Geometric Performance Testing of Directed Energy Deposition Additive Manufacturing Machine Using Standard Tests for Machine Tools

Published

January 25, 2022

Author(s)

Shawn P. Moylan, Michael L. McGlauflin, Jared Tarr, Alkan Donmez

Abstract

While performance testing of AM machines is still nascent, standard tests for machine performance of machine tools used in machining are well established. Our hypothesis is that because directed energy deposition (DED) additive manufacturing machines physically resemble typical vertical machining centers, standard geometric performance tests for machine tools will directly apply to DED machines. Standard tests of linear displacement, angular, and straightness error motions, and circular motion were successfully conducted on a commercially-available DED system. With all tests providing reasonable and expected results, there is nothing to falsify our hypothesis. One additional consideration is the need for testing of the Z-axis on additive manufacturing machines with target positions on the level of layer thicknesses at several positions along the axis.

Proceedings Title

ASME 2021 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition

Conference Dates

November 1-5, 2021

Conference Location

Virtual, MD, US

Pub Type

Conferences

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1115/IMECE2021-71737

Local Download

Keywords

additive manufacturing, directed energy deposition, machine qualification, machine performance, geometric errors, standard test methods

Citation

Moylan, S. , McGlauflin, M. , Tarr, J. and Donmez, A. (2022), Geometric Performance Testing of Directed Energy Deposition Additive Manufacturing Machine Using Standard Tests for Machine Tools, ASME 2021 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, Virtual, MD, US, [online], https://doi.org/10.1115/IMECE2021-71737, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=930723 (Accessed October 9, 2025)