Goal-Oriented Inverse Design (GoID) of feedstock filament for fused deposition modeling

Additive manufacturing (AM) can produce complex geometrical shapes and multi-material parts that are not possible using typical manufacturing processes. The properties of multi-material AM parts are often unknown. For multi-material parts made using Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), these properties are driven by the filament. Acquiring the properties of the products or the filament necessitates experiments that can be expensive and time-consuming. Thus, there is a need for simulation-based design tools that can determine the multi-material properties of the filament by exploring the complex process-structure-property(p-s-p) relationship. In this paper, we present a Goal-Oriented Inverse Design (GoID) method to produce feedstock filament for FDM process with specific property goals. Using this method, the designers connects the structure and property in the p-s-p relationship by identifying satisficing material composition for specific property goals. The filament properties identified in the problem are percentage elongation, tensile strength, and Young’s Modulus. The problem is formulated using a generic decision-based design framework, Concept Exploration Framework. The solution space exploration for satisficing solutions is performed using the compromise Decision Support Problem (cDSP). The forward information flow is first established to generate the necessary mathematical relationships between the composition and the property goals. Next, the target property goals of the filament are set. The cDSP is used for solution space exploration to identify satisficing solutions for material composition for the target property goals. While the results are interesting, the focus of our work is to demonstrate, and refine, the goal-oriented, inverse design method for the AM domain.