General Electric Company
Optimized support design for sintering parts with complex features

Abstract:

A method and system to receive a specification defining a model of a part to be produced by an additive manufacturing (AM) process; define a design space to enclose the part and a support structure for the part, the support structure to support the part and printed with the part during the AM process; execute an iterative topology optimization(TO) based at least in part on the specification for the part and the defined design space, to generate a TO support structure that counteracts predicted gravity-based distortions during the AM process; save a record of the generated TO support structure; and transmit the record of the TO support structure to an AM controller, the AM controller to control an AM system to generate an instance of the part and the TO support structure based on the record.