An Open Source Framework for Integrated Additive Manufacturing and Level-Set-Based Topology Optimization

Abstract

Topology optimization has been considered as a promising tool for conceptual design due to its capability of generating innovative design candidates without depending on the designer's intuition and experience. Various optimization methods have been developed through the years, and one of the promising options is the level-set-based topology optimization method. The benefit of this alternative method is that the design is characterized by its clear boundaries. This advantage can avoid postprocessing work in conventional topology optimization process to a large extent and realize direct integration between topology optimization and additive manufacturing (AM). In this paper, practical algorithms and a matlab-based open source framework are developed to seamlessly integrate the level-set-based topology optimization procedure with AM process by converting the design to STereoLithography (STL) files, which is the de facto standard format for three-dimensional (3D) printing. The proposed algorithm and code are evaluated by a proof-of-concept demonstration with 3D printing of both single and multimaterial topology optimization results. The algorithm and the open source framework proposed in this paper will be beneficial to the areas of computational design and AM.