Three walk-throughs. All of them labelled scenarios.
Powdrix has no customer results yet, so this page does not pretend to. Each scenario describes a hypothetical machine or cell, what the agent would do at each autonomy level, and the metric table the pilot would fill in. When a design partner signs, the first real case study replaces the first scenario.
Illustrative scenario: PBF-2 · Ti-6Al-4V bracket family, 24-part build, 23 of 24 parts released, one held
Predicting lack of fusion on a metal PBF printer
A hypothetical laser powder-bed fusion printer running a qualified Ti-6Al-4V bracket family with existing coaxial melt-pool and layer cameras. Today in-situ data is reviewed after the build, if at all, and defects are found at CT.
What the agent would do
- Shadow mode. Meltrix fuses melt-pool video, photodiode and thermal streams at the printer edge and scores porosity, lack-of-fusion and keyhole risk per layer, per part, without writing anything.
- Assist mode. Meltrix flags precursors and proposes power or speed trims inside the qualified envelope; the AM process engineer approves each one, and predictions are checked against CT.
- Bounded autonomy. trims inside the envelope execute automatically over a few layers; anything that would leave the envelope goes to the engineer.
| Metric | How | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Prediction accuracy | precursors confirmed by CT, before and during | to be measured |
| Scrapped builds | per month on the machine | to be measured |
| Alert latency | p95 ms, against the 250 ms target | to be measured |
| Engineer review time | hours per build | to be measured |
No result is claimed. The metric table is what the pilot would record.
Triaging every CT volume on a qualified part family
A hypothetical inspection cell with a CT scanner and metrology on a medical-implant part family. Today CT is spot-checked on a sample and reviewed manually for hours, and the qualification packet is assembled by hand.
What the agent would do
- Shadow mode. Poroscan segments every volume for pores, cracks and lack of fusion on the cell's GPU server and compares against the inspector's grading, without affecting disposition.
- Assist mode. Poroscan proposes accept, reject or rework against the acceptance criteria and assembles the citable packet; the certification engineer signs off each part.
- Bounded autonomy. clear accepts inside the criteria pass with the sign-off recorded; indications and borderline parts always go to the inspector.
| Metric | How | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Triage time | minutes per volume, against the 15-minute target | to be measured |
| Detection agreement | with the inspector, per defect class | to be measured |
| Packet completeness | % of parts with a complete, cited packet | to be measured |
| Escapes | defects found later that triage missed | to be measured |
No result is claimed. The metric table is what the pilot would record.
Picking the recipe before the build on a new part family
A hypothetical aerospace floor introducing a new bracket family on an existing printer. Today the recipe is found through coupon campaigns and scrapped builds over several weeks.
What the agent would do
- Shadow mode. Parttwin simulates the engineer's chosen recipes for thermal field, stress and distortion and predicts density and geometry, and the predictions are compared against the real builds and CT.
- Assist mode. Parttwin ranks candidate orientation, support and parameter recipes against density, geometry and takt and proposes the winner; the engineer releases it inside the envelope.
- Bounded autonomy. validated recipes for the part family are released by Prep-and-Parameter inside the envelope, with any new parameter going to the engineer.
| Metric | How | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Coupon builds | per new part family, before and during | to be measured |
| Prediction error | distortion and density, twin versus metrology and CT | to be measured |
| Ramp scrap | builds scrapped before the recipe is stable | to be measured |
| Time to validated recipe | days | to be measured |
No result is claimed. The metric table is what the pilot would record.
The reference scenario, step by step
Every Powdrix run is an ordered, inspectable sequence. This is run_7c2e4b on PBF-2 · Ti-6Al-4V bracket family, 24-part build. Scenario completes in 10 steps with one approval gate. Twin recipe #14 selected, one lack-of-fusion precursor at layer 1,872 cleared by a bounded power trim, CT triage in 11 minutes, 23 of 24 parts released with full genealogy and one held for review.
-
01
ingest.job
SUCCEEDED
0.7 s
Floor Orchestrator · Pulled the job from AM MES: 24 Ti-6Al-4V brackets, 60 µm layers, 3,140 layers, density target 99.7%, geometry tolerance ±0.10 mm, AS9100 evidence packet required. Locked the OEM-approved parameter envelope for PBF-2.
-
02
twin.simulate
SUCCEEDED
6 m 12 s
Part Twin · Simulated 40 candidate orientation, support and parameter recipes for thermal field, residual stress and distortion, ranked on predicted density, geometry deviation, takt and energy.
-
03
prep.release
SUCCEEDED
48 s
Prep-and-Parameter · Recipe #14 released: 32° orientation, lattice supports on two faces, laser power and speed inside the qualified envelope. Predicted distortion 0.06 mm, predicted density 99.8%.
-
04
recoat.check
SUCCEEDED
continuous
Recoat-and-Powder · Recoater image checked every layer. Powder lot L-2291 on its third reuse, humidity in window. One short-feed at layer 412 corrected with a dosing increase before the next layer fused.
-
05
melt.stabilise
SUCCEEDED
continuous
Melt-and-Layer · Melt-pool, photodiode and thermal streams fused at 120 fps. Lack-of-fusion risk rose to 0.61 on part 17 at layer 1,872 and was cleared by a 3% power trim inside the envelope within four layers.
-
06
thermal.compensate
SUCCEEDED
2 m 04 s
Thermal-and-Distortion · Interlayer temperature on the tall brackets ran 14 °C above the twin's prediction from layer 2,300. A 1.5 s interlayer dwell held the thermal field inside the predicted band through the top section.
-
07
approve.human
APPROVAL
4 m 30 s
Floor Orchestrator · Melt-and-Layer proposed a hatch-spacing change on part 17 beyond the qualified envelope. Held for the AM process engineer, who declined it and chose to flag part 17 for CT priority instead. Decision logged.
-
08
handle.depowder
SUCCEEDED
38 m
Robot-and-Handling · Plate unloaded by the handling cell on build complete, depowdered, and parts transferred to stress relief. Powder returned to the sieve with lot L-2291 reuse count incremented in genealogy.
-
09
inspect.ct
SUCCEEDED
11 m
Defect-and-Inspect · 24 CT volumes segmented for pores, cracks and lack of fusion in 11 minutes. 23 parts graded accept against the acceptance criteria. Part 17 shows a 180 µm indication at layer 1,870 and is routed to the inspector for disposition.
-
10
release.qualify
SUCCEEDED
1 m 20 s
Quality-and-Conformance · 23 parts released with the full genealogy: recipe, layer tags, melt-pool events, thermal trace, approvals, post-processing cycles and CT result. Part 17 held with a non-conformance opened. Evidence packet assembled for sign-off.
The agent shows its work
Every tool invocation, argument and result is written to an append-only, human-readable log, and every reasoning step is expandable. Nothing about a build is hidden from the floor or from the certification engineer.
- 05:10:04mes.read_job({ printer: "PBF-2", job: "J-4471" })
- 05:10:05ok 24 parts · Ti-6Al-4V · 3,140 layers · envelope locked
- 05:10:05twin.simulate({ candidates: 40, targets: ["density", "geometry", "takt"] })
- 05:16:17ok best recipe #14 · distortion 0.06 mm · density 99.8% · takt 31.2 h
- 05:16:18policy.evaluate({ recipe: 14, autonomy: "L3" })
- 05:16:18ok recipe inside envelope · 6 bounded writes permitted
- 05:16:19printer.release_recipe({ id: 14, orientation: 32, supports: "lattice" })
- 05:17:07ok build started · layer 1 of 3,140
- 06:02:40recoat: short feed at layer 412 · dosing +4% applied
- 13:48:11precursor: lack-of-fusion risk 0.61 · part 17 · layer 1,872
- 13:48:12printer.trim_power({ part: 17, delta: "-3%", layers: 4 })
- 13:49:03ok risk 0.61 → 0.08 · pool stable
- 13:49:04approval.request({ action: "hatch_change", part: 17 })
- 13:53:34ok declined by AM process engineer · part 17 flagged CT priority
- 18:21:50printer.set_dwell({ interlayer: "+1.5 s", from_layer: 2300 })
- 18:23:54ok thermal field inside predicted band
- 12:20:30isaac.plan_grasp({ task: "unload_plate", cell: "RC-1" })
- 12:58:30ok depowdered · 24 parts to stress relief · lot L-2291 reuse 4
- 14:05:02ct.segment({ volumes: 24, criteria: "BRK-TI-A" })
- 14:16:02ok 23 accept · 1 indication 180 µm · part 17 → inspector
- 14:16:03packet.sign({ job: "J-4471", parts: 23, hold: [17] })
- 14:17:23ok scenario complete · 23 released · 1 NCR opened
Reasoning trace
Plan, thought, action, observation, exactly as the orchestrator would record it.
GoalRun job J-4471, 24 Ti-6Al-4V brackets on PBF-2, to 99.7% densi…
Run job J-4471, 24 Ti-6Al-4V brackets on PBF-2, to 99.7% density and ±0.10 mm, with an AS9100 evidence packet on every released part.
PlanSimulate the recipe on the twin first. Release only inside the…
Simulate the recipe on the twin first. Release only inside the qualified envelope. Watch recoat and melt pool every layer, compensate thermally against the twin, and route anything outside the envelope to the process engineer. Triage every part by CT before release.
ThoughtThree candidate recipes beat #14 on takt but predicted distort…
Three candidate recipes beat #14 on takt but predicted distortion above 0.08 mm on the tall brackets. Takt is not worth a geometry failure on a qualified part family. Recipe #14 wins on the stated targets.
Actiontwin.simulate(candidates=40) returns recipe #14: 32° orientati…
twin.simulate(candidates=40) returns recipe #14: 32° orientation, lattice supports, power and speed inside the envelope, predicted distortion 0.06 mm.
ObservationLack-of-fusion risk 0.61 on part 17 at layer 1,872. A 3% power…
Lack-of-fusion risk 0.61 on part 17 at layer 1,872. A 3% power trim, inside the envelope, clears it in four layers. The proposed hatch change would leave the envelope, so it goes to a human and is declined.
ActionFlag part 17 for CT priority. Hold interlayer dwell at +1.5 s …
Flag part 17 for CT priority. Hold interlayer dwell at +1.5 s from layer 2,300 to keep the thermal field inside the twin's band.
ObservationCT confirms a 180 µm indication on part 17 at layer 1,870, two…
CT confirms a 180 µm indication on part 17 at layer 1,870, two layers below the precursor. The other 23 parts grade accept. The precursor, the action and the CT result are now one linked record.
OutcomeScenario complete. 23 parts released with full genealogy, part…
Scenario complete. 23 parts released with full genealogy, part 17 held with a non-conformance, CT triage in 11 minutes, no unapproved parameter left the envelope.
Four levels, set per agent and per machine
A qualified floor does not go from manual to unattended in one step. Powdrix makes the level explicit, auditable and reversible at any time, and human approval for anything that affects qualification stays mandatory until validation exists. The first release runs shadow mode, then assist mode, then graduated autonomy.
| Level | What the agent does | What the human does | Where it sits in a pilot |
|---|---|---|---|
| L1 · Advisory | Predicts and recommends, with citations; nothing is written | Enters every change manually | Shadow mode on one machine, first weeks of a pilot |
| L2 · Supervised | Proposes a parameter, thermal or inspection move; it executes on approval | Approves each move in the review console | Assist mode once accuracy is measured against CT |
| L3 · Bounded | Writes inside the OEM-approved parameter envelope and per-tag limits | Approves anything that leaves the envelope or affects qualification | Graduated autonomy on low-risk loops, if the floor is satisfied |
| L4 · Unattended | Runs the envelope without prompting | Sets the envelope; reviews the shift record | Planned; only after validation on the part family |
Straight answers
The questions operations directors, process engineers and certification engineers ask in the first meeting.
Only inside the OEM-approved parameter envelope, only on an explicit allow-list with per-tag limits, and only at the autonomy level your floor has set. Level 1 is advisory: Powdrix predicts and recommends and a human enters everything. Design partners start there, in shadow mode. Anything that leaves the envelope or affects qualification always waits for a named approver.
Control returns to the printer's own controller and the standing recipe. Powdrix is a supervisory layer on top of the machine controls, monitoring systems and MES you already run, never a replacement for them, so an outage degrades the floor to its current way of running, not to a stop.
Advisory recommendations start from the twin's physics and the part spec in the first weeks. Defect and build-failure prediction improve as layers, CT results and engineer corrections accumulate per part family. The first models are trained on existing in-situ camera data; synthetic rare-defect scenarios augment them only after validation against real CT.
Only if you choose cloud training. Parameter sets, geometry, defect libraries and process memory are isolated per tenant and never used to train another customer's models. Cross-customer learning is federated and IP-isolated and waits on written data agreements. A fully on-prem deployment is available for sensitive producers.
It is designed not to. Validated parameters never change without the sign-off your quality system requires, model changes go through change control, and every action carries model version, data lineage, approval status and qualification impact in the audit log. Powdrix does not claim AS9100 or ISO 13485 certification; assurance packages are planned for the 6 to 12 month release.
You are, as with any process change, which is why every write is policy-checked, bounded, logged and reversible, and why anything that affects qualification waits for a named approver. The audit log records the request, the reasoning, the limits applied and the human decision.
Make the first scenario real
Start with one printer or one inspection cell and one measurable baseline. A paid pilot on melt-pool and build-failure prediction, CT porosity triage or pre-build recipe optimisation shows the number before you commit further.