An auto hierarchical clustering algorithm to distinguish geometries suitable for additive and traditional manufacturing technologies: Comparing humans and unsupervised learning

The development of additive manufacturing has made these technologies suitable for fabricating end products. This encourages companies to identify quickly parts in large databases for which switching from traditional manufacturing technologies to additive manufacturing is convenient. Typically, the manufacturing process selection is made by experts who weigh various parameters, but evidence suggests that intelligent systems could beneficially replace or aid this manual selection. One challenge in using manufacturing data for advanced analysis and machine learning is that it is usually unlabeled, and manual data labelling is expensive and time-consuming. This paper deals with the application of an enhanced unsupervised learning algorithm that automatically identifies parts suitable for additive manufacturing based on parts geometry as a preliminary step of process selection. One hundred randomly selected parts were evaluated by manufacturing experts through a survey and then clustered by the proposed algorithm. The comparison of the manual and algorithmic classifications, using unsupervised learning, regarding suitability for additive or traditional manufacturing is the main original contribution of this study. Overall, 78% convergence between most experts’ designations and the unsupervised learning algorithm is achieved. For those parts where expert opinions are substantially aligned, the algorithm showed a 90% convergence rate with human choices. These outcomes support the introduction of an intelligent system to perform a preliminary identification of suitable manufacturing processes based on part geometry, as it can be seen beneficial if compared with the time and cost spent when involving a pool of experts.