Considering Part Orientation in Design for Additive Manufacturing

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is established not only in prototyping, but also in serial production of end-use products. To use the full potential of the production technology the restrictions of current additive manufacturing processes (like support structures in Selective Laser Melting) must be considered in the design process. Especially the compliance with design rules from early design stages on is important in AM serial production, due to production quantities and the resulting scale effect. The part orientation in the build space has a strong influence on many quality characteristics. In order to use the full potential and to consider the restrictions from the start, a design guideline is necessary to support the whole design process. For this purpose, this paper presents a framework for design guidelines. The framework distinguishes between process characteristics, design principles and design rules; each supporting the designer during different stages of the design process. Furthermore, the paper examines the influence of part orientation in existing design rules and elaborates its importance. Based on this result, the design principle “early determination of part orientation” is presented, which includes a process for determining the part orientation in early stage of the design process. In addition, a design process for additive manufactured parts is demonstrated on an extensive showcase, following the guideline framework and including the principle for early determination of part orientation. The presented framework proved to be helpful in the design process and will be used in the future to collect more process characteristics, design principles and rules

Composites Part Production with Additive Manufacturing Technologies

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is of particular interest in the context of composite part production as AM promises the production of integrated, complex structures with low lead times. Currently, AM is used for tooling and sandwich cores with added functionalities. This paper presents four design principles that improve the production of composites parts during layup, handling, curing and post processing in the layup process. Design principles are applied to a hat-stiffener, a highly integrated aircraft instrument panel and a novel insert eliminating drilling operations. Results show that AM can reduce the part count, assembly steps and deformations during curing

Additive Fertigung in der industriellen Serienproduktion: Bauteilidentifikation und Gestaltung

Additive Manufacturing (AM), often referred to as 3D printing, is developing very dynamically. The technology and its machines are so mature that additive series production of final components is possible. The digital process chain and in particular the freedom of design are the outstanding properties of the process. If these advantages are properly exploited, serial components can be produced economically - despite the still high manufacturing costs - which has already been proven by various applications. However, despite their high potential, the processes are by no means widely established in series production and are only hesitantly adopted by companies. The lack of know-how and expertise in dealing with the technology is named as a major obstacle by the industry. This applies mainly to the identification of suitable components and their production-specific design. In order to determine the reasons for the lack of expertise despite the provision of knowledge, a literature-based analysis of the reasons is carried out. On this basis, tools and transfer methods are developed to support the implementation of additive series production. An orientation scheme based on potential clusters provides assistance in identification, enabling manual identification. In addition, a documentation and evaluation system is provided which ensures efficient cooperation with AM experts and the formation of identification expertise in the company. Design is a key issue for AM, as it requires a radical rethink in comparison to conventional design, so that the full potential of the technology can be exploited. In order to offer a support suitable for the target group, design guideline is being developed consisting of the three elements: process characteristics, design principles and guideline values. The technology transfer and the transfer of the AM tools - with corresponding experience in their handling - is the prerequisite for the formation of AM expertise in the companies. The Experience-based Transfer Model (ETM) is developed for this purpose, taking into account the findings from the literature analysis. The implementation in the transfer projects shows that the developed support tools for identification and design are successfully applied in industrial applications. The ETM promotes an effective AM expertise formation in the company and supports the acceptance of the provided tools, since their suitability for use is experienced directly on the own product. The combination of support tools and transfer methods enables the implementation of additive manufacturing in series production and facilitates access to technology for companies

Designing a Power Tool to Show the Potentials of Additive Manufacturing - Effects of Additive Manufacturing on the Product Development Process

Today Additive Manufacturing (AM) is mainly used for rapid prototyping and specialized parts for industrial and end-user applications. To communicate the design potentials of AM to a general audience it is useful to demonstrate it with a visionary product, similar to the concept cars of the automotive industry. We have redesigned a power tool to show the benefits of AM on an end-user product. This paper describes the Concept Tool, its different sub-systems and highlights the range of AM’s applications. Furthermore we present our observations and findings during the product development process. Based on these findings a design supporting system is suggested to improve the development process for additive manufactured products.Mechanical Engineerin

Composites Part Production with Additive Manufacturing Technologies

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is of particular interest in the context of composite part production as AM promises the production of integrated, complex structures with low lead times. Currently, AM is used for tooling and sandwich cores with added functionalities. This paper presents four design principles that improve the production of composites parts during layup, handling, curing and post processing in the layup process. Design principles are applied to a hat-stiffener, a highly integrated aircraft instrument panel and a novel insert eliminating drilling operations. Results show that AM can reduce the part count, assembly steps and deformations during curing.ISSN:2212-827