Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 13, 2025
3D Printing of Preclinical X-ray Computed Tomographic Data Sets
Published on: March 22, 2013
A novel method to simulate radiographs of 3D printed objects
Maxwell C Campbell1, Steven I Pollmann2, Jaques S Milner2
1School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.
Background:
3D printing has a number of applications within medicine and healthcare. In applications involving radiography, the internal infill structure and external geometry of a 3D printed part can produce undesirable artifacts, limiting the full potential of 3D printing as a manufacturing technology. While the mechanical performance of a 3D printed part can be easily simulated, it is difficult to simulate the radiographic artifact produced.
Purpose:
The purpose of this work was to develop a tool that allows users to simulate the radiographic artifact produced by a 3D printed object.
Methods:
Three regular hexagons of identical geometry were sliced and 3D printed using polylactic acid (PLA) filament on a fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printer with varying infill patterns: rectilinear grid, cubic, and gyroid. The hexagons were then radiographed using clinical-standard scanning protocols. The captured radiographs were compared to simulated radiographs generated using the G-Code developed when the objects were sliced. The physical and simulated virtual radiographs were compared to one another, and the simulated angle of least and greatest artifact was noted.
Results:
Strong visual agreement was found between the physically captured and simulated virtual radiographs. The projection angles that produced the least amount of artifact were 22.5°, 22.5°, and 12.25° for grid, cubic, and gyroid infills, respectively. The projection angles that produced the greatest amount of artifact were 0°, 45°, and 45° for grid, cubic, and gyroid infills, respectively.
Conclusions:
This work provides designers of 3D printed components with a new way to evaluate a design's radiographic performance. Previously, designers would have to physically print and radiograph a part to determine the artifact produced. This work outlines the development of a tool that simulates the radiograph of a 3D printed part from multiple different projections, saving designers time to iterate to their final design.
