The advantages of Additive Manufacturing (AM) highlight the capability to become an inherent part within the product development process. However, process specific challenges harm its further currency for industrial applications, for instance the high geometrical deviations. Different process factors influence the manufacturing accuracy and lead to large dimensional, form and positional deviations. Published research relative to deviations is difficult to compare, because it is based on several specimens that were manufactured with different processes, materials and machine settings. This fact emphasizes that reliable tolerance values for AM are hard to define in standards. Within this investigation, a universally applicable method was developed to examine geometrical deviations for AM processes. The main aim is the derivation of achievable tolerance values considering important influencing factors. Furthermore, due to the locally varying surface roughness of additively manufactured parts several tactile measurements were compared.

Laser Beam Melting (LBM) is an Additive Manufacturing (AM) process on the threshold of serial production. Therefore, LBM has to overcome different problems such as a low productivity and minor economic efficiency. Support structures are essential for LBM; however, these structures contribute to the mentioned topics, because their removal is time consuming and cost intensive. To enable design engineers and operators to increase the efficiency of LBM, design guidelinesfor support structures suitable for post-processing are developed. For this purpose, the effect of different design parameters on various evaluation criteria is considered. Suitability for post-processing can be evaluated in terms of cost, quality and time. Therefore, test specimens are built and parameter impacts on material consumption as well as the post-processing time is examined. Furthermore, the roughness of the parts is analyzed and used as an indicator for the removability of the support structure. In addition, warpage is measured and the impact of the parameters on this criterion is examined. Based on the results, suitable design guidelines and hints for support structures are developed in order to reduce time and costs during manufacturing and post-processing.

Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes generate plastic or metal parts layer-by-layer without using formative tools. The resulting advantages highlight the capability of AM to become an inherent part within the product development. However, process specific challenges such as a high surface roughness, the stair-stepping effect or geometrical deviations inhibit the industrial establishment. Thus, additively manufactured parts often need to be post-processed using established manufacturing processes. Many process parameters and geometrical factors influence the manufacturing accuracy in AM which can lead to large deviations and high scatterings. Published results concerning these deviations are also difficult to compare, because they are based on several geometries that are manufactured using different processes, materials and machine settings. It is emphasized that reliable tolerances for AM are difficult to define in standards. Within this investigation, a uniform method was developed regarding relevant test specimens to examine geometrical deviations for Laser Beam Melting (LBM), Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) and Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) in order to derive geometrical tolerance values. The manufactured test specimens were measured using tactile and optical systems to examine the occurring geometrical deviations. The results show possible geometrical tolerance values that were classified according to the international standard DIN EN ISO 286-1.

The design of additively manufactured components requires a rethinking in the design process. This is inhibited by a lack of knowledge about additive manufacturing technologies. For this reason, a large number of design guidelines have been developed in recent years. In their present form the design guidelines are not suitable for processing in a software algorithm, since the guidelines have a certain redundancy and partly influence each other. This paper describes several steps to consolidate the existing guidelines and to prepare them in a way that they can be used in a software algorithm for a design check. Therefore, existing guidelines are collected, prioritized and quantified with regard to their relevance for a robust production. To quantify the guidelines, test specimens are developed, produced and evaluated in order to obtain a limit value for the geometric properties. With these limit values, quantifiable design guidelines can be applied to designers and software tools.

In der Industrie entsteht aufgrund des dynamischen Wettbewerbsumfelds ein zunehmender Drang nach verkürzten Produktentstehungszeiten, hoher Funktionsintegration und individualisierten Produkten. Mithin erlangen additive Fertigungsverfahren eine zunehmende industrielle Bedeutung. Das Laser-Strahlschmelzen (LBM) als additives Verfahren ist hierbei beispielhaft hervorzuheben, da es bereits im Bereich des Prototypenbaus und der Kleinserienfertigung ein etabliertes Verfahren ist, das an der Schwelle zum Einsatz in der Serienproduktion steht. Entscheidendes Hemmnis für den Einsatz der additiven Fertigungsverfahren bildet die fehlende methodische Ausnutzung der gestalterischen Freiheiten und Randbedingungen durch die vergleichsweise neuartige Gruppe an Fertigungsverfahren im gesamten Produktentstehungsprozess. In der Produktentwicklung bildet die Konstruktionsmethodik einen möglichen Ansatz, um gestalterische Freiheiten und Vorteile additiver Fertigungsverfahren bereits in frühen Phasen der Entwicklung gezielt zu berücksichtigen. Hierfür werden aufgrund bestehender und allgemein anerkannter Konstruktionsmethoden (z.B. VDI2221, Pahl/Beitz, etc.) Anknüpfungspunkte aufgezeigt, die eine Implementierung, speziell des Laser-Strahlschmelzens, ermöglichen. Besonderes Augenmerk wird in dieser Veröffentlichung auf die beiden Konstruktionsphasen Konzeption und Gestaltung gelegt. Hierzu werden Ergänzungen oder Anpassungen der bestehenden Konstruktionsmethoden vorgestellt. In besonderer Weise wird dabei auf die Einbringung und die Vorteile der additiven Fertigungsverfahren eingegangen.

Neue Konstruktionsabläufe und Potentiale bei der Gestaltung additiv hergestellter Bauteile verlangen insbesondere im Konstruktionsprozess ein Umdenken. Fehlende Kenntnisse über die additive Fertigungstechnologie hemmen zusätzlich dieses Umdenken [HHD06, WC15]. Um die verhältnismäßig neue Fertigungstechnologie zugänglicher zu machen, wurden in den letzten Jahren verschiedene Konstruktionsempfehlungen erarbeitet. Die Vielzahl an Empfehlungen erschwert dem Konstrukteur allerdings einen entsprechenden Überblick zu behalten und für ihn relevante von nicht relevanten Empfehlungen zu sondieren. Aus diesem Grund wurden öffentlich zugängliche Empfehlungen für das Laser-Strahlschmelzen zusammengetragen und einer Priorisierung unterzogen. Das Ergebnis beinhaltet Konstruktionsempfehlungen, die einen relevanten Einfluss auf die Bauteilfertigung, die Bauteilqualität und -funktion haben. Durch Abstraktion dieser Empfehlungen konnten Richtlinien erarbeitet werden, die für eine softwareseitige Gestaltprüfung verwendet werden können. Durch diese Gestaltprüfung können Bauteile beliebiger Komplexität, zum Beispiel feine Gitter oder topologieoptimierte Strukturen, bereits vor der Fertigung hinsichtlich der Einhaltung relevanter Konstruktionsrichtlinien überprüft werden. Der Gestaltprüfer greift dabei auf eine Datenbank zurück, die zulässige, quantitative Grenzwerte von Konstruktionsrichtlinien enthält. Diese Grenzwerte werden im Folgenden Attributsausprägungen genannt und können experimentell ermittelt werden. Hierfür wurden standardisierte Prüfkörperbaujobs entwickelt, die alle notwendigen Prüfkörper zur Ermittlung der Attributsausprägungen enthalten und deren Auswertung eine Erweiterung der Datenbank hinsichtlich

Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) is used for prototypes, single-partproduction and small batch productions of thermoplastic components. This manufacturing technique has the huge benefit that no forming tool is needed. The knowledge about dimensional deviations which occur in the FDM process is necessary for calculating fits and for determining tolerances. A major challenge is the reproducibility of the dimensional accuracy of FDM parts and the reproducibility between different FDM machines. There are many influential factors on the dimensional accuracy in the FDM process for example geometric, material-specific or process-specific factors, which are considered in this paper. The influence of the part position on the build platform of a Stratasys Fortus 400mc is analyzed in terms of the achievable dimensional accuracy. For this purpose, the temperature distribution in the actively heated build chamber is investigated and possible correlations to the dimensional accuracy are identified. The reproducibility of one machine is examined by a multiple production of the test specimens. In addition, a comparison with three other FDM machines from Stratasys is made. Afterwards, the long-term reproducibility of the dimensional accuracy is verified to consider how environmental influences such as maintenance or modification of machine components affect the dimensional accuracy of the FDM process.

In the polymer laser sinter process, part quality depends on many influencing factors along the process chain. For application of the technology in series production and an integration of laser sintered parts into a technical environment, the dimensional accuracy of parts has to be taken into account. Therefore, occuring deviatons and their scattering have to be reduced and homogenized based on process parameters and build job layout. In this work, the dimensional accuracy of laser sintered parts is analyzed for varied parameter values. Influences of different process and geometrical build job parameters on dimensional deviatons are figured out. The experimental results allow an evaluation of more and less important influences. Finally, measures are deduced to reduce and homogenize dimensional deviations.

Additive manufacturing creates parts in layers without using formative tools. Compared to established manufacturing processes, additive manufacturing offers many advantages. However, only a few research institutions and technology-leading companies use additive manufacturing for end-use part production because relevant challenges have not been sufficiently researched yet. Missing restrictions become apparent in the available geometrical accuracy. The objective of this investigation was the experimental determination of dimensional tolerances using standard parameters. To this end, a methodical procedure was set up. Based on experimentally determined deviations, dimensional tolerances were derived.

Additive manufacturing offers many technical and economical benefits. In order to profit from these benefits, it is necessary to consider the manufacturing limits and restrictions. This applies in particular to the geometrical accuracy. Therefore, the achievable geometrical accuracy needs to be investigated, which enables the determination of realistic tolerances. Thus, two different aims are considered. The first aim is the determination of dimensional tolerances that can be stated if additive manufacturing is used under normal workshop conditions. Within the second aim, relevant process parameters and manufacturing influences will be optimized in order to reduce dimensional deviations. To achieve both aims a method was developed first. This method identifies relevant influential factors on the geometrical accuracy for the processes Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), Laser Sintering (LS) and Laser Melting (LM). Factors were selected that are expected to affect the geometrical accuracy mainly. The first investigations deal with measuring linear dimensions on a designed test specimen and the derivation of achievable dimensional tolerances. This paper will present both, the developed method and the first results of the experimental investigations.