Integrated design exploration of products, materials, and processes in additive manufacturing using inverse design method

Additive manufacturing (AM) has multiple advantages over traditional manufacturing processes. However, AM has limitations such as the uncertainty of properties or performance of final products. This arises from the lack of understanding of physical phenomena in the AM processes. The mechanical properties and performance of AM products are typically determined experimentally which is time-consuming and expensive. Thus, there is a need for computational design tools and methods that can assist designers with efficient decision-making to achieve products with desired properties by tailoring different stages of the manufacturing process. An inverse design method for integrated design space exploration of products, materials, and manufacturing processes for AM domain is presented. The method is presented for a manufacturing process where conventional and AM processes are integrated to realize AM products. The method uses sequential information flow in the process-structure–property-performance(p–s–p–p) space of each manufacturing process to perform design space exploration and facilitates flow of information between the processes to achieve products with desired properties. The compromise Decision Support Problem (cDSP) forms the primary mathematical construct of the method to generate satisficing design solutions at each stage of the manufacturing processes to meet the end goals of the products. The method is discussed using a material extrusion process where the designer uses a non-commercial filament to manufacture AM products with desired properties. Multiple cDSP based inverse designs are formulated to make design decisions at different stages of the integrated manufacturing process. This method can be modified to include more steps in the process or expand the design space for other AM problems and processes.