Effect of X-ray Computed Tomography Magnification on Surface Morphology Investigation of Additive Manufacturing Surfaces

Additive manufacturing (AM) in the last decade has become a widespread manufacturing process. The possibilities that such technologies have provided for manufacturing of complex geometries compared to conventional manufacturing processes has made them popular in many branches of industry. Despite the advantages of these methods, there are limiting issues which needs to be thoroughly investigated. A limiting factor, especially for powder bed AM parts is their undesired surface finish. AM surfaces can be investigated using various methods such as optical or tactile methods, however for complex AM surfaces they are incapable of capturing all details such as deep valleys at surface level. X-ray computed tomography (CT), can provide 3D information of complex AM surfaces and does not have limitations that line of sight and tactile methods have. There are several parameters in CT investigation, which can potentially alter the obtained results. Depending on the CT magnification at which the data is acquired the result specifically surface level detail might be affected. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of different CT magnifications on surface texture measurement of additively manufactured surfaces. Surface features, including highest peaks and deepest valleys contributing to maximum and minimum thickness of specimen from different magnifications were compared with each other. The result shows that, the lower magnification scans underestimate both peak and valley measurements in comparison to the highest magnification scan. Measurement of valleys and re-entrant features were underestimated at more considerable level. The results from this study provide some understanding regarding surface morphology assessment of AM parts and the level of detail which can be expected depending on the CT magnification