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We’ve set up our design process to be efficient and reliable for the tools at our disposal, and with 3D printing, it’s about time to shake it up. 3D printing is inherently different from traditional manufacturing techniques and, to explore its true potential, we need to rely on design tools that help us explore new directions. Sandia Labs argues that this technology doesn’t plug easily into established production methodologies, both in terms of speed and how the variables involved impact the parts. The different features of a 3D printed part are a challenge for precision manufacturing lines. Apart from industrial compatibility issues, to see where we can push 3D printing we need to think outside the box. Concepts like 4D manufacturing help us envision what we can achieve with the technology, with parts that react to temperature, light or mechanical changes. This is nothing new in and of itself, but it’s been explored through 3D printing and it’s empowered design capabilities. We are already on the right track to reinvent the design process through smart digital tools, like generative design and quick iterative cycles, and the future looks exciting.
Sandia Labs Focused on Optimizing Design for 3D Printing
3D printing is capable of streamlining both design and production processes, but most designers (and many design tools) aren’t really prepared to take advantage of the design possibilities the technology presents. Traditional design methods applied to additive manufacturing don’t necessarily lead to fully optimized designs. Sandia National Laboratories’ Laboratory Directed Research and Development project hopes to point the industry in the right direction.
According to Sandia, the project focused on “how to put less precise 3D printed parts together with precise tools, taking advantage of the rapid prototyping, design and manufacturing possible with additive manufacturing.”
Read the full article here.
MIT engineers create 3D-printed magnetic shape-shifters
Engineers from MIT have designed soft, 3D-printed structures that can transform their shape “almost instantaneously” with the wave of a magnet. The magnetically manipulated objects are made using a type of 3D-printable ink developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which has been infused with tiny magnetic particles.
Read the rest here.
Autodesk University: How is Generative Design used Within Additive Manufacturing?
With a keenness to learn more about how design processes can affect AM end-production, 3D Printing Industry attended Autodesk University’s industrial talk entitled “Generative Design: Past, Present, and Future”. This lecture was led by Autodesk’s Principal Technical Consultant Andrew Harris and Allin Groom a Research Engineer at Autodesk.
Read more at 3D Printing Industry.
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