Pinnacle X-Ray Solutions calls it the PSX Macro CT.

Bart Prorok, professor of materials engineering, calls it the game-changer.

Auburn University’s Center for Additive Manufacturing acquired the $1.5 million X-ray CT through a 2016 grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. 

“In terms of this machine’s particular capabilities, we are probably very unique in the world,” Prorok said. “There are other units that have two X-ray guns inside, but they don’t handle the range of X-ray energies that we can handle.”

The PSX Macro CT’s customized digital radiology provides Auburn researchers unprecedented capability to monitor the quality of additively manufactured components not just after, but actually during fabrication. 

“Through this machine, NIST has helped us add yet another invaluable component to what we feel is one of the premier additive manufacturing programs in the world,” said Steve Taylor, associate dean for research in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering. 

The college has partnered with NIST, NASA, the U.S. Army, ASTM International and leaders throughout the aerospace and aviation industries to progress the development of standards and processes to bring additive manufacturing of mission-critical parts into commercial use.