Support point determination for support structure design in additive manufacturing

Abstract

Support structures are necessary for many AM (additive manufacturing) processes to maintain the overhanging areas or resist deformation caused by thermal stress in printing. The design of support structures affects not only the printing quality but also material consumption and post-processing time. Current research had proposed many support structure designs and optimization methods to meet varying optimization requirements. However, no research has investigated yet how to determine the support points, or contact points for optimal support design. The number and position of support points will directly affect the support structure’s performance and volume, and therefore the final printing quality. To fill this gap, this paper proposes a determination method, which integrates overhang detection, analysis of periodic support point patterns and AM constraints to optimize support point distribution with ensured manufacturability. It is particularly critical for complex and porous structures in medical applications. The proposed method is illustrated and validated through a complex dental component. It can be used with support structure design methods to further improve the support structure performance and reduce support volume in printing, especially for metallic AM processes.