A new methodology of constructing products using additive manufacturing technology: Case study of a push button

Abstract

The effective construction of innovative and customized products using Additive Manufacturing Technology remains a challenging task when dealing with mass production in industry. This paper describes a new methodology for solving various problems of constructing a product using Additive Manufacturing technology. The objective is to minimize the number of parts of the final product by embedding those parts to the main geometry while simultaneously increasing the lifecycle of the product. This can be achieved by integrating one or more parts to the main structure of the product with the proper use of a parametric CAD system that generates parts with parameterization and constraints. The developed methodology has been applied to the manufacturing of a push button as an integrated product consisting only of one part. Finite element simulation and mechanical testing was used to verify the approach based on design requirements related to fatigue strength and distance to stroke. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.