This paper was produced for the 2019 NAFEMS World Congress in Quebec Canada

Resource Abstract

Design and manufacturing are changing in this new era of industry renaissance. Companies are becoming more innovative and creative with their products. Competition is stronger than ever before, and so a fundamental transformation in design and manufacture is now on the horizon.



Additive Manufacturing (AM) is maturing fast enough to replace traditional manufacturing techniques. 3D Printing technology is now a viable means of custom production shaping up the future of manufacturing across many industries. As industries begin to adopt AM, some key elements of traditional manufacturing are being transformed, beginning with the basics of how parts design.



3D Printing enables the creation of not only complex and organic shapes but provides a method of assembly part consolidation. While this provides the desired design freedom, the many variables involved makes this process challenging to design the most optimized shape.



Furthermore, addressing product stiffness, lightweight designs, real-life performance considerations and identifying the best partner to go from design to manufactured parts, is key to seeing AM as a valuable tool for the overall success of an engineering company.



This paper aims to address some of these critical challenges. An example model is used to discuss workflows and processes to put a napkin sketch idea from concept to a 3D printed finished part. This paper will illustrate the workflow and best practices to design 3D printed parts using 3D CAD. Once an initial design is drafted, ideal ways to use a CAD-embedded simulation analysis will be examined to explore 3D modeling design for AM. After the pre-final design is established using the topology simulation tools, further analysis such as Fatigue, Frequency, and Vibration will be performed to predict and have confidence in the overall performance of the product in operation. Once the final design is approved based on the analysis results, the paper will conclude on ways to use online services to digitize the part to the production process.