Surface texture characterisation of longitudinal and latitudinal external and internal surfaces of laser powder bed fusion processed bespoke ball artefact

Abstract

This research aims to study the diverse surface topographical features that emerge on both longitudinal and latitudinal facets' external and internal surfaces of a bespoke ball artefact. The focus variation measurement technique is employed to visually inspect the surface quality derived from a plethora of surface topographical defects and asperities namely balling, staircase effect, spatters, and un-melted/partially melted particles. These diverse defects, asperities and associated surface quality are characterised and correlated with an array of suitable areal surface texture height and hybrid parameters, and quantified with newly developed feature-based particle analysis mentioned in ISO 25178-2. The longitudinal facet external surfaces measurement range is selected from 15° to 135°, while internal surfaces measurement is performed between 15° to 165°. Similarly, the latitudinal facet external and internal surfaces are examined by full-turn at the equator. A comprehensive statistical analysis of variance (ANOVA) is employed to examine the statistical significance of inclinations angles, build orientations, and types of surfaces. The experimental results and ANOVA analysis showed that a strong interrelationship exists between the different build inclination angles and the distinct surface topographical features that emerge on longitudinal facet external and internal surfaces, while the latitudinal facet external and internal surfaces presented minimal difference in surface quality.