A Design and Fabrication Framework for Periodic Lattice-Based Cellular Structures in Additive Manufacturing

A design framework that incorporates a size optimization algorithm is proposed for periodic lattice-based cellular structures fabricated by additive manufacturing. A 3D modeling process for the lattice-based cellular structures is integrated into the design framework for non-linear finite element analysis (FEA) and production. Material properties for the 3D printed parts are determined for the finite element study using reverse engineering of actual measured data. The lattice layout that will be used in the optimization is selected and the size of the cross sections is optimized using in-house optimization approach for both yield and local buckling criteria. The 3D model for the optimized lattice structure is built and non-linear finite element study is conducted to predict the performance. The approach is demonstrated on a compression block with periodic lattice-based unit cells. Physical parts are 3D printed and tested to compare with the simulations.