Layer contour characterization in additive manufacturing through image binarization

Abstract

On-Machine Measurement adoption will be key to dimensional and geometrical improvement of additively manufactured parts. One possible approach based on OMM aims at using digital images of manufactured layers to characterize actual contour deviations with respect to their theoretical profile. This strategy would also allow for in-process corrective actions. This work describes a layer-contour characterization procedure based on binarization of digital images acquired with a flat-bed scanner. This procedure has been tested off-line to evaluate the influence of two of the parameters for image treatment, the median filter size (S f ) and the threshold value (T), on the dimensional/geometrical reliability of the contour characterization. Results showed that an appropriate selection of configuration parameters allowed to characterize the proposed test-target with excellent coverage and reasonable accuracy.