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PUBLICATIONS

Progress Toward Standardized Additive Manufacturing Test Artifacts

Published

Author(s)

Shawn P. Moylan

Abstract

Users and buyers of additive manufacturing (AM) systems need to know system performance characteristics to make important, basic decisions such as whether or not the system is capable of manufacturing their parts. Unfortunately, there are no standard methods of evaluating the performance of AM systems so manufacturer specification sheets can often be ambiguous, confusing, or worse, misleading. Does the number specified for resolution mean the smallest feature achievable by the system or the finest scale on one of the machine's axes? Does the number specified for accuracy relate to the achievable tolerance of the machine or to the resolution? Can I achieve the specified accuracy with any material in any place in the build volume, or do I need to determine a very specific set of parameters and the one "sweet spot" in the machine? Standard test methods help to eliminate these questions by providing a common terminology and defined measurement procedures. One method of evaluating the performance of manufacturing systems is to manufacture and measure a test part, often referred to as a test artifact. The errors measured in the test artifact give an indication of the system's performance. A standardized test artifact allows easy comparison between different machines or from the same machine over time. The ASTM F42/ISO TC 261 Joint Group (JG) for Standard Test Artifacts (STAR) is developing a standard describing test artifacts to assess AM system performance. This paper provides some background for AM test artifacts and discusses the progress made by the STAR JG.
Proceedings Title
Proceedings of the American Society for Precision Engineering Spring Topical Meeting
Conference Dates
April 27-29, 2015
Conference Location
Raleigh, NC, US
Conference Title
2015 ASPE Spring Topical Meeting: Achieving Precision Tolerances in Additive Manufacturing
Pub Type
Conferences

Keywords

additive manufacturing
Robotics in manufacturing and Process measurement and control

Citation

Moylan, S. (2015), Progress Toward Standardized Additive Manufacturing Test Artifacts, Proceedings of the American Society for Precision Engineering Spring Topical Meeting, Raleigh, NC, US (Accessed April 29, 2024)

Created April 29, 2015, Updated April 1, 2024