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A case study on 3D scanning, digital reparation and rapid metal additive

manufacturing of a centrifugal impeller

Article in IOP Conference Series Materials Science and Engineering · February 2021
DOI: 10.1088/1757-899X/1037/1/012018

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A case study on 3D scanning, digital reparation and rapid metal additive

manufacturing of a centrifugal impeller
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IManEE 2020 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 1037 (2021) 012018 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/1037/1/012018

A case study on 3D scanning, digital reparation and rapid metal

additive manufacturing of a centrifugal impeller

N Kladovasilakis1,2, T Kontodina1, P Charalampous1,

I Kostavelis1, D Tzetzis2 and D Tzovaras1
1
Centre for Research and Technology Hellas – Information Technologies Institute
(CERTH/ITI), Thessaloniki, Greece
2
International Hellenic University, School of Science and Technology, Digital
Manufacturing and Materials Characterization Laboratory, Thessaloniki, Greece

*
Corresponding author’s e-mail: [email protected]

Abstract. This paper demonstrates a comprehensive method for digital restoration and rapid
manufacturing of a fully functional mechanical component. A damaged centrifugal impeller of
an automotive engine was reverse-engineered via a 3D laser scanner, with which the 3D model
of the investigated object was digitally captured. Utilizing advanced design software and surface
modelling, the missing fragments were restored and the impeller’s 3D digital model was
reconstructed. Metal additive manufacturing technology and more specifically the Selective
Laser Melting (SLM) technique was employed to construct a functional metal impeller. Stainless
steel 17-4 PH powder was used as the printed material. To ensure the exploited powder was
appropriate for the part to be manufactured, we applied characterization of the feedstock material
was conducted through two different characterization methods, i.e. granulometry and scanning
electron microscopy (SEM) combined with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX).
Furthermore, Surface Distance Maps (SDM) were calculated to correlate the geometrical
deviations between the physical 3D printed part and the digital model in order to examine the
accuracy of the applied method.

1. Introduction

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a rapidly evolving fabrication technology that is utilized among others
for the production of complex and advanced constructs [1]. Nowadays, there is a plethora of different
AM methods, such as material extrusion, powder bed fusion (PBF), material jetting etc. [2]. Almost any
material can be 3D printed (plastics, ceramics, metals etc.) using the proper AM method [3]. In the last
three decades, AM techniques were mainly used for research as well as for rapid prototyping purposes.
However, in recent years, fully functional components are produced in various scientific fields like
automotive, aeronautic and medical industries. More specifically, metal AM technologies are proved to
be a sustainable and cost-efficient alternative to machining and casting for the fabrication of relatively
small and geometrical complex metal components [4]. The most widespread metal AM method is the
Selective Laser Melting (SLM) which belongs to the PBF category. PBF processes utilize a high-
powered laser in order to selectively fuse small particles of metal, plastic or ceramic. The metal powder
is the feedstock material and is spread on a build plate where the laser beam melts the powder particles
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IManEE 2020 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 1037 (2021) 012018 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/1037/1/012018

according to the part’s cross-section geometry creating that way a thin layer of the desired geometry. In
the next step, the powder bed descends for a layer thickness and the process is repeated until the entire
geometry of the product is created [1]. Combining this metal AM technique with reverse engineering
methods, it is possible to rapidly redesign and construct metal spare parts with particularly complex
geometrical characteristics like impellers, turbines, customized parts etc. 3D scanning technologies are
suitable for reverse engineering applications providing with high accuracy the digital depiction of a
physical object. The most well-known 3D scanning techniques that can provide reconstruction with
accuracy adequate for real-life applications are the structured-light and laser scanning [5]. 3D Laser
scanning is a non-destructive method that digitally captures the external geometry of an object, utilizing
a line of laser light. The acquired data from these scanning procedures could be processed in order to
extract a digital 3D model that is fully editable in a CAD software. Therefore, the process of rapid
manufacturing of a fully functional spare part could be divided into three steps. The first one is the 3D
scanning procedure of the physical object; the second one requires the handling of the acquired data to
obtain the digital 3D model and the last once comprises the metal fabrication of the desired component.
The main objective of the current paper is to prove that reconstruction and manufacturing of a
functional mechanical component is feasible in order to replace an already damaged one. To this end, a
metal centrifugal impeller from an automotive turbocharging system, which was heavily damaged,
constitutes the use case of the present work. Centrifugal impellers for automotive applications are
relatively small objects with high geometrical complexity. Hence, the majority of them are fabricated
via 5 axis CNC machining processes in order to achieve the precise geometry coupled high-quality
surface finish [6]. However, material removal procedures are generally time consuming and unprofitable
for the fabrication of a prototype or a small batch of products. Hereupon, this study proposes a method
to obtain the digital 3D model of a damaged component through 3D scanning methods and by employing
rapid manufacturing techniques like metal AM technologies to replace the impaired part. Figure 1
illustrates an overview of the applied methodology.

Figure 1. Flowchart of the overall procedure.

2. Methods and Materials

2.1. 3D Scanning & Metal 3D printing

According to the flowchart exhibited figure 1, the first phase of the employed procedure includes the
3D scanning of a damaged impeller. Taking into account that the impeller’s smallest dimension is the
thickness of each blade (≈300μm), a high-resolution 3D scanner is required. Moreover, the 3D scanner
should be able to acquire data from multiple angles due to the object’s high complexity. Thus, the
NextEngine 3D laser scanner has been employed for this process as presented in figure 2a, where the
scanning process is portrayed using the specific laser scanner. The 3D laser scanner contains two arrays
of four solid state lasers with 650nm wavelength, two 5.0-megapixel cameras and two lights for
capturing images. Furthermore, a 360° turn-table was used in order to fully capture the geometry of the
object and to facilitate the mechanical alignment between scans during the post-processing procedure.
Moreover, the scanner provides texture density up to 500dpi and dimensional accuracy up to ± 125μm
with scanning speed of 50,000 points per second. Then, ScanStudio software was used for the data

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IManEE 2020 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 1037 (2021) 012018 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/1037/1/012018

acquisition process as well as for various post-processing procedures. Finally, MeshMixer and
SolidWorks software were applied for further processing of the scanning data extracting that way an
editable CAD file. In order to reconstruct the geometry of the damaged impeller, 3D scanning and
surface modelling techniques were employed to identify the missing parts of the inspected model. In
particular, taking into account the symmetry of the object, it was feasible to assess the missing fragments
of the damaged impeller. Hereupon, the digital 3D model of the impeller was defined including recovery
of the damaged part.
Table 1. 3D printing parameters used for the metal AM process.
Printing parameters Values
Layer height 25μm
Hatching distance 30μm
Scan speed 1200 mm/s
Laser power 107W
Volumetric Energy Density (VED) 118.89 J/mm3
Spot size 50μm
Oxygen percentage 1.00% (upper limit)
In the next step, the fabrication of a new impeller utilizing a metal AM technology (SLM) took place.
For the metal 3D printing process, the ORLAS Creator metal 3D printer was employed which belongs
to the PBF/SLM metal 3D printing category. The specific printer possesses a continuous Yb fibre laser
beam with 250Watt maximum power coupled with a wavelength of 1067 nm. Furthermore, ORLAS
Creator achieves high printing accuracy of 25μm at z direction due to the respectively small layer height.
A wide range of metal powder materials could be printed via this metal 3D printer. In the context of this
study, stainless steel 17-4 PH powder was used as the feedstock material due to its advanced mechanical
properties [7]. Table 1 documents the major printing parameters used for the construction of the new
impeller. It is worth mentioning that the lowest available values were chosen for hatching distance and
layer height in order to achieve the maximum dimensional accuracy. According to the literature [8], the
optimum energy density was attained through the regulation of the laser power and scan speed values.
Figure 2b illustrates the employed metal 3D printer and the printing process inside the building chamber.

Figure 2. (a) Scanning procedure; (b) Metal 3D printing process.

2.2. Material Characterization

One the most crucial parameters for SLM technology that possesses a severe impact on the outcome of
the metal 3D printing process is the quality of the powder itself [9]. For that reason, it is essential to
conduct material characterization procedures on the feedstock metal powder. In the present work, for
the characterization phase, the technique used was Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) coupled with
and Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX). The Phenom ProX Desktop SEM was employed for

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IManEE 2020 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 1037 (2021) 012018 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/1037/1/012018

the investigation of the powder, which was attached on the stub with a carbon tape. The grain
morphology of SS 17-4 PH powder sample was studied and the results have shown certain irregular
grain shapes deviating from the spherical pattern. Furthermore, an indicative particle size distribution
(PSD) was obtained measuring various powder’s samples on different scattered regions. The EDX
analysis was conducted in order to identify the precise chemical composition of the metal powder and
test the presence of any impurities. Figure 3a presents the electromagnetic emissions spectrum of the SS
17-4 PH powder. This analysis incorporates spectra exhibiting peaks corresponding to the elements of
the investigated sample. Thus, the chemical composition of the metal alloy at weight percent was
identified and listed at the right part of figure 3a. It is worth noting that the EDX analysis is in good
agreement with the manufacturer datasheet (OC Oerlikon). Figure 3b illustrates an indicative PSD of a
virgin SS 17-4 PH powder, which has been sieved with a 63μm mesh. PSD curve follows a typical
positive skew distribution (shifted to the left). PSD outcomes are used to identify the median particle
sizes of the inspected powder material in terms of size gauges (D10, D50 and D90). In the conducted
experiments, D10=11.5 μm indicating that the 10% of the powder sample is less than 11.5 μm, D50= 16.6
μm which corresponds to the median value and D90=27 μm displaying that 90% of the particles of the
examined sample are smaller than this size. Figure 3c examines the morphology of the powder’s grain,
where it can be observed that the majority of the particles possess a spherical shape; however, there are
some grains that retain an elliptical shape and few with irregular shapes.

Figure 3. (a) EDX analysis and chemical composition of SS 17-4 PH powder; (b) Indicative PSD of
powder’s sample; (c) SEM image of SS 17-4 PH particles.

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IManEE 2020 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 1037 (2021) 012018 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/1037/1/012018

3. Results

The evaluation of the proposed methodology includes the dimensional inspection of the printed metal
impeller compared to its digitally reconstructed 3D digital model. In order to maximize the precision,
various parameters were adjusted on the 3D laser scanner regarding the positioning, the number of
divisions, the resolution (i.e. points/mm2), the target and the range of the scanning process. Initially, the
object was coated with white powder to avoid noise and reflections. Afterwards, the object was placed
on a turntable base, approximately 230mm from the scanner, on various orientations (i.e. horizontally,
vertically and in front of the scanning field) ensuring that a sufficient number of points were captured
for its geometrical reconstruction. Furthermore, several post-process steps were conducted utilizing the
appropriate editing tools like trimming, alignment and fusion of the scans in order to optimize and refine
the geometrical characteristic of the metal 3D printed impeller.

Figure 4. (a) Depiction of missing fragments on the digital 3D model before reparation; (b) 3D printed
metal impeller; (c) Surface distance map for the reconstructed impeller.
Figure 4 summarizes the results of the present work. In figure 4a, the missing fragments of the damaged
impeller as well as the reconstructed digital 3D model are illustrated. Figure 4b portrays the 3D printed
metal impeller as it was constructed without any post-processing process (sandblast, shot-peening etc.).
The Artec Studio software was employed to convert the input data (point clouds) from the scanning
process to a fully contoured map. In order to quantify the accuracy of the applied methodology and to
specify a numerical quantity concerning the quality of the printed impeller, Surface Distance Maps
(SDM) were calculated correlating the dimensional deviations between the 3D digital model and the
physical printed one as shown in figure 4c. Blue color represents negative maximum deviation and the
red color is equivalent to the maximum positive deviation. In contrast, green color corresponds to the
minimum dimensional deviation between the examined surfaces. Finally, the accuracy of the procedure
was assessed via the calculation of the Mean Absolute Error (MAE) exhibiting that the printed object is
in sufficient agreement with the digital one, as the MAE is equal to 0.142 mm. Therefore, implementing
the suggested scan-to-print technique, it was feasible to accurately depict and manufacture a complex
component in a short time period. Hence, this procedure provides an additional tool for reserve
engineering approaches of geometrical complex parts compared to traditional methods. Finally, utilizing
metal AM, the fabrication process was completed in a matter of hours compared to time-consuming
CNC milling procedures.

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 IManEE 2020 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 1037 (2021) 012018 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/1037/1/012018

4. Conclusions

The current paper presented the workflow of a scan-to-print methodology in order to replace damaged
spare parts with new ones constructed via a metal AM 3D printer. More specifically, a damaged
centrifugal impeller was scanned and by utilizing surface modelling and advanced design software, it
was feasible to identify the object's missing fragments obtaining that way its digital 3D model. Prior to
the metal 3D printing process, the characterization of feedstock was conducted through granulometry
and SEM coupled with EDX in order to ensure good quality of the selected powder. In the next step, the
optimal printing parameters were selected and the metal 3D printing procedure was initiated. The 3D
printed impeller’s dimensions and morphological characteristics were evaluated via a laser scanner and
the geometrical deviations from its digital 3D model were computed. The results showed that the
reparation of functional spare parts could be achieved providing high dimensional accuracy as the
deviations of the printed impeller was relatively small. Finally, in order to elaborate the research on the
functionality of customized metal AM components, it is necessary to focus in the future on the
evaluation of their mechanical behavior under various operating conditions.

Acknowledgments
We acknowledge support of this work by the project “Intelligent και Automated Systems for enabling
the Design, Simulation and Development of Integrated Processes and Products - ODYSSEAS” (MIS
5002462) which is implemented under the “Action for the Strategic Development on the Research and
Technological Sector”, funded by the Operational Programme "Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and
Innovation" (NSRF 2014-2020) and co-financed by Greece and the European Union (European
Regional Development Fund).

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