This startup aims to trigger nothing less than a small revolution with its product. One that is invisible yet whose potential lies in newly developed software that will optimize industrial 3D printing. “With our software, we significantly ease the lives of companies manufacturing via 3D printing,” promises amsight founder Tim Wischeropp. “On the one hand, we control the manufacturing processes so that less scrap is produced and companies can reduce their costs. On the other hand, they have a significantly reduced effort with their quality management. Until now, many have built their own quality management systems using Excel spreadsheets.” Tim Wischeropp and his team have been working on their idea for almost two and a half years. So far, everyone has limited vacations and breaks to the bare minimum.
It all started with metal powder
The reason why there are no standardized solutions for quality management in metal printing yet is quite simple. Metal 3D printing was only invented a few years ago—and it was invented in Germany. You have to imagine it like this: the components in the printer are created from the raw material, metal powder. “These processes are significantly more complex than classic manufacturing methods and therefore require supportive solutions in the form of intelligent software,” explains co-founder and CCO Peter Lindecke about their business idea. amsight stands for the combination of “Additive Manufacturing” (3D printing) and the term “Insights” (gaining insights). The software platform analyzes production data from industrial 3D printing processes using AI and statistical methods. Sources of errors are to be detected early, and production processes improved using data-driven insights.
The team is in place
The creative and local seedbed is at TU Hamburg, more precisely at the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Additive Manufacturing Technologies IAPT. In 2016, Tim and Peter met as colleagues at the Bergedorf institute. The former had already completed his studies, earned a doctorate, and worked as a department head. Peter came to Hamburg for his master’s thesis and started his professional career there as a group leader. Since then, the two have been a close-knit team. “We know how the other thinks and works, and we can rely on each other.”
As their business idea took more concrete shape, they quickly realized they needed help. The two engineers recognized the gap they wanted to fill with software that monitors and controls printing processes—but they lacked programming expertise. “We realized that with a suitable software solution, we could capture the complexity of 3D printing,” says Peter Lindecke. After starting development of a first prototype—still at Fraunhofer IAPT—Raoul Dittmann joined them as a working student in 2019 and stayed. The software developer and TU Hamburg graduate was an expert in the field. He already owned a 3D printer at home and was fascinated by the technology. “Raoul is our translator; he understands how to transfer the necessary technical requirements into the software,” says Tim Wischeropp. Through their circle of friends, Simon Schauß was found as another software developer to strengthen the team. Two more hires followed. “Now we are still looking for someone in sales, and then we’ll be complete for the time being,” explains Tim Wischeropp. “The market is ready for our software solution, and especially in our target industries of medical technology and aerospace, 3D printing is developing extremely rapidly.”
You can read the full article in the current issue of spektrum (in German).
