Design of a New Test Part for Benchmarking the Accuracy and Surface Finish of Rapid Prototyping Processes

This paper presents a new test part that can benchmark various RP techniques. Using the proposed test part, geometrical and dimensional characteristics, as well as the surface finish, can be evaluated. The test part is designed with consideration given to RP process mechanisms, a questionnaire and existing test parts. It includes many features, such as holes, columns, spheres, steps and walls. Some features are included with varying details to determine the finest feature size that can be manufactured by a specific RP process. The test part was made on several major RP machines and measured by a coordinate measuring machine (CMM). The evaluation of the accuracy, as well as the surface finish, is discussed for different RP processes.