Topological Optimization for Additive Manufacturing

Topological optimization (TO) is an increasingly popular tool for the design of mechanical structures, making it possible to obtain lighter components with high structural efficiency. However, such components may be of high geometric complexity, making them difficult to manufacture by traditional subtractive methods. In principle, one can always use additive manufacturing (AM), i.e., adding material in a layer-by-layer process, but, in practice, all AM technologies have limitations and characteristics that must be accounted for in the TO process to ensure high-quality manufactured designs, and developing efficient methods for doing this is the purpose of this study.