{"id":2660,"date":"2019-11-21T11:24:50","date_gmt":"2019-11-21T16:24:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/thought-leadership\/?p=2660"},"modified":"2026-03-26T12:02:31","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T16:02:31","slug":"optimizing-designs-for-additive-manufacturing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/thought-leadership\/optimizing-designs-for-additive-manufacturing\/","title":{"rendered":"Optimizing designs for additive manufacturing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Manufacturers are replacing parts and assemblies with 3D printed components, reducing cost, material and weight via additive manufacturing<\/a> (AM). There is a myriad of opportunities for improving design functionality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fully realizing additive\u2019s\npotential requires a robust design and modeling software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Ashley Eckhoff, Marketing Manager for Siemens Manufacturing Engineering group, concentrating on Additive Manufacturing.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In a recent additivemanufacturing.media<\/a><\/em> article<\/a> by Ashley Eckhoff, of Siemens Digital Industries, he discusses how design and modeling software are enabling users to optimize additive manufactured parts for both cost and function.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMost organizations familiar with additive manufacturing\n(AM) understand that it makes little sense to simply print production parts\nwholesale that were designed for other manufacturing methods,\u201d<\/em> says Eckhoff. \u201cThe real strength of additive manufacturing\nis allowing the utilization of geometries that are not necessarily suitable for\nmanufacturing via different methods. However, most companies do not yet\nhave the knowledge or expertise to design for AM in a way that leverages the\nfull potential of this technology.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A fundamental paradigm shift is occurring, from the dynamic of human designers dictating processes to the transition of computer algorithms, affecting major design decisions. There\u2019s a rethinking of the methodology in manufacturing by the design and engineering industries that are shifting from computer-aided-design to computer-generated design. And, additive manufacturing is the innovation driving this tectonic shift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Realizing AM potential through technology<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Additive manufacturing is a geometry agnostic<\/em> technology, meaning that it allows companies to\nmanufacture and produce intricate geometries, not possible with traditional legacy\nmanufacturing methods. So, it\u2019s opening the door of opportunity for\ndesigners and engineers to create what would seem to be unattainable designs. However,\ntheory is sometimes simpler than application, causing slow adoption of additive\nmanufacturing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Companies are learning what is possible with additive manufacturing and the demand for software systems that can optimize and print inconceivable geometries.  They are creating optimized products and parts that use fewer materials for functional requirements of the part, increasing efficiency by reducing the weight and optimizing its function.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, there is freedom in design by printing parts that would be difficult with traditional methods. Moreover, it\u2019s producing diversity in parts with some that may are assemblies combined into a single part, while others are from generative design<\/a> operations. This geometric freedom that additive manufacturing provides carries the potential for part design, including the combining of multiple layers of optimization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new designs entail a geometry that no human has ever created, explicitly tuned to the inputs of the system. Since the design process is based on a simulation<\/a>, the result is highly automated, with custom optimization solutions for a specific set of inputs. Therefore, each geometry would be different based on the results of the part, especially during cooldown, revealing distortions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Siemens and HP partner in creating highly optimized parts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n