A L Cooke’s research while affiliated with University of Maryland, College Park and other places

Process intermittent measurements of parts fabricated by additive manufacturing (AM) can enable both process improvement and characterization of internal part geometries. The planar, layer-upon-layer nature of most AM processes allows two-dimensional geometric measurements with a vision system, because the part's current layer is continually in focus. Proof of this concept has been shown through measurement of parts made using a three-dimensional (3D) printer. Process intermittent measurements were compared to contact and non-contact measurements of the finished parts to characterize deviations in printed layer positions and changes in part dimensions resulting from post-process treatments.