intrepid Automation

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