  Digital twins (DTs) are an emerging capability in additive manufacturing
(AM), set to revolutionize design optimization, inspection, in situ monitoring,
and root cause analysis. AM DTs typically incorporate multimodal data streams,
ranging from machine toolpaths and in-process imaging to X-ray CT scans and
performance metrics. Despite the evolution of DT platforms, challenges remain
in effectively inspecting them for actionable insights, either individually or
in a multidisciplinary team setting. Quality assurance, manufacturing
departments, pilot labs, and plant operations must collaborate closely to
reliably produce parts at scale. This is particularly crucial in AM where
complex structures require a collaborative and multidisciplinary approach.
Additionally, the large-scale data originating from different modalities and
their inherent 3D nature pose significant hurdles for traditional 2D
desktop-based inspection methods. To address these challenges and increase the
value proposition of DTs, we introduce a novel virtual reality (VR) framework
to facilitate collaborative and real-time inspection of DTs in AM. This
framework includes advanced features for intuitive alignment and visualization
of multimodal data, visual occlusion management, streaming large-scale
volumetric data, and collaborative tools, substantially improving the
inspection of AM components and processes to fully exploit the potential of DTs
in AM.
