Characterisation of process-induced defects in polymeric strut-based lattice structures produced by powder bed fusion additive manufacturing process

Characterisation of process-induced defects in polymeric strut-based lattice structures produced by powder bed fusion additive manufacturing process | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Characterisation of process-induced defects in polymeric strut-based lattice structures produced by powder bed fusion additive manufacturing process Amirali Amirian, Mark Battley, Maedeh Amirpour This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4127144/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 14 May, 2025 Read the published version in Rapid Prototyping Journal → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Additive manufacturing processes can be utilised to fabricate lattice structures with robust mechanical performance and high energy-absorbing capacity, which have garnered significant attention in various sectors, such as aerospace, automobile, and bioengineering industries. Despite the advantages of 3D printing technologies, such as fabricating highly complex workpieces at low costs, additive manufacturing processes can cause defects and imperfections in final products that might degrade the desired mechanical properties. To gain insights into the effects of process-induced defects on the mechanical performance of lattice structures, and to optimise the printing parameters and lattice design for obtaining structures with minimum imperfections, detailed characterisation of manufacturing-induced defects is necessary. This study investigates the characteristics of process-induced defects in a polymeric BCC lattice structure created via the powder bed fusion process. X-ray computed tomography (CT) techniques are used to scan the printed lattice. Then, image processing methods, utilising MATLAB scripts, are developed to extract the characteristics (morphology and distribution) of imperfections. The image processing results reveal that geometry-related defects (i.e. thickness variation and the deviation of strut cross-sectional shape) and internal voids exist in the 3D-printed sample. The distribution patterns of defects indicate that geometric imperfections are more pronounced near the strut junctions. Detailed characterisation of internal voids’ shape, including 3D dimensions, aspect ratio, and orientation, which have been rarely investigated in previous studies, are explored in this research. The morphology of internal voids and the correlation between the size of voids and powder particles suggest that lack of fusion has led to void formation. Lattice structure Additive manufacturing-induced defect X-ray CT Image processing Statistical distribution of defect Full Text Supplementary Files Highlights.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 14 May, 2025 Read the published version in Rapid Prototyping Journal → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4127144","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":282992703,"identity":"ee8971ef-2902-473c-addb-429b028a025c","order_by":0,"name":"Amirali Amirian","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABDElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYJCCgx8q/ssBaWaGBwwMjA0gRAgcljjDbAzWkkCsFgbeFubEBoQWAoC//XTiAckGtvT+GcmPDRJq7shuuN3cwPCjhiFPHodmiTO5Gw4U7uDJnXEjzTgh4dgz4w13DjYw9hxjKMZp3wGgFskzErkNN3KYDySwHU7ccAPoSN4GhsRmHDrkz7/dcIC3zSBdHqzlH0QL41+gljYcWgxu5IK0JCQYALUkJLZBtDCDbOnBocXwxtsNwEA+YLjxzDNjg8S+w8YzgVoOyxyTSJyBQ4vc+dzNHz9UHJCXO578WOLDt8OyfTfSHz58U2OTOB+X97GHCTAoSVE/CkbBKBgFowANAABPw2yWu4PnAQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0002-2832-5707","institution":"The University of Auckland - City Campus: University of Auckland","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Amirali","middleName":"","lastName":"Amirian","suffix":""},{"id":282992704,"identity":"d1c9fa05-a63f-4fde-bbc8-8280a2a6903c","order_by":1,"name":"Mark Battley","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mark","middleName":"","lastName":"Battley","suffix":""},{"id":282992705,"identity":"75c56853-a5a7-4b95-88af-0bf1176cc457","order_by":2,"name":"Maedeh Amirpour","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Maedeh","middleName":"","lastName":"Amirpour","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-03-19 04:16:05","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4127144/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4127144/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1108/RPJ-08-2024-0352","type":"published","date":"2025-05-15T00:00:00+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":83516325,"identity":"008cab96-1a73-4ffb-a503-33848a3f7c2a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-05-27 18:38:54","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":2078198,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4127144/v1_covered_7e275c72-30a4-4593-8d26-db9257f2dae8.pdf"},{"id":53586074,"identity":"5871a72e-c9d5-41e5-8340-2990f19f9874","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-03-27 18:29:26","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":15508,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Highlights.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4127144/v1/0af23ff2f28fb9569f61225b.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"","formattedTitle":"Characterisation of process-induced defects in polymeric strut-based lattice structures produced by powder bed fusion additive manufacturing process","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Lattice structure, Additive manufacturing-induced defect, X-ray CT, Image processing, Statistical distribution of defect","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4127144/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4127144/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eAdditive manufacturing processes can be utilised to fabricate lattice structures with robust mechanical performance and high energy-absorbing capacity, which have garnered significant attention in various sectors, such as aerospace, automobile, and bioengineering industries. Despite the advantages of 3D printing technologies, such as fabricating highly complex workpieces at low costs, additive manufacturing processes can cause defects and imperfections in final products that might degrade the desired mechanical properties. To gain insights into the effects of process-induced defects on the mechanical performance of lattice structures, and to optimise the printing parameters and lattice design for obtaining structures with minimum imperfections, detailed characterisation of manufacturing-induced defects is necessary. This study investigates the characteristics of process-induced defects in a polymeric BCC lattice structure created via the powder bed fusion process. X-ray computed tomography (CT) techniques are used to scan the printed lattice. Then, image processing methods, utilising MATLAB scripts, are developed to extract the characteristics (morphology and distribution) of imperfections. 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