Method for rapid development of additive manufacturing parameter set

Abstract

An apparatus includes a control system that defines a test part having multiple features of multiple feature types. The control system controls an additive manufacturing (AM) machine to print multiple copies of the test part, with each copy being printed according to a respective set of values used as printing parameters. A measurement system obtains a computed tomography (CT) image of each of the copies of the test part. An analysis system, for each of the plurality of feature types, analyzes the CT images to identify a selected set of values for the printing parameters. The analysis system identifies a portion of the CT image related to a first feature and assesses its density based on an average grayscale value. The AM machine is then controlled to print production parts according to, for each feature type of the production parts, the selected set of values for the printing parameters.