US 10,948,896 B2 · Penalty function on design variables for designing variables for designing cost beneficially additive manufacturable structures

Abstract

One goal in automated product designing of additive manufacturing is to obtain designs having overhangs without support structures if the criterion for overhangs is rigorously geometrical. In an embodiment of the present invention, designers can request automated optimization and design, using simulation and sensitivity-based optimization, of structures having overhangs in the print direction that do not need any support structures. In an embodiment, a method includes, at a processor, calculating model design responses and model sensitivities of a computer-aided engineering (CAE) model in a CAE system based on design variables of the CAE model for various design responses being either applied in objective or constraints. The method further includes optimizing values of the design variables. The method further includes calculating physical design variables by employing a penalty function. Additionally, the calculations can also be in conjunction with employing material interpolation schemes. The method further includes generating an optimized CAE model using the calculated physical design variables. The optimized CAE model is free or partly free of support structures. The method further includes printing the optimized CAE model being free or partly free of support structures.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A method comprising:

by a processor:
initializing a plurality of physical variables and a plurality of parameterized design variables in a computer-aided engineering (CAE) model in a CAE system, the CAE model having a plurality of layers for additive manufacturing, each physical variable representing a physical property for a location of the CAE model and each parameterized design variable representing numerical values defining at least one characteristic of the CAE model;
calculating a physical variable for a given location of a new layer of the CAE model by multiplying a penalty function with at least one parameterized design variable for the given location of the CAE model, the penalty function representing a constraint on previously calculated physical variables in a previously calculated layer in a location related to the given location, the constraint representing an optimized value of a model design response of the CAE model that yields a feasible design, the feasible design being a CAE model free of the need of extraneous support structures;
generating an optimized CAE model having the feasible design using the calculated physical variable;
and
printing the optimized CAE model being free of extraneous support structures.

3 more elements

A system comprising:

a processor;
and
a memory with computer code instructions stored therein, the memory operatively coupled to said processor such that the computer code instructions configure the processor to implement:
a model calculation module configured to initialize a plurality of physical variables and a plurality of parameterized design variables in a computer-aided engineering (CAE) model in a CAE system, the CAE model having a plurality of layers for additive manufacturing, each physical variable representing a physical property for a location of the CAE model and each parameterized design variable representing numerical values defining at least one characteristic of the CAE model;
a penalty function module configured to calculate a physical variable for a given location of a new layer of the CAE model by multiplying a penalty function with at least one-parameterized design variable for the given location of the CAE model, the penalty function representing a constraint on previously calculated variables in a previously calculated layer in a location related to the given location, the constraint representing an optimized value of a model design response of the CAE model that yields a feasible design, the feasible design being a CAE model free of the need of extraneous support structures, and generate an optimized CAE model having the feasible design using the calculated physical variable;
and
a print module configured to print the optimized CAE model being free of extraneous support structures.

4 more elements

A non-transitory computer-readable medium configured to store instructions for optimizing a computer-aided engineering (CAE) model of a CAE system, the instructions, when loaded and executed by a processor, causes the processor to:

initializing a plurality of physical variables and a plurality of parameterized design variables in a CAE model in the CAE system, the CAE model having a plurality of layers for additive manufacturing, each physical variable representing a physical property for a location of the CAE model and each parameterized design variable representing numerical values defining at least one characteristic of the CAE model;
calculate a physical variable for a given location of a new layer of the CAE model by multiplying a penalty function with at least one parameterized design variable for the given location of the CAE model, the penalty function representing a constraint on previously calculated physical variables in a previously calculated layer in a location related to the given location, the constraint representing an optimized value of a model design response of the CAE model that yields a feasible design, the feasible design being a CAE model free of the need of extraneous support structures;
generate an optimized CAE model having the feasible design using the calculated physical design variable;
and
print the optimized CAE model being free of extraneous support structures.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Penalty function on design variables for designing variables for designing cost beneficially additive manufacturable structures

Life of this patent

Penalty function on design variables for designing variables for designing cost beneficially additive manufacturable structures

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20