New additive lattice design workflow

The MTC partner with Betatype to demonstrate a new design workflow that is up to eight times faster for the creation of highly complex additive lattice structures

The Challenge

Additive manufacturing (AM) provides the ability to manufacture highly complex geometry. However, the complexity of these geometries is limited by the current design and file processing workflow:

• The typical AM workflow requires the generation of a surface meshed geometry (usually .stl) which limits the achievable geometric complexity
• Highly complex and dense lattice structures are extremely time consuming to create and validate through conventional CAD and finite element techniques
• Build times increase substantially with geometrical complexity due to the increased contour scanning time

MTC's Solution

• In partnership with Betatype, the MTC developed a workflow that was based around Betatype’s engine software, through creation of a highly complex lattice demonstrator component
• The workflow incorporates lattice-based modelling and validation via finite element analysis, whilst avoiding the bottleneck of faceted data representation

The Outcome

• A quantitative assessment of improvements for the current workflow
• A demonstration of how processing a geometry of this complexity is challenging through current workflows
• A method of validating highly complex lattice structures was demonstrated
• Build speed improvements of up to 4x were demonstrated when using Betatype’s generated build file, compared to the machine manufacturer’s build file

Benefits to the Client

• An AM designer is now able to design and validate highly complex and efficient geometries which were previously not possible
• File processing up to 8x faster
• Build times for complex geometries up to 4x faster
• Working with the MTC has given Betatype exposure to a number of industrial companies who would be interested in this new capability