Accessibility of support structures in topology optimization for additive manufacturing

Additive manufacturing (AM) and topology optimization (TO) have a synergetic relation, as AM can produce complex TO designs, and TO provides high-performance parts that utilize the form freedom provided by AM. Recently, TO has been tailored more toward AM with the inclusion of the minimum allowable overhang angle as a design constraint:...

Fast Detection of Heat Accumulation in Powder Bed Fusion Using Computationally Efficient Thermal Models

The powder bed fusion (PBF) process is a type of Additive Manufacturing (AM) technique which enables fabrication of highly complex geometries with unprecedented design freedom. However, PBF still suffers from manufacturing constraints which, if overlooked, can cause various types of defects in the final part. One such constraint is the local...

Topology optimization for additive manufacturing with controllable support structure costs

Advances in additive manufacturing (AM) allow economical production of components with unprecedented geometric complexity. This offers exciting opportunities for innovative designs, and particularly topology optimization has been identified as a key technique to fully exploit the capabilities of AM. However, also AM involves manufacturing...