Abstract
Additive Manufacturing (AM) has been widely considered a key factor for innovative design. However, the utilization of AM has not been as high as expected, although the technology offers key innovative design capabilities, weight reduction, parts count and assembly consolidation as well as material saving. This low utilization is attributed to the lack of AM understanding, mature CAE/CAM software tools addressing AM specific issues such as design support structure generation and removal, residual stresses, surface quality. In most cases, Design for AM (DfAM) is a crucial requisite for a “Design Right Once” approach. Such an approach is shown in the current study using three parts as example: an arthropod’s leg, a gearshift drum and an electric motor mounting frame. The implementation of geometrical conformal lattice structures and lattices with variable density are discussed. A structured design approach is presented and design dilemmas are solved in terms of a DfAM approach. Primary design optimizations are evaluated. Weight reduction is considered throughout the design and free form surfaces are being used. “Freedom to Design” principle is also portrayed and assembly parts consolidation occurs as a natural process of DfAM in comparison with previous design practices. It is concluded that, even from the primary design phase the design engineer can reveal his creativity because of the absence of constraints set by the traditional manufacturing technologies.
Highlights
Additive Manufacturing (AM) has been widely considered a key factor for innovative design
The technology specific constraints and capabilities are the ones that will shape the final products. These constraints for powder bed fusion (PBF) [16] processes will be addressed for plastic and metal printing in order to follow effectively the Design for Additive Manufacturing concept (DfAM) approach [10, 11, 21,22,23, 12,13,14,15, 17,18,19,20]
It is parametrically described so that easy modifications can be applied between iterations. - The shape is divided into two spaces: Interface and Design space. - Any parts adhering to the interface space of the part can be consolidated to decrease overall part count
Summary
Additive Manufacturing (AM) has been widely considered a key factor for innovative design. Even though AM is used extensively in the prototyping phase of product development [1], it is not considered as a manufacturing technology for mass production [1]. Simulation of the AM process has started to be included in some CAE/CAM suites [3, 5, 6] These software tools are not being extensively used up to now. The use of conformal lattice structures as an alternative to other topology optimizations is outlined. These lattice structures can be used for weight reduction or even aesthetically from the primary design phase. The “Freedom to Design” principle is applied as is assembly part consolidation, exploiting the advantages of DfAM in comparison to previous design practices
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