Evaluation of design and optimization software for Additive Manufacturing with focus on topology optimization

Abstract: During the past years, new production processes have been developed which build adding step by step layers on the previous ones. These techniques are referred to as 3D printing or Additive Manufacturing (AM). The introduction of metals among the materials available to manufacture parts led to revolutionary developments in the manufacturing field. The first consequence of using such techniques is the freedom of design that can be assigned by the designer, thus implying the production of complex parts. Another benefit is the reduction of waste material. Aerospace and automotive industries are trying to exploit AM, to obtain high performance with weight and cost savings. Full potential of design freedom can be realised by making effective use of topology optimization (TO). It helps to reduce the weight of the structures while keeping the same performance, or even enhancing it. However, the potential of TO can be only exploited if combined with AM, since the results given by the topology optimization simulations are sometimes complex shapes, which can be produced only by the AM process regardless of the layout of the part being fabricated. In this project the optimization of an automotive upright is performed, in order to take advantage to reduce its weight. An investigation of topology optimization results carried out on Alumec 89 (the original material for the upright), titanium alloy Ti6Al4V and steel AISI 4142 is performed. The aim is to reduce weight and improve the performance by changing to titanium, but other aspects need to be taken into account. If the reduction of weight is not followed by effectiveness from the technical and economical point of views, the design option cannot be selected. The aim is to also investigate if an optimization on the aluminium component gives feasible results, or changing to steel can be an economical option even with an increase in the weight. In the first part of the present work topology optimization approach is presented. Then the advantages of combining TO and AM are highlighted. Following this the challenge in design of the upright is presented along with description of materials investigated for its design. In addition, the cost and environmental impact considerations are also discussed. In the second part, which is the experimental one, at first the software explored for performing the optimization are presented: Siemens NX 8.5, Inspire 2015, ParetoWorks 2016 within Solidworks, ANSYS 14.0, Within 2016. Afterwards the design analysis settings, along with the results coming from each software (benefits and limitations as well) are described. The best software will be chosen, according to the preset objectives. SolidThinking Inspire 2015 turned out to be the best TO software, since it is able to cover most of the steps through the concept of the design to the actual production of the component. In addition, the material that suits the most to this work is aluminium alloy. It can withstand the stress acting on the component (even after material reduction), it is a material with no high price and it can be easily recycled.