Topology optimization considering additive manufacturing constraints in an industrial context

Abstract

Manufacturing-oriented Topology Optimization (TO) is an active field of research both in academic and in industrial world. On one hand, the potential offered by topology optimization as a powerful design method is undeniable in improving the structural performance in different areas of engineering. On the other hand, Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology provides numerous industrial mechanisms of manufacturing and producing complex structure where classical methods fail to deliver an outcome. Merging both branches of TO and AM together introduces encouraging results in terms of designing optimized structures showing an acceptable mechanical response. In our contribution, we present a topology optimization model developed for additive manufacturing design. Using an innovative meshing algorithm, we particularly showed how the topology optimization could be implemented in order to consider the constraints of additive manufacturing specifically the printability of the parts with overhang angle. The design of the self-supporting structures is a challenging part of the additive manufacturing process, without which the process becomes tedious in terms of time, efficiency and financial resources. Therefore, a continuous effort for a better understanding of such issue is justified. In this paper, we suggest an improvement on the work carried out by Langelaar in this context. The model used in this study is a more complicated geometry compared to the model used by Langelaar. While the model used by Langelaar is a simple academic model, our work is based on a complex industrial geometry. The Optimality Criteria (OC) was exploited as the TO method in our work. The novelty of our work lies particularly in utilising the unstructured mesh, which, is a first attempt in using such grids in this context. An innovative numerical algorithm is designed specifically for taking into account the critical overhang design in order to avoid support structures. It is worth mentioning that the numerical results obtained in our research work are the outcome of an in house code developed in collaboration between Altran Technologies and Université de Technologie de Belfort-Montbéliard.