Assessing the effect of sample orientation on dimensional X-ray computed tomography through experimental and simulated data

•X-ray computed tomography (CT) is studied under changes of sample angular tilt θ.•Dimensional accuracy of CT volumetric reconstruction is evaluated in function of θ.•Ray-casting and Radon-space analysis can be used to identify optimal sample tilt θ.•Simulation tools are useful for optimizing the sample tilt θ for X-ray CT metrology.•The dimensional deviations of the CT data are under 10 µm when scanning at optimal θ.