Additive Manufacturing Power Consumption Measurement System

In the below linked Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects research paper published on the website Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange (TRACE), researchers from the University of Tennessee Knoxville, in conjunction with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF), use a Yokogawa Test&Measurement Clamp-On Power Meter to easily capture three-phase power data.

• Title: Additive Manufacturing Power Consumption Measurement System
• Authors: William P. McCullough, Robin Graves, Michel Hiseada, Christopher Webb
• Abstract: The Manufacturing Demonstration Facility has a need to better understand the power consumption of its metal additive manufacturing (AM) machines. With assistance from the University of Tennessee, the MDF hopes to increase its working knowledge of exactly how much power goes into the creation of any one additive manufacturing part. This project will provide the foundation for future studies that will analyze the power consumption and determine if there is any correlation between power consumption, energy efficiency, and the quality of the additive manufacturing process. The Project Team will carry out this project with funding from EPRI. To achieve this purpose, the Project Team will create a power consumption measurement system to observe the energy consumption factors and acquire and store data. The ARCAM, ExOne M-Flex, Renishaw and DM3D additive manufacturing machines at MDF were candidates for this project. Initial priority was given to the ExOne M-Flex machine. Later, the team has potential to analyze the data and determine if there are any correlations between the energy consumption and quality factors.

To access the full research paper, click here: Additive Manufacturing Power Consumption Measurement System