Build orientation optimization of additive manufactured parts for better mechanical performance by utilizing the principal stress directions
Márton Tamás Birosz, Ferenc Safranyik, Mátyás Andó
Abstract
As Additive Manufacturing technology is excellent for the production of function-based optimized parts. By choosing the right printing orientation, the dimensional accuracy and surface quality of the parts can be improved. But also possible to achieve improvement of the mechanical properties by the proper orientation. An algorithm has been developed, which can determine the optimal build orientation based on a numerical simulation for a given load case. The adverse and favourable load directions can be defined according to the layer's position by knowing the anisotropic behavior of the printed parts. The optimal print orientation has been found for four investigated geometries, according to the No-Preference and Weighted Sum multiple-objective optimization methods, and therefore the expected mechanical performance was increased. The algorithm was able to reduce the amount of unfavourable stresses by 100 % for simple beam geometries with longitudinal tensile and compression loads, while the more complex geometries were improved to the best possible extent.