Topology optimization using solid isotropic material with penalization technique for additive manufacturing

The main objective of this paper is to combine topology optimization and additive manufacturing. Topology optimization is performed using the solid isotropic material with penalization ( SIMP) technique which is implemented through FEA solver package Altair Optistruct 12.0. A simply supported beam formulation is considered for applying topology optimization. The 3d model is generated using Creo Parametric 2.0 and finite element model is prepared using Altair Hypermesh 12.0. The analysis results for the prescribed boundary conditions for the initial design and the optimized designs are compared. The optimized models are fabricated using the Stratasys's Fortus 250 mc FDM machine. The study presented in this paper demonstrates the effectiveness of the SIMP technique of Topology Optimization for Additive manufacturing. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.