Of course, we will take your OPC-UA compatible API's but we realize that most OEMs don't have those, so what we need from a technical standpoint is fairly simple. Most manufacturers have some kind of software tool that customers use to prepare jobs and send them to the printer and monitor the progress of jobs as they are processing. This software usually works over a local network. We just need some of the technical specifications on the protocol that is used by the OEM software so that we can update our software to understand how to query the printer for its current status and interpret the response. In some situations, if the software is sufficiently modular we can reuse one or more dynamic libraries that ships with the OEM software. Otherwise, a few conversations with a software engineer that is familiar with the communications protocols is usually enough for us to start building support.
We will take as much data as you will give us, but must have's (for metal) are marked in Bold with *. The list is optimized for metal, but can serve as a guide for other processes. The optional data is just intended as a guide. Again: we will take as much data as you will give us.
Static information
Information about the printer, such as serial number and/or name
Location
Software version of printer
Maintenance Information
Max build volume
Recoater distance
Dynamic Print Information:
Current status of printer (detailed, not simply printing/idle: re-coating, heating, cooling down, exposure, and other stati requested)*
Names of designs being printed*
Any unique identifiers of the print (Job ID, for example)*
Estimated total print time*
Estimated time to completion*
Start time (time zone if applicable)*
Current print height
Current layer # being printed*
Target height/layer of print job*
Amount of material used*
Information about the ongoing print, content, status, duration, actual material amount used, expected completion time and all other operational details
Dynamic Printer (Efficiency) Information:
Any error messages*
Laser output
Oxygen levels measured
Temperature in build chamber
Layer Re-coating Time
Layer Height
Inert gas consumption
Material Name
Quality Assurance:
Laser Power
Material information
Melt Pool Analysis Data
Where applicable, timestamps and print associations (which part specific data is associated with)
We also appreciate continued commitment to support development by providing documentation, support, and extensions to the API where necessary is also required. Marketing and distribution collaboration are optional but appreciated.
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