Proposal of design rules for improving the accuracy of selective laser melting (SLM) manufacturing using benchmarks parts

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 degrees, 15 degrees, 30 degrees, 45 degrees) and stair-shaped and sloped planes (from 0 degrees to 90 degrees, at 5 degrees 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 degrees 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.