A layerwise geometric error compensation procedure for additive manufacturing

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a new procedure for in-plane compensation of geometric errors that often appear in the layers deposited by an additive manufacturing (AM) process when building a part, regardless of the complexity of the layer geometry. Design/methodology/approach The procedure is based on comparing the real layer contours to the nominal ones extracted from the STL model of the part. Considering alignment and form deviations, the compensation algorithm generates new compensated contours that match the nominal ones as closely as possible. To assess the compensation effectiveness, two case studies were analysed. In the first case, the parts were not manufactured, but the distortions were simulated using a predictive model. In the second example, the test part was actually manufactured, and the distortions were measured on a coordinate measuring machine. Findings The geometric deviations detected in both case studies, as evaluated by various quality indicators, reduced significantly after applying the compensation procedure, meaning that the compensated and nominal contours were better matched both in shape and size. Research limitations/implications Although large contours showed deviations close to zero, dimensional overcompensation was observed when applied to small contours. The compensation procedure could be enhanced if the applied compensation factor took into account the contour size of the analysed layer and other geometric parameters that could have an influence. Originality/value The presented method of compensation is applicable to layers of any shape obtained in any AM process.