Sara Giganto, Susana Martínez-Pellitero, Eduardo Cuesta, Pablo Zapico and Joaquín Barreiro
Among the different methodologies used for performance control in precision manufacturing, the measurement of metrological test artefacts becomes very important for the…
Abstract
Purpose
Among the different methodologies used for performance control in precision manufacturing, the measurement of metrological test artefacts becomes very important for the characterization, optimization and performance evaluation of additive manufacturing (AM) systems. The purpose of this study is to design and manufacture several benchmark artefacts to evaluate the accuracy of the selective laser melting (SLM) manufacturing process.
Design/methodology/approach
Artefacts consist of different primitive features (planes, cylinders and hemispheres) on sloped planes (0°, 15°, 30°, 45°) and stair-shaped and sloped planes (from 0° to 90°, at 5° intervals), manufactured in 17-4PH stainless steel. The artefacts were measured optically by a structured light scanner to verify the geometric dimensioning and tolerancing of SLM manufacturing.
Findings
The results provide design recommendations for precision SLM manufacturing of 17-4PH parts. Regarding geometrical accuracy, it is recommended to avoid surfaces with 45° negative slopes or higher. On the other hand, the material shrinkage effect can be compensated by resizing features according to X and Y direction.
Originality/value
No previous work has been found that evaluates accuracy when printing inwards (pockets) and outwards (pads) geometries at different manufacturing angles using SLM. The proposed artefacts can be used to determine the manufacturing accuracy of different AM systems by resizing to fit the build envelope of the system to evaluate. Analysis of manufactured benchmark artefacts allows to determine rules for the most suitable design of the desired parts.
Details
Keywords
Eduardo Cuesta, Braulio J. Alvarez, Pablo Zapico and Sara Giganto
This study aims to analyze the effect of the different common post-processes on the geometrical and dimensional accuracy of selective laser melting (SLM) parts.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to analyze the effect of the different common post-processes on the geometrical and dimensional accuracy of selective laser melting (SLM) parts.
Design/methodology/approach
An artefact has been designed including cubic features formed by planar surfaces orientated according to the machine axes, covering all the X-Y area of the working space. The artefact has been analyzed both geometrically (flatness, parallelism) and dimensionally (sizes, distances) from coordinate measuring machine measurement results at three stages, namely, as-built, after sand-blasting and after stress-relieving heat treatment.
Findings
Results from the SLM machine used in this study lead to smaller parts than the nominal ones. This effect depends on the direction of the evaluated dimension of the parts, i.e. X, Y or Z direction and is differently affected by the sandblasting post-process (average erosion ratio of 68, 54 and 9 µm, respectively), being practically unaltered by the HT applied after.
Originality/value
This paper shows the influence, from a geometric and dimensional point of view, of two of the most common post-processes used after producing SLM parts, such as sand-blasting and stress-relieving heat treatment, that have not been considered in previous research.