HPC-enabled geometry-compliant lattice structures for 3d printing and structural simulation

Additive manufacturing enables the production of complex parts that cannot be created with traditional manufacturing methods and permits previously impossible production improvements. Intricate lattice structures, for example, can be produced through additive manufacturing and allow engineers to optimize material distribution and load carrying to achieve superior strength- to-weight ratios. However, additive manufacturing has seen limited adoption for structural and mission-critical parts, largely because additive structures (such as lattices) are often too complex for their behavior to be accurately predicted by commercial finite element analysis software. To enable broader deployment of additive manufacturing requires a significant enhancement to simulation capabilities. This SBIR Phase II project will facilitate the certification, through computer simulation, of additively manufactured lattice structures, to a scale not previously possible. The highly qualified team will develop and commercialize a novel, spline-based, GPU-accelerated simulation technology for lattice structures in additive manufacturing. In Phase I of this project, the team demonstrated a proof of concept for this approach. They showed that this approach easily scales to a lattice structure that is over three times larger than the current industry limit. Phase I also saw the development of a proof of concept, integrated design-through-simulation pipeline for structural lattice design and simulation based on proprietary technology, and the development of a proprietary method that dramatically decreases the meshing burden common to existing industrial lattice simulation techniques. Finally, in Phase I it was established that, with virtually zero meshing burden and far fewer degrees of freedom, simulation results can be achieved that are essentially identical to results from traditional methods. In Phase II and beyond, these capabilities will be further developed with input from commercial partners to refine them for industry needs. GPUs will be leveraged to scale the product for wider use and larger problems. When fully developed, this project will allow industry users to significantly decrease their dependence on physical prototyping. 3D printing industry leaders supported and provided feedback to the Phase I effort and continue to see this approach as a potential “holy grail” to unlock the benefits of structural FEA to 3D printing at scale for the first time. These benefits include faster time to market, lightweighting for reduced fuel consumption, and cost-effective low-volume parts. This technology is anticipated to support not only an explosion in the volume of parts and components that can be 3D printed once computer simulation is possible, but also an increase in innovation and creativity leading to entirely new and unanticipated categories of 3D printing.