National foreword

This British Standard is the UK implementation of ISO/IEC 24956:2026.

The UK participation in its preparation was entrusted to Technical Committee ICT/1/1, Information Systems development.

A list of organizations represented on this committee can be obtained on request to its committee manager.

Contractual and legal considerations

This publication has been prepared in good faith, however no representation, warranty, assurance or undertaking (express or implied) is or will be made, and no responsibility or liability is or will be accepted by BSI in relation to the adequacy, accuracy, completeness or reasonableness of this publication. All and any such responsibility and liability is expressly disclaimed to the full extent permitted by the law.

This publication is provided as is, and is to be used at the recipient’s own risk.

The recipient is advised to consider seeking professional guidance with respect to its use of this publication.

This publication is not intended to constitute a contract. Users are responsible for its correct application.

Compliance with a British Standard cannot confer immunity from legal obligations.

This British Standard was published under the authority of the Standards Policy and Strategy Committee on 30 September 2026.

Foreword

ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are members of ISO or IEC participate in the development of International Standards through technical committees established by the respective organization to deal with particular fields of technical activity. ISO and IEC technical committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other international organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, also take part in the work.

The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the different types of document should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives or www.iec.ch/members_experts/refdocs).

ISO and IEC draw attention to the possibility that the implementation of this document may involve the use of (a) patent(s). ISO and IEC take no position concerning the evidence, validity or applicability of any claimed patent rights in respect thereof. As of the date of publication of this document, ISO and IEC had not received notice of (a) patent(s) which may be required to implement this document. However, implementers are cautioned that this may not represent the latest information, which may be obtained from the patent database available at www.iso.org/patents and https://patents.iec.ch. ISO and IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not constitute an endorsement.

For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) see www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html. In the IEC, see www.iec.ch/understanding-standards.

This document was prepared by Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology.

Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html and www.iec.ch/national-committees.

Introduction

This document was developed in response to the needs of quality management of 3D printing and scanning technology by taking full advantage of information and communication technology (ICT).

3D scanning is the process of scanning a real-world object or environment to collect data on its shape and possibly its style attributes. The main purpose of 3D scanning is for generating high-precision digital 3D models by non-destructive, 3D scanning of internal and external geometries.

A 3D scanner can be based on many different technologies, each with its own purposes and targets, limitations, and advantages. There can be many limitations in each type of target object that will be digitized. For example, optical technology can encounter many difficulties with dark, shiny, reflective, or transparent objects. Another example is the use of computed tomography (CT) scanning, structured-light 3D scanners, and LiDAR technology, which highlights the need for non-destructive internal scanning methods to generate digital 3D models.

Despite the rapid growth of 3D scanning applications, the accuracy, precision, and reproducibility of 3D models generated from 3D scanned data have not been thoroughly investigated. When scanned data are used for 3D printing, their accuracy and precision are critical. Inaccuracies may arise during imaging, segmentation, postprocessing, and printing. The overall accuracy, precision, and reproducibility of 3D printed models are influenced by the cumulative errors introduced at each step in the model creation process.

For the continued expansion of 3D printing applications, it is necessary to review and evaluate the various factors in each step of the 3D model printing process that contribute to 3D model inaccuracy, including the intrinsic limitations of each printing technology.

In this context evaluation of the overall process of data processing is critical.
For minimization of cumulative errors of 3D printing life cycles using 3D scanned data, the initial error should be assessed and corrected.
The assessment methods of 3D scanned data for 3D printing are essential.

Establishing a reliable and practical evaluation method for 3D modelling software is crucial for ensuring the quality and dependability of 3D models used in 3D printing. Standard CT performance evaluation phantoms and existing phantoms make evaluating the performance of 3D printing modelling challenging. A dependable and practical approach to evaluating the performance of 3D modelling software for 3D printing is essential and would benefit a wide range of stakeholders, including developers of 3D modelling software, manufacturers, and researchers. A phantom-based evaluation method can provide a reliable and practical way to evaluate the performance of 3D modelling software in the context of 3D printing. This would serve as a valuable tool for assessing the quality and dependability of 3D modelling software, which is crucial for ensuring the precision and safety of 3D printing applications.

This document proposes evaluation methods for 3D modelling software that use CT phantoms to assess quality enhancement and error minimization in 3D printed model.

1 Scope

This document defines an evaluation procedure and evaluation methods for assessing the accuracy and precision of 3D modelling software for designing 3D printing models using phantoms.

This document is not intended to evaluate the 3D-printed product itself.

2 Normative references

3 Terms, definitions and abbreviated terms

3.1 Terms and definitions

3.2 Abbreviated terms

4 Modelling phase considerations for quality control of 3D printing

4.1 General

4.2 Workflow and product quality

4.3 Image acquisition

4.4 Quality management of modelling software and modelling process

4.5 Segmentation

4.6 3D modelling

4.7 Editing and refinement

5 Quality requirements and recommendations for 3D modelling software

5.1 Quality requirements and recommendations

5.2 Evaluation items

6 Precision or accuracy evaluation using phantoms

6.1 Advantages of software testing methods using phantoms

6.2 Required items for evaluation

7 Evaluation procedure and methods

7.1 Preparation

7.2 Evaluation methods

8 Report

Bibliography