Integrated approach for function-driven metrology of lattice structures

Metal additive manufacturing enables lattice structures with tailored mechanical performance, but their behaviour is highly sensitive to defects and distortions. X-ray computed tomography is the preeminent technique for non-destructive characterisation of lattice structures. However, existing metrological approaches fail to comprehensively capture the functional impact of all relevant characteristics, providing limited guidance for manufacturing process improvement. This work proposes an integrated and automated tomography-based approach for function-driven metrology of lattice structures. The framework extracts strut-level descriptors, quantifies geometric, surface, and internal defect indicators weighted by functional relevance, and aggregates them into a global criticality index. A case study validates the approach.