Strut Thickness Research Articles

Distribution and propagation of stress and strain in cube honeycombs as trabecular bone substitutes: Finite element model analysis

For designing trabecular (Tb) bone substitutes suffering from osteoporosis, finite element model (FEM) simulations were conducted on honeycombs (HCs) of 8 × 8 × 1 (2D) and 8 × 8 × 8 (3D) assemblies of cube cellular units consisting of 0.9 mm long Nylon® 66 (PA, Young's modulus E: 2.83 GPa) and polyethylene (PE, E: 1.1 GPa) right square prisms. Osteoporotic damage to the Tb bone was simulated by removing the inner vertical struts (pillars; the number of removed pillars: Δn ≤ 300) and by thinning the strut (thickness, d: 0.4–0.1 mm), while the six facade lattices were kept flawless. Uniform and uniaxial compressive loads on the HCs induced elastic deformation of the struts. The pillars held almost all the load, while the horizontal struts (beams) shared little. E for PA 3D HCs of all d smoothly decreased with Δn. PA 3D HCs of 0.2 mm struts deserved to be the substitutes for Tb bone, while PE 3D HCs of 0.05 mm struts were only for the Tb bone of the poorest bone quality. For the PA 3D HCs, the maximum von Mises stress (σM) first rapidly increased with Δn and showed a break at Δñ50, then gradually approached the yield stress of PA (50 MPa). Moreover, small portions of the stress were transferred from the façade pillars to the adjacent inner beams, especially those near the lost-pillar sites, denoted as X defects. The floor beams of thinner struts associated with the X-defects were lifted, and similar lifting effects in smaller amounts were propagated to the other floors. The 3DHCs of the thicker struts showed no such flexural deformations. The concept of force percolation through the remaining struts was proposed to interpret those mechanical behaviors of the HCs.

Novel additively manufactured dihedral tiling architected metamaterial conformed with pentagon and rhombus: design and mechanical properties

The design of novel mechanical metamaterials has drawn inspiration from several sources to develop new structures. Additionally, additive manufacturing has widened the possibilities for producing intricate geometries. With this in mind, a novel architected metamaterial based on dihedral tiling is presented here, and its mechanical response is characterized experimentally. The architecture comprises two shapes: a pentagon and rhombuses, arranged in a manner dependent on each other. Three parameters were defined as variables to generate several design variations and analyze the impact of geometry on their effective mechanical properties: pentagon edge length (l), pattern rotation angle (θ), and strut thickness (t). For this purpose, the selected designs were additively manufactured using Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) and tested under compression. It was found that t is directly proportional to relative density, and consequently, to apparent stiffness, while l is inversely proportional to both properties. On the other hand, θ has a minor influence on apparent stiffness and is more related to the deformed shape obtained. Overall, it was observed that the response depends on the combination of all geometrical parameters, meaning the apparent properties cannot be related to the response of only one of the shapes. This behavior differs from lattices based on a singular shape, in which the properties of the whole metamaterial are usually related to those of the unit cell.

Fatigue Performance of 3D-Printed Poly-Lactic-Acid Bone Scaffolds with Triply Periodic Minimal Surface and Voronoi Pore Structures.

Bone scaffolds serve a crucial role in tissue engineering, particularly in facilitating bone regeneration where natural repair is insufficient. Despite advancements in the fabrication of polymeric bone scaffolds, the challenge remains to optimize their mechanical resilience. Specifically, research on the fatigue behaviour of polymeric bone scaffolds is scarce. This study investigates the influence of pore architecture on the mechanical performance of poly-lactic-acid (PLA) scaffolds under quasi-static and cyclic compression. PLA scaffolds with a 60% porosity were fabricated using extrusion-based 3D printing in various designs: Gyroid, Lidinoid, Fischer-Koch, IWP, and Voronoi. Results demonstrated that Gyroid scaffolds had the highest compressive strength (6.6 MPa), followed by Lidinoid, Fischer-Koch, IWP, and Voronoi designs. Increased strut thickness was linked to higher compressive strength. However, normalized fatigue resistance showed a different pattern. While scaffolds resisted fatigue cycles at low strain amplitudes, fatigue damage was observed at higher strains. Voronoi structures exhibited the highest normalized fatigue performance, enduring around 58,000 cycles at 85% strain amplitude, followed by Gyroid, Fischer-Koch, Lidinoid, and IWP structures. Enhanced fatigue performance in different topologies correlated with the minimum cross-sectional area of scaffolds. Given the importance of both static and fatigue strength, the Gyroid topology emerges as the superior choice overall.

Degradation of a novel magnesium alloy-based bioresorbable coronary scaffold in a swine coronary artery model

The objective of the study is to investigate the safety, feasibility, and degradation profile of a novel Mg alloy-based bioresorbable coronary scaffold (JFK-PRODUCT BRS) with thin struts (110 μm). Polymer- or Mg alloy-based BRSs have not replaced nondegradable metal stents because of the higher prevalence of scaffold thrombosis and restenosis in clinical practice; these poor clinical outcomes were due to inadequate scaffold designs, including thick struts (more than 150 μm) and their inappropriate degradation processes. Fourteen healthy pigs received 17 JFK-PRODUCT BRSs in the coronary arteries and were sacrificed at 1, 6, 12, 18, and 26 months after implantation. Angiography, optical coherence tomography, microfocus X-ray computed tomography (µCT), scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM–EDX), and histopathological evaluation were performed. The JFK-PRODUCT had a median percent late recoil of 11.28% at 1 month. The µCT observation confirmed that scaffold discontinuity reached 64.8% at 12 months with increased scaffold inner area thereafter, suggesting artery positive remodeling. The inflammation was mild, peaked at 18 months, and decreased thereafter. The SEM–EDX analysis demonstrated gradual degradation of the scaffold with formation of inorganic deposits, presumed to be calcium phosphates. It also revealed the disappearance of calcium phosphates at 26 months, achieving almost complete replacement of the scaffold by biocomponents. The current study demonstrated the safety and feasibility of JFK-PRODUCT with a lower acute recoil rate despite its thin struts. The scaffolds were almost completely disappeared at 26 months after implantation.Graphical abstract

Advancing quality of laser-based metal powder bed fusion-fabricated filigree sub-millimetre structures: a systematic exploration of a novel hybrid post-processing treatment

Laser-based metal powder bed fusion (PBF-LB/M) offers great potential for producing complex and filigree sub-millimetre parts with customised shapes, such as patient-specific vascular stents. However, stent fabrication via PBF-LB/M encounters fundamental challenges, including dimensional limitations, poor surface quality, difficult support structure handling and geometrical deviations.This study addresses these challenges by investigating the potential and limitations of a novel hybrid post-processing approach. This technique uses the combination of electrochemical polishing and chemical etching and is investigated from process and design perspectives, to emphasise the interactions between the two.With the systematic application of hybrid post-processing, the strut thickness and the surface roughness were substantially reduced. Moreover, it enabled the successful removal of part-internal support structures. Furthermore, angle and orientation-dependent geometrical deviations could be compensated, highlighting the potential of achieving homogenous strut thicknesses within parts containing variable overhang angles.This study demonstrates that the usage of hybrid (electro)chemical post-processing methods with specifically tailored process parameters is a promising approach for overcoming the design- and process-related challenges in PBF-LB/M manufactured sub-millimetre parts.

Long-term outcomes following paclitaxel-coated balloons versus thin-strut drug-eluting stents for treatment of in-stent restenosis in chronic coronary syndrome (CCS Dragon-Registry).

The long-term outcomes for patients with in-stent restenosis (ISR) presenting with chronic coronary syndrome (CCS) are not well studied. We aimed to investigate the outcomes for patients with drug-eluting stents (DES)-ISR and CCS undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug-coated balloons (DCB) or thin strut-DES. A total of 846 consecutive patients from the Dragon-Registry with CCS and DES-ISR who underwent PCI with thin (strut thickness <100 μm) strut-DES (381 [45%]) or paclitaxel-DCB (465 [55%]) for DES-ISR were enrolled between February 2008 and October 2021. The median follow-up was 1006 (IQR 426-1770) days. The primary outcome was target lesion revascularization (TLR). Secondary outcomes were target vessel revascularization (TVR) and device-oriented composite endpoint (DOCE: cardiac death, TLR, or target vessel myocardial infarction [TV-MI]). Patients who received DES, compared with those who received DCB, had lower crude rates of TLR (hazard ratio [HR], 0.50 [95% CI, 0.34-0.74]; P <0.001), TVR (HR, 0.56 [95% CI, 0.39-0.86]; P <0.001), and DOCE (HR, 0.63 [95% CI, 0.45-0.88]; P = 0.007). The incidence of cardiac death and TV-MI were similar in both groups. After matching, the observed differences persisted in terms of TLR (HR, 0.54 [95% CI, 0.33-0.88]; P = 0.013), TVR (HR, 0.57 [95% CI, 0.41-0.80]; P = 0.009) and DOCE (HR, 0.65 [95% CI, 0.42-0.99]; P = 0.046) between the DES and DCB groups, respectively. In long-term follow-up of CCS patients undergoing PCI of ISR, the use of DES was associated with reduced rates of TLR, TVR, and DOCE compared with patients treated with DCB.

Clinical outcomes with thin versus thick strut polymer-free biolimus-coated stents at 3 years

BackgroundFor high bleeding-risk patients (HBR) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), the LEADERS FREE (LF) and LEADERS FREE II (LF II) trials established the safety and efficacy of a stainless steel...

Design of non-linear, viscoelastic architected foams

Flexible viscoelastic foams with relative density in the range of 5-50% are widely used to control interaction forces, notably in cushions for impact protection, shoes, mechanical grippers, etc. The design of new foams to improve performance is challenging, due to the lack of efficient models to connect cellular architecture, viscoelasticity of the base resin, and non-linear responses that stem from large deformation of open pores. This paper presents highly efficient solutions for the response of linearly viscoelastic, kinematically non-linear and shear-deformable struts that are loaded at an oblique angle to their axis. The models can be used to predict structure-property relationships for strut-based metamaterials, including non-linear stress-strain response and accompanying hysteresis. To illustrate this, the entire design space of a simple unit cell is mapped in terms of a broad range of strut angles and thicknesses; the unit cell is inspired by features in stochastic foams that dominate their response. An enormous range of stress-strain responses can be obtained from this single foam-like cell, including purely softening, purely stiffening, and non-monotonic stiffness with adjustable tangent moduli. The model is also used to illustrate connections between viscoelastic material parameters, loading rate, and hysteresis for two distinct classifications of non-linear stress-strain response.

3D-printed, citrate-based bioresorbable vascular scaffolds for coronary artery angioplasty

Fully bioresorbable vascular scaffolds (BVSs) aim to overcome the limitations of metallic drug-eluting stents (DESs). However, polymer-based BVSs, such as Abbott's Absorb, the only US FDA-approved BVS, have had limited use due to increased strut thickness (157 μm for Absorb), exacerbated tissue inflammation, and increased risk of major cardiac events leading to inferior clinical performance when compared to metallic DESs. Herein we report the development of a drug-eluting BVS (DE-BVS) through the innovative use of a photopolymerizable, citrate-based biomaterial and a high-precision additive manufacturing process. BVS with a clinically relevant strut thickness of 62 μm can be produced in a high-throughput manner, i.e. one BVS per minute, and controlled release of the anti-restenosis drug everolimus can be achieved by engineering the structure of polymer coatings to fabricate drug-eluting BVS. We achieved the successful deployment of BVSs and DE-BVSs in swine coronary arteries using a custom-built balloon catheter and BVS delivery system and confirmed BVS safety and efficacy regarding maintenance of vessel patency for 28 days, observing an inflammation profile for BVS and DE-BVS that was comparable to the commercial XIENCE™ DES (Abbott Vascular).

Keep it Simple: Ceramic Kelvin Cells via Liquid Crystal Display‐Stereolithography Printing

Additive manufacturing is the state‐of‐the‐art method for producing complex ceramic parts. For cellular materials, the freedom of design is particularly advantageous, as pore networks and shapes can be tailored. Herein, the direct printing of complex parts with high porosity using the cost‐effective manufacturing method of Liquid Crystal Display‐based stereolithography on low‐cost printers is determined. It is investigated how the architecture of the alumina Kelvin cells topology, their fabrication process, the printing parameters, and the microstructure affect the accuracy and mechanical properties of the printed samples. A notable reduction to a strut thickness of Kelvin cells down to 0.20 mm is achieved corresponding to a reduction of 1.5 compared with the state‐of‐the‐art literature (min. 0.35 mm). Ultrahigh porosities between 89.5% and 97.2% and a maximum compressive strength of 1.84 ± 0.17 MPa are reached due to the dense struts of the structure. Low‐cost and simple vat ceramic photopolymerization with high accuracy printing proves to be a promising candidate for the rapid and cost‐effective fabrication of highly porous and complex ceramic structures.

Effect of different strut thickness on the mechanical behaviour of 3D printed auxetic structures

In the recent era, the demand for structure design and materials that have mechanical properties to absorb high energy absorption and fracture resistance is growing exponentially. In order to meet the demand for intently designed structures, various structures have been designed and made. Among different design structures, auxetic design structures emerged as a flexible design that fulfilled the needs available in different application fields such as aerospace, defence, biomedical, structural, sponge mops, and many more. The main advantage of auxetic design structure is to show the property of negative Poisson’s ratios (NPR). The materials with NPRexhibit unusual and counterintuitive mechanical behaviour. It means the materials become flatter when stretched. This property allows them to exhibit exceptional mechanical characteristics that make them ideal for a wide range of applications. Further, fabrication techniques were also impacted by the mechanical performance of the auxetic structure. In the context of different fabrication techniques, 3D printing was found to be the most effective method to induce significant mechanical strength in the fabricated parts.Therefore, the present work focuses on the fabrication of auxetic structures using fused deposition modelling (FDM), and FDM is a kind of 3D (Three Dimensional) printing technique. Furthermore, experiments were performed with variations in strut wall thickness ranging from 0.4 to 1.2mm. In order to evaluate the mechanical performance of fabricated structures, compressive testing was performed on the Universal Testing Machine (UTM). In addition, the effect of different strut wall thicknesses on compressive mechanical behaviour was evaluated. The results showed that the maximum compressive strength, compressive Young’s modulus, compressive yield strength, energy absorption capacity, and plateau stress were found to increase with the increase in strut wall thickness.

Effect of design parameters on auxetic behavior and stiffness of additively manufactured 316L stainless steel

Auxetic structures, characterized by showing negative Poisson's ratio (ʋ) when loaded, are cellular metamaterials consisting of connected struts in repeating unit cells. The mechanical behavior of auxetics depends on dimensions of the unit cell such as height and length of the unit cell, strut thickness (St), and orientation angle (θ) of the struts. The present study investigates effects of variations in St and θ on ʋ and stiffness (E) of additively manufactured 316L stainless steel with re-entrant honeycomb auxetics fabricated by laser powder bed fusion technique. Poisson's ratio was acquired through linear elastic simulations via finite element analysis (FEA) and verified experimentally through digital image correlation (DIC) facility attached to tensile tests. The design of the auxetic patterns entailed a simulation of thirty-five distinct models, incorporating St values of 0.4–1.6 mm, as well as θ values of 70–90°. In comparison, experimental validation was conducted on nine specimens, featuring St values of 0.6–1.4 mm, and θ values of 70–80°. FEA and experimental results obtained by DIC exhibited ʋ values of −5.23 to −0.3 (for St 0.6-1.4 mm and θ 70–80°), displaying increased ʋ with reductions in both St and/or θ. Meanwhile, E increased with St increase or θ decrease, exhibiting values of 18.9–72 GPa, which could be optimized to fit with human bones stiffness as potential orthopedics implantation in future.

Ultrathin-strut versus thin-strut stent healing and outcomes in preclinical and clinical subjects.

Compared with thin-strut durable-polymer drug-eluting stents (DP-DES), ultrathin-strut biodegradable-polymer sirolimus-eluting stents (BP-SES) improve stent-related clinical outcomes in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Reduced stent strut thickness is hypothesised to underlie these benefits, but this conjecture remains unproven. We aimed to assess the impact of strut thickness on stent healing and clinical outcomes between ultrathin-strut and thin-strut BP-SES. First, we performed a preclinical study of 8 rabbits implanted with non-overlapping thin-strut (diameter/thickness 3.5 mm/80 μm) and ultrathin-strut (diameter/thickness 3.0 mm/60 μm) BP-SES in the infrarenal aorta. On day 7, the rabbits underwent intravascular near-infrared fluorescence optical coherence tomography (NIRF-OCT) molecular-structural imaging of fibrin deposition and stent tissue coverage, followed by histopathological analysis. Second, we conducted an individual data pooled analysis of patients enrolled in the BIOSCIENCE and BIOSTEMI randomised PCI trials treated with ultrathin-strut (n=282) or thin-strut (n=222) BP-SES. The primary endpoint was target lesion failure (TLF) at 1-year follow-up, with a landmark analysis at 30 days. NIRF-OCT image analyses revealed that ultrathin-strut and thin-strut BP-SES exhibited similar stent fibrin deposition (p=0.49) and percentage of uncovered stent struts (p=0.63). Histopathological assessments corroÂborated these findings. In 504 pooled randomised trial patients, TLF rates were similar for those treated with ultrathin-strut or thin-strut BP-SES at 30-day (2.5% vs 1.8%; p=0.62) and 1-year follow-up (4.3% vs 4.7%; p=0.88). Ultrathin-strut and thin-strut BP-SES demonstrate similar early arterial healing profiles and 30-day and 1-year clinical outcomes.

Enhanced Bone Healing in Critical-Sized Rabbit Femoral Defects: Impact of Helical and Alternate Scaffold Architectures.

This study investigates the effect of scaffold architecture on bone regeneration, focusing on 3D-printed polylactic acid-bioceramic calcium phosphate (PLA-bioCaP) composite scaffolds in rabbit femoral condyle critical defects. We explored two distinct scaffold designs to assess their influence on bone healing and scaffold performance. Structures with alternate (0°/90°) and helical (0°/45°/90°/135°/180°) laydown patterns were manufactured with a 3D printer using a fused deposition modeling technique. The scaffolds were meticulously characterized for pore size, strut thickness, porosity, pore accessibility, and mechanical properties. The in vivo efficacy of these scaffolds was evaluated using a femoral condyle critical defect model in eight skeletally mature New Zealand White rabbits. Then, the results were analyzed micro-tomographically, histologically, and histomorphometrically. Our findings indicate that both scaffold architectures are biocompatible and support bone formation. The helical scaffolds, characterized by larger pore sizes and higher porosity, demonstrated significantly greater bone regeneration than the alternate structures. However, their lower mechanical strength presented limitations for use in load-bearing sites.

Feasibility assessment of polyvinyl alcohol-based bioresorbable cardiovascular stents manufactured via solvent-cast direct writing extrusion

BackgroundBioresorbable stents represent a promising approach in cardiovascular interventions compared to drug-eluting stents. Additive manufacturing, particularly ink deposition, offers customization and versatility. This study delves into the potential of solvent cast direct-write 3D printing to fabricate cardiovascular stents using environmentally friendly solvents. MethodologyPolyvinyl alcohol, a biocompatible synthetic polymer that dissolves in water, was investigated as a suitable material for stent fabrication. The polymer was deposited on a rotating mandrel and subsequently crosslinked to establish a pseudostable state. Test specimens and stents were fabricated for characterization of both the material and stent dynamics. ResultsThis outcome is potentially suitable for deployment in the human body environment and adaptable to various biomedical applications, such as drug delivery patches or implants. The research optimized the fabrication of various stent geometries using polyvinyl alcohol and evaluated the kinetics of the working environment of these stents. Specifically, the 8-cell diamond stent showed remarkable characteristics, such as a high overexpansion of more than 0.5 mm, a compression force of 0.02 N and an elastic recovery of 88.85 %, with a strut thickness of 50.25 μm. Additionally, the study discusses the possibility of sterilizing polyvinyl alcohol with different methods, ethanol and autoclave were selected. ConclusionsThe results indicate that autoclaving leads to an increase in crystallinity. This yields a decrease in water absorption and an increase in mechanical properties. These results suggest that polyvinyl alcohol-based stents fabricated by solvent-cast direct writing are potential candidates for bioresorbable stent design.

Structural design optimization through finite element analysis of additive manufactured bioresorbable polymeric stents

Coronary stents help to treat coronary artery disease. Polymeric-based stents are considered the next generation of these medical devices since the materials are more compatible with human cells. Developing a polymeric bioresorbable stent with a different and optimized design can improve the mechanical performance of polymeric additively manufactured coronary stents. In this study, two different polymers were processed by additive manufacturing, and their mechanical properties were analyzed: poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL). Five different designs (A, B, C, D, and E) were then conceptualized with three different thicknesses. Finite element analysis (FEA) of a stent implantation process, using the mechanical properties of the additively manufactured materials, was used to evaluate the influence of the design, after the stent expansion, on the radial recoil ratio (RRR) and foreshortening. The in-silico results demonstrated that reducing strut thickness originates more plastic deformation, which reduces the RRR and increases the absolute value of foreshortening. PLA-based stents presented less RRR but, simultaneously, more risk of fracture. In the case of PCL-based devices, only designs A, B, and C presented acceptable recoil ratios. Design A is the chosen design as it reduces the RRR for lower thicknesses without risk of fracture during the stent deployment.

Mechanical and Degradation Behavior of Zinc‐Based Biodegradable Metal Foams

Zinc has gained interest as a biodegradable material due to its adequate degradation behavior under physiological conditions and acceptable biocompatibility. However, during the use of zinc as a degradable orthopedical implant, the mechanical properties are expected to change while the implant needs to maintain its function and mechanical support for 12–24 months with the load gradually transferred from the degrading implant to the healing bone. For such investigation, six different kinds of open‐cell zinc foams are fabricated by a modified investment casting method displaying different pore densities and strut thicknesses. Compressive properties and corrosion behavior in simulated body fluids are studied to determine the map of the most relevant parameters that influence the degradation properties. After 4 weeks of immersion in Hank's solution, changes in the slope in the “plateau” region and strain localization are observed. These changes can be explained by supposing microcrack propagation into the depth of the struts due to the progressing corrosion attack.

Comparison Among Ultra-Thin Coronary Stents: A Network Meta-Analysis

Ultrathin-strut drug-eluting stents (DES) have been related to potential improvement in stent-related outcomes compared with thicker-struts DES. However, comparisons among different ultrathin devices are lacking. All randomized controlled trials comparing ultrathin (struts thickness <70 µm) and thicker-struts DESs in an all-comers population were included. Target lesion failure (TLF), as defined by included trials, at 1-year follow-up was the primary end point. Overall mortality, myocardial infarction, target lesion revascularization (TLR), and stent thrombosis were the secondary end points. Arms of included trials were compared using network meta-analysis. Nine studies encompassing 20,081 patients were included, of which 9,509 patients had an ultrathin DES: Orsiro (evaluated in 7 arms with 8,086 patients), MiStent (1 arm with 703 patients), or Supraflex (1 arm with 720 patients). At 1-year follow-up, no significant differences were noted for TLF among these ultrathin DES. In particular, Orsiro was associated with a similar risk of TLF compared with Supraflex (risk rate 1.07, 95% confidence interval 0.59 to 1.78) and showed the highest probability of performing best in terms of TLF, myocardial infarction, and TLR. Ultrathin DES are all associated with a comparable risk of TLF compared with thicker-strut DES. In terms of TLR and TLF risk, Orsiro was the one with the highest probability of best performances, either compared with other ultrathin DES or to devices with thicker struts.

Homogenization of Inconel 625 based periodic auxetic lattice structures with varying strut thickness

The purpose of this research is to analyze the mechanical behavior of auxetic re-entrant-based metamaterials with properties similar to Inconel 625 using homogenization techniques. Through a thorough analysis, this study investigates the displacement patterns exhibited in various materials throughout a range of thicknesses. The examination also includes analyzing how the Young’s modulus changes with varying strut thickness after homogenization. This detailed investigation provides information on the stiffness and deformation response of the material. This research advances our knowledge of the complex mechanical properties of re-entrant-based auxetic metamaterials that resemble Inconel 625 by interpreting these displacement and Young’s modulus patterns.

Bioinspired airwings: Design and additive manufacturing of a geometrically graded microscale maple seed

Additive manufacturing is a key enabler for the fabrication and industrial application of open-celled cellular lattice structures bearing significant potential for lightweight design with advantageous stiffness–weight ratio and reduced build time. For components with strut thicknesses in the micrometer region, however, the influence of the process dominates the quality and properties of the lattice component. This includes geometrical accuracy, surface roughness, internal porosity, nodal constrictions, and elongated grains in the microstructure. The utilization of process-property correlation in the additive design process is rarely shown in the available literature.In this contribution, we develop an ultralight thin-walled maple seed that exhibits a geometrically graded strut design to maintain center of gravity and load per area. This is done by a preliminary closed-form analytical consideration to determine the design space. Second, topology optimization is carried out to obtain a re-designable structure. Using non-dimensional scaling laws enables an accurate prediction of the desired strut thickness. The maple seed has been manufactured with each strut being assigned different process parameters according to the scaling law, coated with clear varnish, and subjected to a flight test as a proof of concept.