A novel image feature descriptor for SLM spattering pattern classification using a consumable camera

In selective laser melting (SLM), spattering is an important phenomenon that is highly related to the quality of the manufactured parts. Characterisation and monitoring of spattering behaviours are highly valuable in understanding the manufacturing process and improving the manufacturing quality of SLM. This paper introduces a method of automatic visual classification to distinguish spattering characteristics of SLM processes in different manufacturing conditions. A compact feature descriptor is proposed to represent spattering patterns and its effectiveness is evaluated using real images captured in different conditions. The feature descriptor of this work combines information of spatter trajectory morphology, spatial distributions, and temporal information. The classification is performed using support vector machine (SVM) and random forests for testing and shows highly promising classification accuracy of about 97%. The advantages of this work include compactness for representation and semantic interpretability with the feature description. In addition, the qualities of manufacturing parts are mapped with spattering characteristics under different laser energy densities. Such a map table can be then used to define the desired spatter features, providing a non-contact monitoring solution for online anomaly detection. This work will lead to a further integration of real-time vision monitoring system for an online closed-loop prognostic system for SLM systems, in order to improve the performance in terms of manufacturing quality, power consumption, and fault detection.