Device for selecting additive manufacturing companies and method for selecting additive manufacturing companies

Abstract

To provide an additional molding treatment system, an additional molding entrepreneur selection method and an apparatus therefor for proposing a candidate molding entrepreneur from desired quality confirmation items when an additional molded object is requested to a molding entrepreneur and quality confirmation is executed with monitoring data.SOLUTION: An additional molding treatment system includes a front step for delivering a molded object after quality confirmation to a client and determining a molding entrepreneur using request specifications of molding from the client of molding. In the front step, a molding entrepreneur is extracted which is provided with a molding facility database holding molding facility data held by a molding entrepreneur and a molding monitoring device database holding molding monitoring device data held by a molding entrepreneur, the molding entrepreneur holding a production facility capable of producing a molded object shown by the request specifications in reference to the production facility database using the request specifications, and also holding a monitoring device capable of confirming quality shown by the request specifications in reference to the molding monitoring device database using the request specifications.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an additive manufacturing processing system, an additive manufacturing contractor selection device, and a method for selecting an additive manufacturing contractor.

Background Art

[0002] Additive manufacturing is used for rapid prototyping of aftermarket parts, molds, and special machine parts. In additive manufacturing, mainly the manufacturer designs, and the manufacturing contractor is responsible for designing the manufacturing recipe and manufacturing. The completed additive manufactured product is inspected for quality by the manufacturing contractor or the manufacturer and then applied to the equipment. However, since the design and quality inspection are divided between the manufacturer and the additive manufacturing contractor, it is difficult to improve the quality and yield by integrating design, manufacturing recipe design, manufacturing, and quality.

[0003] Regarding this point, for example, Patent Document 1 states that it is possible to provide an additive manufactured part that meets the requirements and appropriately select a contractor.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] Managing additive manufacturing processes requires expertise, making it difficult for clients to handle all aspects of design, including design, molding recipe design, manufacturing, and quality control. Outsourcing design, molding recipe design, manufacturing, and quality control to a third party allows for efficient production of additive manufacturing. However, recent advancements in 3D printing equipment make it impractical for companies to invest in their own equipment. On the other hand, outsourcing only the manufacturing process to a third party results in the additive manufacturing product being sent to the manufacturer for quality control, leading to increased lead times.

[0006] Attempts are being made to monitor additive manufacturing processes during the manufacturing process and estimate their quality. Quality estimation using monitoring data allows for analysis based solely on data transmission, without the need to send the actual additive-built part, thus potentially shortening delivery times. However, the monitoring targets for additive manufacturing vary widely, including infrared, visible light, and acoustics, and each monitoring device has different sampling rates and resolutions. Therefore, if a client wishes to perform quality verification using monitoring data, they need to select appropriate monitoring targets and equipment.

[0007] Therefore, the present invention aims to provide an additive manufacturing processing system, an additive manufacturing business selection device, and a method that propose candidate manufacturing businesses based on desired quality confirmation items when an additive manufacturing business is commissioned to manufacture additive-formed objects and quality confirmation is performed using monitoring data. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] Based on the above, the present invention is an additive manufacturing processing system that includes a front-end process for determining a manufacturing business operator using the manufacturing requirements specifications from the client, a design process for carrying out design according to the manufacturing requirements specifications, a manufacturing recipe generation process for setting manufacturing conditions so that the model data created in the design process becomes a manufactured object that satisfies the client's requirements, a manufacturing process for carrying out manufacturing by the manufacturing business operator determined in the front-end process, and a quality evaluation process for evaluating the quality of the manufactured object using monitoring data of the manufactured object produced in the manufacturing process, and delivers the manufactured object to the client after quality confirmation. Furthermore, the front-end process includes a manufacturing equipment database that holds data on the manufacturing equipment owned by the manufacturing business operator and a manufacturing monitoring equipment database that holds data on the manufacturing monitoring equipment owned by the manufacturing business operator, and is characterized by extracting manufacturing business operators that possess manufacturing equipment capable of producing the manufactured object indicated by the requirements specifications by referring to the manufacturing equipment database using the requirements specifications, and that possess monitoring equipment capable of confirming the quality indicated by the requirements specifications by referring to the manufacturing monitoring equipment database using the requirements specifications.

[0009] Furthermore, the present invention is defined as "an additional manufacturing business selection device comprising a manufacturing equipment database that holds data on manufacturing equipment owned by manufacturing businesses, a manufacturing monitoring equipment database that holds data on manufacturing monitoring equipment owned by manufacturing businesses, and a computer, wherein the computer extracts manufacturing businesses that possess manufacturing equipment capable of producing the object specified in the manufacturing equipment database by referring to the manufacturing equipment database using the manufacturing requirements specifications from the manufacturing requester, and that possess monitoring equipment capable of confirming the quality specified in the manufacturing requirements specifications by referring to the manufacturing monitoring equipment database using the manufacturing requirements specifications."

[0010] Furthermore, the present invention includes "a front-end process of determining a manufacturing company using the manufacturing requirements specifications from the client, a design process of carrying out design according to the manufacturing requirements specifications, a manufacturing recipe generation process of setting manufacturing conditions so that the model data created in the design process becomes a manufactured object that satisfies the client's requirements, a manufacturing process in which the manufacturing company determined in the front-end process carries out manufacturing, and a quality evaluation process of evaluating the quality of the manufactured object using monitoring data of the manufactured object produced in the manufacturing process, and delivering the manufactured object to the client after quality confirmation, and the front-end process is characterized by extracting a manufacturing company that has manufacturing equipment capable of producing the manufactured object indicated by the requirements specifications and has monitoring equipment capable of confirming the quality indicated by the requirements specifications using the requirements specifications."

[0011] Furthermore, the present invention is defined as "a method for selecting an additive manufacturing company, characterized by using a computer to extract manufacturing companies that possess manufacturing equipment capable of producing the object specified in the manufacturing requirements provided by the client, and that possess monitoring equipment capable of verifying the quality specified in the manufacturing requirements." [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the present invention, for example, when ordering additive-molded products, it is possible to provide an additive-molding processing system, an additive-molding business selection method, and an apparatus that support the selection of a manufacturing business that meets the desired quality confirmation items. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0013] [Figure 1] A figure showing an example of an additive manufacturing process system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] A diagram illustrating an example of an additive manufacturing business selection method and apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0014] The embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein, and it is possible to combine it with prior art or improve upon it without departing from the technical spirit of the invention.

[0015] Example 1 describes the overall flow of the molding process, Example 2 describes the front-end process, and Example 3 describes the desirable quality items to be checked for the molded product. [Examples]

[0016] Example 1 describes the overall flow of the molding process (additive manufacturing system). Figure 1 shows an example of an additive manufacturing system (molding platform) according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0017] This section describes a series of processing steps S from the time client 10 requests the creation of an additive-type object, through quality confirmation via monitoring, until the final deliverable, the additive-type object, is delivered by the manufacturing company 20. These processing steps S consist of the front-end process S1, the design process S2, the manufacturing recipe generation process S3, the manufacturing process S4, and the quality evaluation process S5.

[0018] However, when the client 10 requests the manufacture of an add-on object, it has not yet decided which of the many manufacturing companies 20 it would be appropriate to commission the manufacture to. For this reason, the embodiment of the present invention is characterized by having a front process S1 for selecting a manufacturer at the beginning of the series of processing steps S.

[0019] Furthermore, the molding process S4 itself is performed by the molding company 20. The other processes SP (front-end process S1, design process S2, molding recipe generation process S3, quality evaluation process S5) may be handled by individual companies, but it is preferable that the molding platform company 30, which acts as an intermediary between the client 10 and the molding company 20, handles the other processes SP consistently.

[0020] In the following description of the embodiments of the present invention, the details of each processing step will be described with the response of the shaping platform operator 30 in mind.

[0021] In the front process S1, when the requester 10 requests the production of an additional shaped object, it has a function of determining a suitable shaping operator 20 for shaping, organizing the requirements of the requester 10, searching for similar cases according to the requirements specification of the requester 10, and showing an additional shaping example. Also, in the design process S2 described below, when it is difficult to perform additional shaping according to customer requirements, etc., it has a function of sharing procurement issues and manufacturing issues with the customer for information.

[0022] Thereby, after the design process S2 is completed, the shaping device can be determined from the shaping dimensions and materials determined in the design process S2, the order receiving status, the equipment possessed by the cooperating shaping operator 20, and the equipment operation status, and the delivery date response can be made. Also, by allowing the shaping operator 20 to arbitrarily register the shaping ability (shaping size, shaping material type, etc.) in the front process S1, the shaping requester (shaping operator 20) can be increased. Also, cost analysis can be performed from the design information and the requester information, and an estimate can be created.

[0023] In the design process S2, a suitable design is implemented according to the requirements specification. From the overhang angle, dimensions, internal structure, etc. of the completed shaping drawing, it is judged whether the designed shaping shape can be shaped. If it is judged that shaping is impossible, it is sent back to the front process S1, and the requirements specification is readjusted with the customer (requester 10). When it is judged that the designed shaping shape can be shaped, the material according to the customer requirements (strength, specific gravity, corrosion resistance, surface roughness, etc.) and the subsequent processes (cutting, surface treatment) are determined. In additional shaping, the placement of supports, etc. is also considered in the design considering deformation and heat during shaping. The shaping device is determined according to the shaping size and shaping material. The shaping posture, support, and number of shapes are set according to the shaping ability of the shaping device. The completed 3D model data is sent to the shaping recipe process S3 by 3D CAD data or the like.

[0024] In the molding recipe generation process S3, molding conditions are set so that the 3D model data created in the design process S2 becomes an additive manufacturing object that satisfies customer requirements. The quality of the additive manufacturing object varies depending on the molding conditions. Quality includes not only the characteristics of the additive manufacturing object, but also the presence or absence of heterogeneous parts such as defects and unique metallic structures that occur during molding (pores, cracks, structural abnormalities, and geometric abnormalities). When a molding platform provider 30 is applied, the processes up to this point are consistently executed by the molding platform provider 30, and the determined design specifications are passed on to the determined molding provider 20.

[0025] In the manufacturing process S4 at the manufacturing company 20, additive manufacturing is performed based on the 3D model data completed in the design process S2 and the manufacturing recipe completed in the manufacturing recipe generation process S3. Additive manufacturing is commissioned to the manufacturing company 20 selected in the front process S1. The manufacturing company 20 acquires monitoring data DM during additive manufacturing. Examples of monitoring data DM include data DM1 from visible light monitoring, data DM2 from electromagnetic wave monitoring, and data DM3 from acoustic monitoring.

[0026] When the molding platform provider 30 is applied, monitoring data DM is passed from the molding provider 20 to the molding platform provider 30, and the quality evaluation process S5 is performed. In the quality evaluation process S5, defect information of the added part is output from the monitoring data DM obtained in the molding process S4, and the quality of the added part is determined from the output results. The quality determination can be arbitrarily set for defect rate, defect size, density, defect location, number density of inclusions, material properties, etc. The quality determination described here may be performed after molding or simultaneously with molding. Furthermore, the results of the quality evaluation process may be fed back into the molding recipe generation process, and a new molding recipe may be created in the molding recipe generation process. Alternatively, the results of the quality evaluation process may be fed back into the design process, and a new design may be created in the design process.

[0027] Next, the printing platform operator 30 evaluates the quality of the additive-type object created by the printing operator 20 based on the monitoring data DM provided by the printing operator 20, and presents the quality information to the client 10 in order to obtain the client's approval. If approval is obtained, the printing operator 20 delivers the additive-type object to the client 10.

[0028] The above is the overall flow of the molding process shown in Figure 1, and the embodiment of the present invention is characterized by the inclusion of a front process S1. By including a front process S1, when requesting the addition of molded parts from a molding company 20 and performing quality checks using monitoring data DM, it is possible to propose candidate molding companies 20 based on the desired quality check items. [Examples]

[0029] Example 2 describes the selection of an additive manufacturing company, which is the process of the front-end step S1. In selecting the manufacturing company 20, one point to consider is whether the manufacturing company 20 has the equipment and capabilities to produce a product that satisfies the specifications required by the client 10. Another point is whether the company has a system in place (equipped with monitoring equipment) to objectively guarantee the quality of the additive manufactured product and to provide sufficient background data (monitoring data DM) to satisfy the client 10.

[0030] Figure 2 shows the equipment and workflow for selecting an additive manufacturing business operator according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. In Figure 2, 100 is an additive manufacturing business operator selection device that receives input from the input unit 200 and displays the processing results etc. on the display unit 300 as appropriate.

[0031] The additive manufacturing business selection device 100 has two pre-created databases DB. One is the manufacturing equipment database DB1, which holds data on the manufacturing equipment owned by the manufacturing business 20, and the other is the manufacturing monitoring equipment database DB2, which holds data on the manufacturing monitoring equipment owned by the manufacturing business 20.

[0032] The processing using the additive manufacturing business selection device 100 has the above-mentioned manufacturing equipment data and manufacturing monitoring equipment data stored in advance. Based on this, the requirements of the client 10 are compiled into a first requirements specification and a second requirements specification.

[0033] First, in the molding information input process S11, based on the information from the molding requester 10, molding data D1A, including the shape, size, and material of the desired molded object, is input from the input unit 200 as the first requirement specification. In addition, the quality items to be checked for the molded object are input as quality item data D1B as the second requirement specification.

[0034] Next, in the molding equipment information output process S12, the molding data D1A obtained in the molding information input process S1 is compared with the molding equipment database DB1, which is a database of the molding capabilities of each molding company 20, and molding machine information D2 related to molding machines capable of producing the desired product is output.

[0035] In the molding monitoring equipment information output process S13, the quality item data D1B obtained in the molding information input process S11 is compared with the molding monitoring equipment database DB2, and molding monitoring equipment information D3 related to the molding monitoring equipment from which the desired quality item information can be obtained is output. The molding monitoring equipment database DB2 is a database of the capabilities of the molding monitoring equipment owned by each molding business operator 20, and further, the molding monitoring equipment is associated with quality items.

[0036] Next, in the manufacturing business selection process S14, the manufacturing business information D4 of manufacturers that own the manufacturing machines output in the manufacturing equipment information output process S12 is extracted by referring to the manufacturing equipment database DB1, and the manufacturing business information D4 of manufacturers that own the manufacturing monitoring equipment output in the manufacturing monitoring equipment information output process is extracted by referring to the manufacturing monitoring equipment database DB2, thereby identifying a manufacturing business 20 that owns both types of equipment and facilities.

[0037] Finally, in the information output process S15, the manufacturing company D4 obtained in the manufacturing company selection process S14 is output as a candidate for the manufacturing request.

[0038] Thus, the additive manufacturing business selection device 100 ultimately selects a business operator 20 that has the equipment and capabilities to produce a product that satisfies the specifications requested by the client 10, and that can objectively guarantee the quality of the additive manufactured product and provide sufficient background data (monitoring data DM) to satisfy the client 10. [Examples]

[0039] In Example 3, the desirable aspects of quality item data D1B, which should be checked for the molded object, are described below. Furthermore, desirable monitoring equipment and monitoring data are also described.

[0040] First, when setting quality criteria, heterogeneity related to quality should be considered. Quality includes not only the characteristics of the added material but also the presence or absence of heterogeneity, such as defects that occur during the manufacturing process or unique metallic structures. Here, heterogeneity is classified into four categories: pores, cracks, structural abnormalities, and geometric abnormalities.

[0041] Pores, which are heterogeneous regions, are caused by gases remaining in the added material during additive manufacturing. In gas atomization, which is used to manufacture metal powders, gas is used to produce the metal powder, so it is presumed that gas components remaining in the metal powder become pores in the added material. In addition, excessive heat input in additive manufacturing can cause pores in relation to metal melting phenomena such as Marangoni convection caused by changes in the surface tension of the molten pool, elemental evaporation, and keyhole formation. If the energy of the molten pool is insufficient, the powder particles cannot be melted, resulting in voids (LOF: Lack of Fusion) (hereinafter referred to as LOF). LOFs are usually irregular in shape and may contain unmelted powder.

[0042] Regarding cracks among the heterogeneous areas, fissures are also one of the defects that can occur in additively fabricated objects. These are the remnants of the aforementioned pores and LOF (Liquid Filtration) that appear as cracks. Furthermore, cracks can occur if there is a difference in the coefficient of thermal expansion between the substrate and the additively fabricated object, or if there is a large thermal gradient in the molten pool during the solidification process.

[0043] Next, we will discuss structural heterogeneity (anisotropy, inclusions) within the heterogeneous areas. Generally, changing the heat input during fabrication alters the microstructure of the added material. Changes in the temperature gradient of the molten pool alter the solidification rate, affecting the microstructure, such as the microstructure anisotropy of the added material. Furthermore, the atmosphere during fabrication and impurities in the metal powder, such as oxide formation by oxygen, also affect the microstructure. Changes in the microstructure directly lead to changes in the mechanical properties of the added material.

[0044] Finally, we will discuss geometric anomalies among the heterogeneous areas. Geometric anomalies relate to dimensional changes and surface roughness. They affect the stability of the melting point, and changes in the size and shape of the molten pool have a significant impact on dimensions and surface roughness. To minimize these geometric anomalies, a stable size and shape of the molten pool are required.

[0045] Since the pores (including LOF), cracks, structural abnormalities, and geometric abnormalities described above are all thought to be formed due to melting phenomena during additive manufacturing, it is possible to determine the quality of the additively manufactured object by monitoring information related to melting phenomena during additive manufacturing. Furthermore, it is thought that the occurrence of cracks can also be determined by acoustic sensors that capture the impact when cracks occur as sound.

[0046] Based on the above, it is best to consider the above points when determining the quality items to be checked for the fabricated object. Next, we will explain the desirable monitoring equipment and monitoring data DM. First, we will explain monitoring data DM. There are various methods for additive manufacturing. For example, there is the powder bed fusion method, in which a laser beam (L-PBF: Laser Powder Bed Fusion) or electron beam (EBM: Electron Beam Melting) is irradiated onto a flat layer of metal powder to perform additive manufacturing.

[0047] On the other hand, Directed Energy Deposition (EDD) is a method of additive manufacturing that involves extruding metal powder, and includes LMD (Laser Metal Deposition) and DMP (Direct Metal Printing). Here, we will describe the monitoring of the molten pool in L-PBF as a representative example.

[0048] In additive manufacturing, melting occurs due to laser irradiation, and the molten pool is influenced by the manufacturing parameters such as laser power and scan speed, as well as material properties such as the enthalpy required to melt the metal powder and the laser reflectivity.

[0049] One of the changes in the molten pool is its temperature, and by monitoring information related to the temperature change of the molten pool, the condition of the molten pool can be inferred. In L-PBF, electromagnetic waves such as reflected and scattered lasers and infrared rays depending on the temperature, as well as a plasma plume composed of ionized gas and metal vapor, are emitted from the molten pool. Since the electromagnetic waves and plasma plume emitted from the molten pool change depending on the state and temperature of the molten pool, they serve as important indicators for capturing the formation of various defects related to the melting phenomenon and determining quality.

[0050] To obtain the above monitoring data DM, appropriate monitoring equipment is necessary. Common monitoring equipment in additive manufacturing includes visible light monitoring, electromagnetic wave monitoring, and acoustic monitoring. Here, we will explain electromagnetic wave monitoring in detail.

[0051] Electromagnetic wave monitoring primarily involves observing infrared radiation (wavelengths 700 nm and above), whose intensity changes with temperature. Methods include optical tomography (OT), photodiodes, two-color thermometers, thermography, and spectrometers. While photodiodes and two-color thermometers, used for detailed observation of melt pools (melt pool monitoring), lack spatial resolution, their spatial relationship can be determined by measuring them coaxially with the laser and comparing them to a set laser irradiation pattern. In addition to thermal radiation from the melt pool, reflection and scattering of laser light must also be considered; however, generally, only the desired wavelength is observed using a spectral filter.

[0052] OT and thermography using CCD or CMOS cameras have the characteristic of having spatial resolution. Therefore, in addition to measurement methods where the camera is installed coaxially with the laser, it is possible to monitor the entire build area from above the build chamber, etc. (hereinafter referred to as non-coaxial). Also, similar to the photodiodes mentioned above, the wavelength range to be observed is selected using a spectral filter.

[0053] In this way, electromagnetic wave monitoring in coaxial and non-coaxial directions during additive manufacturing makes it possible to observe information related to melting. Since changes in the molten pool (temperature, convection, size, melting depth, etc.) are related to defect formation, the location of defects can be inferred by analyzing the relationship between defects formed in the additively manufactured object and electromagnetic wave monitoring.

[0054] Each monitoring device has different wavelengths, sampling rates, and resolutions, and the installation location of the monitoring device varies depending on the 3D printer. Therefore, if you have specific quality items you want to check using electromagnetic wave monitoring, it is important to commission a 3D printer that has the appropriate monitoring equipment for those quality items.

[0055] Therefore, in order to verify the quality of the manufactured product, it is necessary to possess monitoring equipment capable of providing the above-mentioned monitoring data. It is a requirement for manufacturers of manufactured products to possess equipment capable of producing add-on structures that meet product specifications, as well as monitoring equipment capable of providing monitoring data that can prove their quality.

[0056] Furthermore, considering the above, in the front process S1 of Figure 1, it is best for the client 10 to specifically specify the dimensions and material type of the added object as the desired added object information. It is also best to specifically specify the characteristics of the added object and the types of heterogeneous parts such as defects and unique metallic structures that occur during the manufacturing process as the desired object quality. These heterogeneous parts include pores, cracks, structural abnormalities, and geometric abnormalities.

[0057] Based on these specific specifications, in the front-end process S1, an additive manufacturing machine is selected from the manufacturing capacity of the manufacturing equipment database DB1 based on the input information about the additive manufactured object. Subsequently, a manufacturing monitoring device corresponding to the desired additive manufactured object quality information is selected from the association between the input desired additive manufactured object quality information and the manufacturing monitoring device / quality items in the manufacturing monitoring device information database DB2. A manufacturing service provider with equipment consisting of the manufacturing device and manufacturing monitoring device selected up to this point is selected, and the client can receive the manufacturing information. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0058] 10: Client 20: Modeling business operator 30: Modeling platform operators 100: Additive Manufacturing Business Selection Device 200: Input section 300: Display section DB1: Manufacturing Equipment Database DB2: Database of Modeling Monitoring Equipment S: Processing process S1: Front process S2: Design process S3: Modeling recipe generation process S4: Molding process S5: Quality evaluation process

Claims

1. A database of manufacturing equipment that holds data on manufacturing equipment owned by manufacturing companies, A database of printing monitoring equipment that holds data from printing monitoring equipment owned by the aforementioned printing business operator, Equipped with a computer, The aforementioned computer is The front-end process involves selecting and proposing a manufacturing company based on the manufacturing requirements specified by the client, A design process in which the design is carried out in accordance with the aforementioned required specifications for the molding, A molding recipe generation process in which molding conditions are set so that the model data created in the design process becomes a molded object that satisfies the client's requirements, A quality evaluation step is performed in which the quality of the molded object is evaluated based on the quality items included in the requirements specification using monitoring data of the molded object manufactured by the aforementioned molding business operator. The results of the quality evaluation step can be fed back to the molding recipe generation step, and a new molding recipe can be created in the molding recipe generation step based on the results of the quality evaluation step. An additive manufacturing business selection device characterized in that the manufacturing business proposed in the front process possesses manufacturing equipment capable of producing the object specified in the requirements specification by referring to the manufacturing equipment database, possesses monitoring equipment capable of confirming the quality specified in the requirements specification by referring to the manufacturing monitoring equipment database, and the results of the quality evaluation process are capable of providing a product that satisfies the standards corresponding to the quality items included in the requirements specification.

2. A database of manufacturing equipment that holds data on manufacturing equipment owned by manufacturing companies, A database of printing monitoring equipment that holds data from printing monitoring equipment owned by the aforementioned printing business operator, Equipped with a computer, The aforementioned computer is The front-end process involves selecting and proposing a manufacturing company based on the manufacturing requirements specified by the client, A design process in which the design is carried out in accordance with the aforementioned required specifications for the molding, A molding recipe generation process in which molding conditions are set so that the model data created in the design process becomes a molded object that satisfies the client's requirements, A quality evaluation step is performed in which the quality of the molded object is evaluated based on the quality items included in the requirements specification using monitoring data of the molded object manufactured by the aforementioned molding business operator. The results of the quality evaluation process can be fed back into the design process, and a new design can be created in the design process based on the results of the quality evaluation process. An additive manufacturing business selection device characterized in that the manufacturing business proposed in the front process possesses manufacturing equipment capable of producing the object specified in the requirements specification by referring to the manufacturing equipment database, possesses monitoring equipment capable of confirming the quality specified in the requirements specification by referring to the manufacturing monitoring equipment database, and the results of the quality evaluation process are capable of providing a product that satisfies the standards corresponding to the quality items included in the requirements specification.

3. An additive manufacturing business operator selection device according to claim 1 or 2, The aforementioned requirement specification includes, as a first requirement specification, molding data for the shape, size, and material of the desired molded object, and the first requirement specification is used to refer to the molding equipment database. This is an additional molding business selection device.

4. An additive manufacturing business operator selection device according to claim 1 or 2, The addition-processing business operator selection device is characterized in that the aforementioned requirement specification includes quality item data relating to the quality items to be confirmed for the molded object as a second requirement specification, and the second requirement specification refers to the molded object monitoring equipment database.

5. An additive manufacturing business operator selection device according to claim 1 or 2, The addition-processing business selection device is characterized in that the requirements specification includes, as a first requirements specification, the shape, size, and material data of the desired object, and the first requirements specification refers to the object manufacturing equipment database; and the requirements specification includes, as a second requirements specification, quality item data relating to the quality items to be checked for the object, and the second requirements specification refers to the object manufacturing monitoring equipment database.

6. The additive manufacturing business operator selection device according to claim 4, An additive manufacturing business selection device characterized in that the aforementioned quality items include at least one of the following: internal defect location, internal defect dimensions, density, and defect rate.

7. The additive manufacturing business operator selection device according to claim 4, An additive manufacturing business selection device characterized in that the aforementioned quality item includes at least one of dimensions and surface roughness.

8. The additive manufacturing business operator selection device according to claim 4, An additive manufacturing business selection apparatus characterized in that the aforementioned quality items include at least one of the following: microstructure (segregation, grain size, precipitate / crystallized number density, precipitate / crystallized size, crystal orientation), tensile properties, impact value, fatigue strength, and corrosion resistance.

9. A database of manufacturing equipment that holds data on manufacturing equipment owned by manufacturing companies, A database of printing monitoring equipment that holds data from printing monitoring equipment owned by the aforementioned printing business operator, A method for selecting an additive manufacturing business operator using a computer, The aforementioned computer performs a front-end process in which it determines and proposes a manufacturing company using the manufacturing requirements specifications from the client requesting the manufacturing, The computer performs a design process in which it performs a design according to the required specifications for the molding, The computer performs a molding recipe generation process in which it sets molding conditions so that the model data created in the design process becomes a molded object that satisfies the client's requirements, The computer includes a quality evaluation step in which it evaluates the quality of the molded object based on quality items included in the requirements specification using monitoring data of the molded object manufactured by the molded object business operator, The results of the quality evaluation step can be fed back to the molding recipe generation step, and a new molding recipe can be created in the molding recipe generation step based on the results of the quality evaluation step. A method for selecting an additive manufacturing business operator, characterized in that the manufacturing business operator proposed in the front-end process possesses manufacturing equipment capable of producing the object specified in the requirements specification by referring to the manufacturing equipment database, possesses monitoring equipment capable of confirming the quality specified in the requirements specification by referring to the manufacturing monitoring equipment database, and is capable of providing a product whose results in the quality evaluation process satisfy the standards corresponding to the quality items included in the requirements specification.

10. A database of manufacturing equipment that holds data on manufacturing equipment owned by manufacturing companies, A database of printing monitoring equipment that holds data from printing monitoring equipment owned by the aforementioned printing business operator, A method for selecting an additive manufacturing business operator using a computer, The aforementioned computer performs a front-end process in which it determines and proposes a manufacturing company using the manufacturing requirements specifications from the client requesting the manufacturing, The computer performs a design process in which it performs a design according to the required specifications for the molding, The computer performs a molding recipe generation process in which it sets molding conditions so that the model data created in the design process becomes a molded object that satisfies the client's requirements, The computer includes a quality evaluation step in which it evaluates the quality of the molded object based on quality items included in the requirements specification using monitoring data of the molded object manufactured by the molded object business operator, The results of the quality evaluation process can be fed back into the design process, and a new design can be created in the design process based on the results of the quality evaluation process. A method for selecting an additive manufacturing business operator, characterized in that the manufacturing business operator proposed in the front-end process possesses manufacturing equipment capable of producing the object specified in the requirements specification by referring to the manufacturing equipment database, possesses monitoring equipment capable of confirming the quality specified in the requirements specification by referring to the manufacturing monitoring equipment database, and is capable of providing a product whose results in the quality evaluation process satisfy the standards corresponding to the quality items included in the requirements specification.

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