The role of materials and products characterization in the additive manufacturing industry

Physical and chemical properties of raw materials used in additive manufacturing deeply influence process outcomes in terms of product quality. Therefore, a good production policy should mandatorily consider the availability of measurement facilities that provide ad hoc characterizations of raw materials. At the same time, structure and defect analysis is a crucial step in the optimization of AM process as well as for the quality control of final products. For this reason, a laboratory of materials and products characterization has been identified as one of key-facilities of the Digital Manufacturing Hub that the University of Napoli Federico II is establishing at CeSMA (Centro di Servizi Metrologici e tecnologici Avanzati) as support for the development of an additive manufacturing industry in Campania Region and Southern Italy.