A deep learning solution for real-time quality assessment and control in additive manufacturing using point cloud data

Javid Akhavan, Jiaqi Lyu, Souran Manoochehri

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

18 Scopus citations

Abstract

This work presents an in-situ quality assessment and improvement technique using point cloud and AI for data processing and smart decision making in Additive Manufacturing (AM) fabrication to improve the quality and accuracy of fabricated artifacts. The top surface point-cloud containing top surface geometry and quality information is pre-processed and passed to an improved deep Hybrid Convolutional Auto-Encoder decoder (HCAE) model used to statistically describe the artifact's quality. The HCAE’s output is comprised of 9 × 9 segments, each including four channels with the segment's probability to contain one of four labels, Under-printed, Normally-printed, Over-printed, or Empty region. This data structure plays a significant role in command generation for fabrication process optimization. The HCAE’s accuracy and repeatability were measured by a multi-label multi-output metric developed in this study. The HCAE’s results are used to perform a real-time process adjustment by manipulating the future layer's fabrication through the G-code modification. By adjusting the machine's print speed and feed-rate, the controller exploits the subsequent layer’s deposition, grid-by-grid. The algorithm is then tested with two defective process plans: severe under-extrusion and over-extrusion conditions. Both test artifacts' quality advanced significantly and converged to an acceptable state by four iterations.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1389-1406
Number of pages18
JournalJournal of Intelligent Manufacturing
Volume35
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2024

Keywords

  • Adaptive process control
  • Defect detection and classification
  • Digital manufacturing
  • Machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL)
  • Point cloud processing
  • Smart additive manufacturing

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