Generative Design and Topology Optimization of Analysis and Repair Work of Industrial Robot Arm Manufactured Using Additive Manufacturing Technology

Abstract

Today’s industrial robots work in a wide range of industries, the industrial robots are developed to perform operations such as pick and place, manufacturing assembly line, welding work, metal forging, and painting operations. The constraints of available robots are in terms of structural complexity, more material in the body, over weightage, and space. To overcome the difficulties of the current scenario, the generative design and topology optimization based industrial robot arm is manufactured by Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology using the Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) process. The scope of the research is when the generatively designed robot arm getting crack or broken, the Direct Energy Deposition (DED) processes use to help the repair of the PBF parts. In the present research, studies were conducted on the topology optimized industrial robot arm using SolidWorks software, and to verify the significance of DED to extend requirements needed for PBF parts, sample parts were extended and their metallurgical characteristics, tensile properties, and hardness observed.