METHODS FOR THE DESIGN OF INDIVIDUAL MECHANISMS FOR THE FABRICATION BY ADDITIVE MANUFACURING

Additive Manufacturing (AM) enables the quick and costeffective generation of complex geometries and therefore new business models such as individualized products. The timeconsuming step thereby is no longer the production, but the design of the parts. The key to solve this issue is the development of algorithms for automated process-specific design. Currently, the design process for parts fabricated by AM is still characterized by the procedure used for traditional fabrication processes. Several manual steps are necessary, requiring time and expert knowledge. At our institute, a MATLAB integrated design toolbox is developed, trying to overcome these issues. The basic idea is an algorithmic approach to design problems and a direct generation of surface models that can be fabricated in an AM process. It can be used to realize design tools that allow to define parts by their functionality and not by their geometry. In this work, the toolbox is used to create automated design algorithms for individual compliant mechanisms. A novel droplet-based AM process enabling hard/soft multi material printing is used to fabricate the parts. The scope of the software provides a component library of flexure hinges, mechanical connectors, and grippers that are generated from functional descriptions given by the design engineer. Several application examples of compliant mechanisms realized with the software are shown. An experiment is presented showing investigations of how well functional specifications can be reached.