Melotte Partners with amsight and Additive Center to Reduce CT Scanning for 3D Printed Semiconductor Parts

The additive manufacturing industry has long discussed data-driven production, but a new partnership is moving from theory to practice. Dutch service bureau Melotte, German software provider amsight, and Dutch consultancy Additive Center have implemented a comprehensive data capturing system at Melotte Netherlands facility that tracks every step of the metal 3D printing process.

End-to-End Process Tracing

The system enables Melotte to trace the entire print process, from materials through final inspection. According to the companies, this meticulous tracing has achieved a significant milestone: reducing the need for CT scanning a costly and time-consuming quality control method traditionally required for critical semiconductor components.

The industry often mistakes machine monitoring for process control. What we have achieved with Melotte and amsight is the integration of the total process. We are not just looking at the laser; we are looking at the entire lifecycle of the part. This is the first step towards increasing process understanding and thus reducing the use of CT scanning, said Harry Kleijnen of Additive Center.

Why This Matters for Semiconductors

The semiconductor capital equipment semicap industry represents a significant opportunity for additive manufacturing. Companies like ASML the crucial link in the global semiconductor supply chain have been using metal AM for over a decade. However, quality assurance remains expensive and time-intensive.

By implementing comprehensive data capture throughout the production process, Melotte can now offer semicap manufacturers a more efficient path to scaling metal AM adoption. The system is already operational and being used to streamline print processes for semiconductor components.

The partners plan to follow up on this first phase by leveraging the collected data to create a set of Critical-to-Quality CTQ parameters specific variables that determine whether a part meets the stringent requirements of semiconductor manufacturing.

The Bigger Picture

This development represents a shift from reactive inspection-based quality control to proactive data-driven quality assurance. As the AI boom continues to drive semiconductor demand, manufacturers need flexible production strategies and additive manufacturing with intelligent quality systems could be the answer.