Focus variation measurement of electron beam melted surfaces

Electron beam melting (EBM) is a promising additive manufacturing process which is seeing increasing use in high value manufacturing sectors such as aerospace [1]. With its layer-by-layer approach, EBM can allow the creation of parts of complex shapes, thus reducing the need for assembly [2]. Surfac...

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Main Authors: Newton, Lewis, Senin, Nicola, Leach, Richard
Format: Conference or Workshop Item
Published: 2017
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/44019/
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author Newton, Lewis
Senin, Nicola
Leach, Richard
author_facet Newton, Lewis
Senin, Nicola
Leach, Richard
author_sort Newton, Lewis
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Electron beam melting (EBM) is a promising additive manufacturing process which is seeing increasing use in high value manufacturing sectors such as aerospace [1]. With its layer-by-layer approach, EBM can allow the creation of parts of complex shapes, thus reducing the need for assembly [2]. Surface topography measurement of EBM parts is gaining an increasingly important role, both for assessing the surface finishes that can be obtained with the process before and after post-processing, and as a useful tool to investigate how the manufacturing process behaves through the observation of surface features produced (observation of the manufacturing process signature or fingerprint) [3]. EBM surfaces are very complex and irregular, with a large number of high slopes and undercuts [4]. It is, therefore, very difficult to measure the surface topography of an EBM part. Optical technologies for areal topography measurement are now popular, thanks to their capability for fast acquisition of dense data sets [5]. Focus variation (FV) is one of the most promising measurement technologies for EBM parts, as it combines reasonably fast measurement times with good capability to capture complex topographies [6]. However, many possible FV set-ups could be adopted for measuring an EBM surface. Objective lens magnification, illumination conditions and detector parameters are some of the most relevant control variables that can be varied, in the attempt to achieve optimal measurement results.
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spelling nottingham-440192020-05-04T18:51:42Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/44019/ Focus variation measurement of electron beam melted surfaces Newton, Lewis Senin, Nicola Leach, Richard Electron beam melting (EBM) is a promising additive manufacturing process which is seeing increasing use in high value manufacturing sectors such as aerospace [1]. With its layer-by-layer approach, EBM can allow the creation of parts of complex shapes, thus reducing the need for assembly [2]. Surface topography measurement of EBM parts is gaining an increasingly important role, both for assessing the surface finishes that can be obtained with the process before and after post-processing, and as a useful tool to investigate how the manufacturing process behaves through the observation of surface features produced (observation of the manufacturing process signature or fingerprint) [3]. EBM surfaces are very complex and irregular, with a large number of high slopes and undercuts [4]. It is, therefore, very difficult to measure the surface topography of an EBM part. Optical technologies for areal topography measurement are now popular, thanks to their capability for fast acquisition of dense data sets [5]. Focus variation (FV) is one of the most promising measurement technologies for EBM parts, as it combines reasonably fast measurement times with good capability to capture complex topographies [6]. However, many possible FV set-ups could be adopted for measuring an EBM surface. Objective lens magnification, illumination conditions and detector parameters are some of the most relevant control variables that can be varied, in the attempt to achieve optimal measurement results. 2017-06-27 Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed Newton, Lewis, Senin, Nicola and Leach, Richard (2017) Focus variation measurement of electron beam melted surfaces. In: 16th Conference on Metrology and properties of Engineering Surfaces, 27-29 June 2017, Göteborg, Sweden.
spellingShingle Newton, Lewis
Senin, Nicola
Leach, Richard
Focus variation measurement of electron beam melted surfaces
title Focus variation measurement of electron beam melted surfaces
title_full Focus variation measurement of electron beam melted surfaces
title_fullStr Focus variation measurement of electron beam melted surfaces
title_full_unstemmed Focus variation measurement of electron beam melted surfaces
title_short Focus variation measurement of electron beam melted surfaces
title_sort focus variation measurement of electron beam melted surfaces
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/44019/