CAD-Simulate-Print: a novel paradigm for additive manufacturing

Abstract

A lack of direct integration between the digital part geometry, defined in a computer-aided design (CAD) file, and the computer-based simulation models is the key obstacle to the selection of process parameters based on scientific understanding for 3D printing of metallic parts. We present here a novel CAD-Simulate-Print framework by enabling a part-scale 3D analytical heat conduction model to directly consider the digitized part geometry from a CAD model and generate multiple possible scan paths for a range of user-defined process conditions. The computed transient temperature field and melt pool dimensions for multiple possible scanning strategy are examined systematically to help select an appropriate printing condition with the minimum susceptibility to lack-of-fusion porosity and part distortion. The computed results showed a fairly reliable agreement with the experimentally measured results. Overall, the proposed CAD – Simulate—Print framework has exhibited a potential to provide a scalable approach for additive manufacturing process design.