Roy, Ishaan Gir, Tanvi met with Autodesk's Peter Simpson, who is experienced with generative design and manufacture and works as a Simulation Customer Advocacy Manager. The agenda of the meeting included a brief overview of the team, our generative experience, our aims with the generative and finally a more detailed breakdown of the current generative parts for Sporadic Impulse and the challenges we're facing with them.
Below are the key feedback points with regards to Generative Design Setup and Generative Manufacturing
- Xometry provides a free plug in for Fusion 360 that can provide useful cost estimates and direct you to production via their online service
- Autodesk's Birmingham Office have recently received some new metal 3D printers from 1-Click Metal. Firstly it would be useful to develop an industry manufacturing connection with such a company to help long term. In the short term, it may be possible to get the booster stoppers printed for free as part of the printer calibration process – Steven Parkinson has been contacted and details requested
- Dyson school have significant links with Autodesk and Generative Design – it may be worth getting in touch with a lecturer who conducts research in Generative Design and they may be have links with industry that could provide a manufacturing option – at the very least they could become a metal additive consultant for the team
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Using unrestricted outcomes to inform the load case is a solid workflow but should not be used for actual components – instead enabling additive and 3 axis with all 6 directions enabled can often provide a useful constraint
- a 10mm head diameter for example ensure accessibility requirements for machining but should not affect the optimality of the design significantly – this comes onto the crucial point that the most optimal result is unlikely to be manufacturable but at the cost of a small amount of added weight you can get outcomes that are easily manufacturable and that is a more reliable option long term given our budget and timeline restrictions
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Its important to consider the other load cases the component will experience during manufacture that haven't been included in the simulation – eg parts (eg Jonathon) with holes out of plane of printing direction will be modelled as solid cylinders and the holes will need to be machined out; this can put significant radial loads on the component that could lead to failure of more "spindly" members
- Also thin members are susceptible to failure or prestress due to heating and cooling during the printing process
- The booster stoppers could be made easily manufacturable by adjusting the angles of some of the members to reduce overhang – requires basic T-spline editing
Peter is also based in London and is willing to come in and give more detailed feedback on our parts which has been planned for around the Easter Design Review