Surface Evaluation of Gyroid Structures for Manufacturing Rubber–Textile Conveyor Belt Carcasses Using Micro-CT

Abstract

Gyroid structures are among the most widely used three-dimensional elements produced by various additive manufacturing technologies. This paper focuses on a metrological analysis of Flexfill 92A material specimens with a relative density (25 to 85%) using industrial computer tomography. The results show that for a given structure, the best method is to use surface determination with the closure of internal defects in the material. The analysis implies that the smallest deviations of the specimens’ external dimensions were achieved with respect to the CAD model at the highest relative densities. The wall thickness shows the smallest percentage change of 0.5685 at 45% relative density and the largest at 25% and 85% relative density. The nominal–actual comparison of manufactured specimens to the CAD model shows the smallest cumulative deviation of 0.209 mm at 90% and 25% relative density, while it slightly increases with increasing relative density. All produced specimens have a smaller material volume than their theoretical volume value, while the percentage change in volume is up to 8.6%. The surface of specimens is larger compared with the theoretical values and the percentage change reaches up to 25.3%. The percentage of pores in the specimens increases with increasing relative density and reaches 6%. The acquired knowledge will be applied in the framework of research focused on the possibilities of using additive manufacturing to produce a skeleton of rubber–textile conveyor belts. This paper presents initial research on the possibility of replacing the carcass of rubber–textile belts with an additive technology use.