A framework for designing end use products for direct manufacturing using additive manufacturing technologies
Year: 2017
Editor: Anja Maier, Stanko Škec, Harrison Kim, Michael Kokkolaras, Josef Oehmen, Georges Fadel, Filippo Salustri, Mike Van der Loos
Author: Zhu, Zicheng; Pradel, Patrick; Bibb, Richard; Moultrie, James
Series: ICED
Institution: 1: University of Cambridge, United Kingdom; 2: Loughborough University, United Kingdom
Section: Design for X, Design to X
Page(s): 327-336
ISBN: 978-1-904670-93-3
ISSN: 2220-4342
Abstract
Additive Manufacturing (AM) has enjoyed rapid development over the past decade and improved process capability brings attractive potentials for direct manufacturing of end use components and products. This opens a new avenue for designers to design a much wider variety of products in a more time and cost effective way. A new research field – design for AM – is emerging, exploring new design principles, methods and rules. However, the vast majority of the methods and rules presented to date focus on the feature level, which are specifically applied at the detail design stage to ensure the manufacturability of the features for a given AM process. This does not enable designers to fully benefit from unique AM capabilities. Therefore, this paper proposes a framework that holistically considers design freedoms, AM advantages and limitations for designing end use products, providing guidance throughout process selection and different design stages. The major considerations in the design process are addressed, showing effective ways of making use of AM. Process characteristics, design rules and implications of using AM on product shape, quality and economic viability are also described.
Keywords: Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM), Additive Manufacturing, Design process, Fused Deposition Modelling, Selective Laser Sintering