Additive manufacturing features definition along with thermal behavior integration

In Additive Manufacturing, features are usually defined in terms of part geometry, with little to no consideration of process physics in either international standards or the literature. This omission represents a major limitation for the development of process planning methods for complex parts. To address this gap, this paper reviews the state of the art on AM features dedicated to process planning and introduces an approach to estimate the thermal behavior of features produced in Directed Energy Deposition (DED) technologies, using dimensionless geometric indicators. These thermal indicators are experimentally validated through thermal imaging during the production of nine different features. Relevant concepts from the literature and the proposed thermal estimations are then summarized into a structured definition, aligned with machining feature definitions. This definition of AM features integrates both common elements across additive processes (e.g., substrate) and technology-specific aspects (e.g., 5-axis slicing for DED). The proposed definition enables a rapid estimation of the overall thermal behavior of a part throughout its production under different build sequences, thereby supporting end users in selecting the production strategy that best matches a targeted thermal response.