Impact of surface determination techniques on dimensional and geometrical metrology using X-ray computed tomography
Federico PIRILLO, Huan SHAO, Stefano PETRÒ, Giovanni MORONI
Abstract. X-ray Computed Tomography enables non-destructive dimensional and geometrical measurements of both external and internal features, including those that are difficult or impossible to access with contact probes or optical systems. However, the accuracy of XCT-based measurements is influenced by several factors, one of which is surface determination, which defines the surface points of the object within the tomographic data. This work aims to investigate the impact of different surface determination techniques on the evaluation of dimensional and geometrical measurands, with the goal of understanding their influence on measurement results and contributing to improved traceability in XCT-based metrology.
Keywords
Radiography and Tomography, Image Processing, Coordinate Metrology
Published online 9/10/2025, 8 pages
Copyright © 2025 by the author(s)
Published under license by Materials Research Forum LLC., Millersville PA, USA
Citation: Federico PIRILLO, Huan SHAO, Stefano PETRÒ, Giovanni MORONI, Impact of surface determination techniques on dimensional and geometrical metrology using X-ray computed tomography, Materials Research Proceedings, Vol. 57, pp 64-71, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644903735-8
The article was published as article 8 of the book Italian Manufacturing Association Conference
Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
References
[1] Kruth J. P., Bartscher M., Carmignato S., Schmitt R., De Chiffre L., Weckenmann A. Computed tomography for dimensional metrology. CIRP Annals 60, 821-842 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cirp.2011.05.006
[2] Bellens, S., Guerrero, P., Vandewalle, P., & Dewulf, W. (2024). Machine learning in industrial X-ray computed tomography-a review. CIRP Journal of Manufacturing Science and Technology, 51, 324-341. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cirpj.2024.05.004
[3] Volume Graphics VGSTUDIO MAX. https://www.volumegraphics.com/en/products/vgsm.html.
[4] Pirillo, F., Shao, H., Petrò, S., Moroni G. A Surface Determination Technique for Dimensional and Geometrical Analysis in Industrial X-ray Computed Tomography. Nanomanuf Metrol 7, 20 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41871-024-00239-4
[5] Canny J. (1986) A computational approach to edge detection, IEEE Transactions on pattern analysis and machine intelligence, 6, 679-698 https://doi.org/10.1109/TPAMI.1986.4767851
[6] Otsu N. (1975) A threshold selection method from gray-level histograms. Automatica, 11(285-296), 23-27
[7] Lorensen W.E., Cline H.E. (1998) Marching cubes: A high resolution 3D surface construction algorithm, In Seminal graphics: pioneering efforts that shaped the field, 347-353 https://doi.org/10.1145/280811.281026
[8] Yang X., Sun W., Giusca C.L. (2022) An automated surface determination approach for computed tomography, NDT & E International, 131:102697 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ndteint.2022.102697
[9] Yang X., Sun W., Giusca C. L. Surface determination algorithm for accurate XCT bidirectional length measurements. Precision Engineering 85, 40-47 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.precisioneng.2023.09.003
[10] Yagüe-Fabra J.A., Ontiveros S., Jiménez R., Chitchian S., Tosello G., Carmignato S. (2013) A 3D edge detection technique for surface extraction in computed tomography for dimensional metrology applications, CIRP Annals, 62(1), 531-534 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cirp.2013.03.016
[11] Steinbeiß H.P. (2005) Dimensionelles messen mit mikro-computertomographie, Hieronymus Buchreproduktions GmbH, Munche, ISBN 3-89791-349-6
[12] ISO 1101:2017 Geometrical product specifications (GPS). Geometrical tolerancing. Tolerances of form, orientation, location and runout.
