A virtual stylus method for non-destructive roughness profile measurement of additive manufactured lattice structures

Surface roughness is traditionally evaluated with contact profilometry; however, these methods are not compatible with complex additive manufactured lattice structures due to limited physical access. For these scenarios, computed tomography (CT) is often used to provide qualitative insight into surface roughness but does not directly yield roughness profile data. This research describes a hybrid approach for the non-destructive quantification of roughness profile data for lattice structures based on the mathematical reconstruction and interpretation of CT data. Formal analyses are applied to propose the theoretical minimum CT voxel size required to characterise surface roughness for a specified sampling length. The method is verified against optical data for nominally flat metallic specimens and applied to metallic and polymeric cylinders fabricated by powder bed fusion and material extrusion respectively. This research also assesses the influence of CT reconstruction thresholding as a process variable and finds that roughness profile data is only weakly influenced by thresholding settings, due to scattering effects at the surface - a novel finding that provides certainty for the industrial application of this method. The ability of the proposed method to accurately characterise the inherent surface roughness of these processes as well as the effect of specimen orientation is thus demonstrated, enabling full geometric characterisation supporting subsequent certification analysis. The method can be algorithmically implemented in combination with the generative design of complex lattice structures to support structural certification requirements.

Automated summary

Surface roughness of complex additive manufactured lattice structures is difficult to evaluate with traditional methods. Computed tomography (CT) provides qualitative insight but does not directly yield roughness profile data. This research proposes a hybrid approach that uses mathematical reconstruction and interpretation of CT data to quantify roughness profile data for lattice structures. The method is verified and found to be minimally influenced by CT reconstruction thresholding, providing certainty for its industrial application. This method accurately characterizes the surface roughness and supports subsequent certification analysis.