1. Scope

Keywords

Rationale

Powder Bed Fusion with Laser Beam of Metals (PBF LB/M) is a representative of an additive manufacturing (AM) process. The operations of the PBF LB/M machine described by sensor data, the Programmable Logic Control (PLC) status, the process state, and the Machine Control Software (MCSW) output should be tracked via a standardized machine log. The captured data is essential for process and quality control. Due to a lack of standards, each machine vendor produces machine logs in a different way with varying content. The diversity of methods of provision complicate access to this data and its further processing. The use of additional software and even hardware by the machine user is mandatory to identify and obtain critical process data in a usable form. This document is intended as a guideline for a harmonized structure of PBF LB/M machine log files. It also supports the data archiving as requested for additive manufacturing processes by ISO/ASTM 52920. A uniform structure of the machine log file would aid users in capturing data packages from ISO/ASTM DIS 52951, simplifying process data analysis and quality assurance conclusions. It also would enhance the comparability of different machines. The purposed data structure can serve as a basis for data exchange between the customer and manufacturer, as described in ISO/ASTM 52901.