One of the students featured in our 7th edition of FIELDS is Huddersfield Graduate Weidong Liu, from the school of Computing and Engineering. For his article, Weidong analysed surface roughness in 3D printing as this is an important element of 3D printing. We asked Weidong to provide us with a quick general overview of his research:

Additive manufacturing is commonly known as 3D printing which is a very popular word today. It can produce complex shapes that cannot be accomplished by traditional techniques. However, the surface roughness of the parts is not ideal, and some parts need secondary processing before put into use. Therefore, it is a challenge to check whether the roughness of the part surface is qualified. This paper illustrates the comparison of measuring surface texture of additive manufacturing part using an optical technique (Alicona G4) and X-ray Computed Tomography (Nikon XTH225). The results of optical and XCT measurements are analysed respectively, per surface texture parameters of ISO 25178-2. To target the most suitable measurement configuration, different measurements resulted from the same technique with various configurations are compared. This article will also compare the difference of results between XCT and Optical, and their advantages and disadvantages.

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