Additive manufacturing of composite lattice and shell structures for lightweight applications

增材制造（AM）是一种快速发展的技术，其中产品通过在需要的地方沉积材料来构建。 这与传统的制造工艺（如机械加工或铸造）形成了鲜明对比，在传统的制造工艺中，材料被去除或高度依赖昂贵的工具。 特别是纤维增强聚合物复合材料（FRPC）材料行业，可以从AM的潜力中获益匪浅，为几何复杂的形式打开设计空间，包括拓扑优化的轻质结构，同时减少浪费。拟议研究活动的目标是：（1）开发AM系统和原料材料，使连续纤维增强聚合物复合材料符合行业标准并需要增材制造，（2）将AM的能力扩展到真正的三维纤维放置，特别是沿沿着放置，并将这些三维工具路径与现有有限元分析软件集成，（3）将增材制造技术应用于其他先进高性能复合材料的发展战略。本研究成果将有助于降低低系列高几何复杂度产品的制造成本。 这些先进的材料和制造能力将使航空航天、军事、汽车、石油和天然气、医疗器械和体育器材行业的供应商受益。

Additive manufacturing (AM) is a rapidly developing technology in which products are built up by depositing material where it is needed. This contrasts conventional manufacturing processes, like machining or casting, where material is removed or there is a high dependency on expensive tooling. The fibre-reinforced polymer composite (FRPC) material industry, in particular, has much to gain from AM's potential to open the design space for geometrically complex forms, including topologically optimized lightweight structures, while also reducing waste. The objectives of the proposed research activities are (1) to develop AM systems and feedstock materials that enable continuous fibre reinforced polymer composites that conform with industry standards and needs to be additively manufactured, (2) to expand the capabilities of AM to true 3-dimensional fibre placement particularly along curved surfaces and integrate these 3D toolpaths with existing finite element analysis software, and (3) to developed strategies for applying AM technologies to other classes of advanced high performance composite materials. The outcomes of this research will help reduce manufacturing costs for low series products with high geometrical complexities. These advanced materials and manufacturing capabilities will benefit suppliers to the aerospace, military, automotive, oil and gas, medical device, and sporting equipment sectors.