Table 2.
Terms and definition of additive manufacturing in ISO/ASTM 52900.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| General terms | |
| 3D printer | Machine Used for 3D Printing |
| Additive manufacturing (AM) | Process of joining materials to make parts from 3D model data, usually layer upon layer, as opposed to subtractive and formative manufacturing methodologies |
| Additive system | Additive manufacturing equipment |
| AM machine | Section of the additive manufacturing system including hardware, machine control software, required setup software, and peripheral accessories necessary to complete a build cycle for producing parts |
| AM machine user | Operator of or entity using an AM machine |
| AM system user | Operator of or entity using an entire additive manufacturing system or any component of an additive system |
| Front | <of a machine; unless otherwise designated by the machine builder> Side of the machine that the operator faces to access the user interface or primary viewing window, or both |
| Material supplier | Provider of material/feedstock to be processed in an additive manufacturing system |
| Multistep process | Type of additive manufacturing process in which parts are fabricated in two or more operations where the first operation typically provides the basic geometric shape and the following operation(s) consolidate the part to the fundamental properties of the intended material (metallic, ceramic, polymer, or composite) |
| Single-step process | Type of additive manufacturing process in which parts are fabricated in a single operation where the basic geometric shape and basic material properties of the intended product are achieved simultaneously |
| Process Categories | |
| Binder jetting | Additive manufacturing process in which a liquid bonding agent is selectively deposited to join powder materials |
| Directed energy deposition | Additive manufacturing process in which focused thermal energy is used to fuse materials by melting as they are being deposited |
| Material extrusion | Additive manufacturing process in which material is selectively dispensed through a nozzle or orifice |
| Material jetting | Additive manufacturing process in which droplets of build material are selectively deposited |
| Powder bed fusion | Additive manufacturing process in which thermal energy selectively fuses regions of a powder bed |
| Sheet lamination | Additive manufacturing process in which sheets of material are bonded to form a part |
| Vat photopolymerization | Additive manufacturing process in which liquid photopolymer in a vat is selectively cured by light-activated polymerization |
| Processing: General | |
| 3D printing | Fabrication of objects through the deposition of a material using a print head, nozzle, or another printer technology |
| Build chamber | Enclosed location within the additive manufacturing system where the parts are fabricated |
| Build cycle | Single process cycle in which one or more components are built up in layers in the process chamber of the additive manufacturing system |
| Build envelope | Largest external dimensions of the x-, y-, and z-axes within the build space where parts can be fabricated |
| Build platform | <of a machine> Base which provides a surface, upon which the building of the part/s is started and supported throughout the build process |
| Build space | Location where it is possible for parts to be fabricated, typically within the build chamber or on a build platform |
| Build surface | Area where material is added, normally on the last deposited layer which becomes the foundation upon which the next layer is formed |
| Build volume | Total usable volume available in the machine for building parts |
| Feed region | <in powder bed fusion> Location/s in the machine where feedstock is stored and from which a portion of the feedstock is repeatedly conveyed to the powder bed during the build cycle |
| Layer | <matter> Material laid out, or spread, to create a surface |
| Machine coordinate system | Three-dimensional coordinate system as defined by a fixed point on the build platform with the three principal axes labeled x-, y-, and z-, with rotary axis about each of these axis labeled A, B, and C, respectively, where the angles between x-, y-, and z- can be Cartesian or defined by the machine manufacturer |
| Manufacturing lot | Set of manufactured parts having commonality between feedstock, production run, additive manufacturing system, and post-processing steps (if required) as recorded on a single manufacturing work order |
| Origin | Zero point (0, 0, 0) <when using x-, y-, and z-coordinates> designated as the universal reference point at which the three primary axes in a coordinate system intersect |
| Build origin | Origin most commonly located at the centre of the build platform and fixed on the build facing surface, but could be defined otherwise by the build setup |
| Machine origin | Machine home, machine zero point, origin as defined by the machine manufacturer |
| Overflow region | <in powder bed fusion systems> Location/s in the machine where excess powder is stored during a build cycle |
| Part location | Location of the part within the build volume |
| Process parameters | Set of operating parameters and system settings used during a build cycle |
| Production run | All parts produced in one build cycle or sequential series of build cycles using the same feedstock batch and process conditions |
| System setup | Configuration of the additive manufacturing system for a build |
| x-Axis | <of a machine; unless otherwise designated by the machine builder> Axis in the machine coordinate system that runs parallel to the front of the machine and perpendicular to the y-axis and z-axis |
| y-Axis | <of a machine; unless otherwise designated by the machine builder> Axis in the machine coordinate system that runs perpendicular to the z-axis and x-axis |
| z-Axis | <of a machine; unless otherwise designated by the machine builder> Axis in the machine coordinate system that run perpendicular to the x-axis and y-axis |
| Processing: Data | |
| 3D scanning | Method of acquiring the shape and size of an object as a 3-dimensional representation by recording x, y, z coordinates on the object’s surface and through software the collection of points is converted into digital data |
| Additive Manufacturing File Format (AMF) | File format for communicating additive manufacturing model data including a description of the 3D surface geometry with native support for colour, materials, lattices, textures, constellations and metadata |
| Bounding box | <of a part> orthogonally oriented minimum perimeter cuboid that can span the maximum extents of the points on the surface of a 3D part |
| Arbitrarily oriented bounding box | <of a part> bounding box calculated without any constraints on the resulting orientation of the box |
| Machine bounding box | <of a part> bounding box for which the surfaces are parallel to the machine coordinate system |
| Master bounding box | bounding box which encloses all of the parts in a single build |
| Extensible markup language (XML) | Standard from the WorldWideWeb Consortium (W3C) that provides for tagging of information content within documents offering a means for representation of content in a format that is both human and machine readable |
| Facet | Typically a three- or four-sided polygon that represents an element of a 3D polygonal mesh surface or model |
| geometric centre | <of a bounding box> Location at the arithmetic middle of the bounding box of the part |
| IGES | Initial graphics exchange specification, platform neutral CAD data exchange format intended for exchange of product geometry and geometry annotation information |
| Initial build orientation | <of a part> Orientation of the part as it is first placed in the build volume |
| Nesting | Situation when parts are made in one build cycle and are located such that their bounding boxes, arbitrarily oriented or otherwise, will overlap |
| PDES | Product data exchange specification or product data exchange using STEP |
| Part reorientation | Rotation around the geometric centre of the part’s bounding box from the specified initial build orientation of that part |
| STEP | Standard for the exchange of product model data |
| STL | File format for model data describing the surface geometry of an object as a tessellation of triangles used to communicate 3D geometries to machines in order to build physical parts |
| Surface model | Mathematical or digital representation of an object as a set of planar or curved surfaces, or both, that can, but does not necessarily have to, represent a closed volume |
| Processing: Material | |
| Curing | Chemical process which results in the ultimate properties of a finish or other material |
| Feedstock | Source material/starting material/base material/original material bulk raw material supplied to the additive manufacturing building process |
| Fusion | Act of uniting two or more units of material into a single unit of material |
| Laser sintering (LS) | Powder bed fusion process used to produce objects from powdered materials using one or more lasers to selectively fuse or melt the particles at the surface, layer upon layer, in an enclosed chamber |
| Part cake | <in a powder bed fusion process that uses a heated build chamber> Lightly bound powder surrounding the fabricated parts at the end of a build cycle |
| Post-processing | <one or more> Process steps taken after the completion of an additive manufacturing build cycle in order to achieve the desired properties in the final product |
| Powder batch | Powder used as feedstock which could be used powder, virgin powder or a blend of the two |
| Powder bed | Part bed, build area in an additive manufacturing system in which feedstock is deposited and selectively fused by means of a heat source or bonded by means of an adhesive to build up parts |
| Powder blend | Quantity of powder made by thoroughly intermingling powders originating from one or several powder lots of the same nominal composition |
| Powder lot | Quantity of powder produced under traceable, controlled conditions, from a single powder manufacturing process cycle |
| Used powder | Powder that has been supplied as feedstock to an AM machine during at least one previous build cycle |
| Virgin powder | Unused powder from a single powder lot |
| Applications | |
| Part | Joined material forming a functional element that could constitute all or a section of an intended product |
| Prototype | Physical representation of all or a component of a product that, although limited in some way, can be used for analysis, design and evaluation |
| Rapid prototyping | <in additive manufacturing> Application of additive manufacturing intended for reducing the time needed for producing prototypes |
| Rapid tooling | <in additive manufacturing> Application of additive manufacturing intended for the production of tools or tooling components with reduced lead times as compared to conventional tooling manufacturing |
| Properties | |
| Accuracy | Closeness of agreement between an individual result and an accepted reference value |
| As built | refers to the state of parts made by an additive process before any post processing, besides, if necessary, the removal from a build platform as well as the removal of support and/or unprocessed feedstock |
| Fully dense | State in which the material of the fabricated part is without significant content of voids |
| Near net shape | Condition where the components require little post-processing to meet dimensional tolerance |
| Porosity | <property> Presence of small voids in a part making it less than fully dense |
| Repeatability | Degree of alignment of two or more measurements of the same property using the same equipment and in the same environment |