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Auteurs principaux: Akeweje, Emmanuel, Kirk, Conall, Chan, Chi-Wai, Dowling, Denis, Zhang, Mimi
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2025
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Accès en ligne:https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.06012
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author Akeweje, Emmanuel
Kirk, Conall
Chan, Chi-Wai
Dowling, Denis
Zhang, Mimi
author_facet Akeweje, Emmanuel
Kirk, Conall
Chan, Chi-Wai
Dowling, Denis
Zhang, Mimi
contents Selective Laser Melting (SLM) is a powder-bed additive manufacturing technique whose part quality depends critically on feedstock morphology. However, conventional powder characterization methods are low-throughput and qualitative, failing to capture the heterogeneity of industrial-scale batches. We present an automated, machine learning framework that couples high-throughput imaging with shape extraction and clustering to profile metallic powder morphology at scale. We develop and evaluate three clustering pipelines: an autoencoder pipeline, a shape-descriptor pipeline, and a functional-data pipeline. Across a dataset of approximately 126,000 powder images (0.5-102 micrometer diameter), internal validity metrics identify the Fourier-descriptor + k-means pipeline as the most effective, achieving the lowest Davies-Bouldin index and highest Calinski-Harabasz score while maintaining sub-millisecond runtime per particle on a standard desktop workstation. Although the present work focuses on establishing the morphological-clustering framework, the resulting shape groups form a basis for future studies examining their relationship to flowability, packing density, and SLM part quality. Overall, this unsupervised learning framework enables rapid, automated assessment of powder morphology and supports tracking of shape evolution across reuse cycles, offering a path toward real-time feedstock monitoring in SLM workflows.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_06012
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle High-Throughput Unsupervised Profiling of the Morphology of 316L Powder Particles for Use in Additive Manufacturing
Akeweje, Emmanuel
Kirk, Conall
Chan, Chi-Wai
Dowling, Denis
Zhang, Mimi
Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
Selective Laser Melting (SLM) is a powder-bed additive manufacturing technique whose part quality depends critically on feedstock morphology. However, conventional powder characterization methods are low-throughput and qualitative, failing to capture the heterogeneity of industrial-scale batches. We present an automated, machine learning framework that couples high-throughput imaging with shape extraction and clustering to profile metallic powder morphology at scale. We develop and evaluate three clustering pipelines: an autoencoder pipeline, a shape-descriptor pipeline, and a functional-data pipeline. Across a dataset of approximately 126,000 powder images (0.5-102 micrometer diameter), internal validity metrics identify the Fourier-descriptor + k-means pipeline as the most effective, achieving the lowest Davies-Bouldin index and highest Calinski-Harabasz score while maintaining sub-millisecond runtime per particle on a standard desktop workstation. Although the present work focuses on establishing the morphological-clustering framework, the resulting shape groups form a basis for future studies examining their relationship to flowability, packing density, and SLM part quality. Overall, this unsupervised learning framework enables rapid, automated assessment of powder morphology and supports tracking of shape evolution across reuse cycles, offering a path toward real-time feedstock monitoring in SLM workflows.
title High-Throughput Unsupervised Profiling of the Morphology of 316L Powder Particles for Use in Additive Manufacturing
topic Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.06012