Manufacturing Accuracy In Additive Manufacturing: A Method To Determine Geometrical Tolerances

Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes generate plastic or metal parts layer-by-layer without using formative tools. The resulting advantages highlight the capability of AM to become an inherent part within the product development. However, process specific challenges such as a high surface roughness, the stair-stepping effect or geometrical deviations inhibit the industrial establishment. Thus, additively manufactured parts often need to be post-processed using established manufacturing processes. Many process parameters and geometrical factors influence the manufacturing accuracy in AM which can lead to large deviations and high scatterings. Published results concerning these deviations are also difficult to compare, because they are based on several geometries that are manufactured using different processes, materials and machine settings. It is emphasized that reliable tolerances for AM are difficult to define in standards. Within this investigation, a uniform method was developed regarding relevant test specimens to examine geometrical deviations for Laser Beam Melting (LBM), Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) and Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) in order to derive geometrical tolerance values. The manufactured test specimens were measured using tactile and optical systems to examine the occurring geometrical deviations. The results show possible geometrical tolerance values that were classified according to the international standard DIN EN ISO 286-1.