Mechanical properties of lattice structures produced by Selective Laser Melting (SLM) are hardly predictable using a numerical simulation. It is caused by procedural inaccuracies of the SLM, such as shape and dimension deviations which are usually not included in a simulation. In order to quantify their influence, lattice structure specimens were produced by SLM and digitized in the whole volume using µCT. The shape and dimensional analyses were performed in each strut of lattice structure using the developed script in GOM Inspect software. Based on statistical analysis, the global dimension parameters of lattice structures were obtained and used in FEA models. The shape analysis showed large deviations in diameters of inscribed and circumscribed cylinders which implied the elliptic shape of the lattice structure. It makes the lattice structure significantly stiffer mainly under compression loading which was confirmed by FEA comparison of circular and elliptical geometry of the lattice structure.
Science Journal 