• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.103-109
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• 2017

Metal 3D printing, which is an additive metal manufacturing (AMM) process, enables the development of full-density metallic tools and parts using metal powders that are precisely delivered and controlled for deposition with no powder bed. However, some unknown geometric defects and irregular geometric features on an STL model can possibly result in incorrect metal part fabrication after the build. This study first proposes a methodical approach for verifying the build part, including the missing facet problems in an STL model, by defining some irregular features that possibly exist on the part. Second, 2D tool paths on each build layer were investigated for detecting any singular region inside the layer. The method was implemented for building two sample STL models using a direct energy deposition process, and finally, it was visually simulated for diagnosis.