Title: A simplified benchmarking model for the assessment of dimensional accuracy in FDM processes

Authors: Nathan Decker; Albert Yee

Addresses: Chemistry, Physics, and Engineering Department, Biola University, 13800 Biola Ave, La Mirada, CA 90639, USA ' Chemistry, Physics, and Engineering Department, Biola University, 13800 Biola Ave, La Mirada, CA 90639, USA

Abstract: As the number of applications for additive manufacturing has increased in recent years, so has the number of benchmarking objects used in the assessment of additive manufacturing processes. These objects enable the assessment of printer and material performance in a number of areas, one of which is dimensional accuracy. Many of these objects, however, take considerable time and material to produce. Further, a large proportion of the volume of these test objects does not directly contribute to the assessment of dimensional accuracy. This paper proposes a new benchmarking object that addresses these issues. The object proposed in this paper is compared with two other commonly used benchmarking objects in the areas of mass, print time, volume, proportion of volume dedicated to measurable test features, and feature quantity. Further, conditions under which a simplified benchmarking object might be employed are evaluated.

Keywords: benchmarking objects; dimensional accuracy; additive manufacturing; fused deposition modelling; FDM.

DOI: 10.1504/IJRAPIDM.2015.073573

International Journal of Rapid Manufacturing, 2015 Vol.5 No.2, pp.145 - 154

Received: 09 Aug 2015
Accepted: 06 Oct 2015
Published online: 12 Dec 2015 *

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