Making the Most of Additive Manufacturing: Facing the Challenge

Additive manufacturing processes allow overcoming most of the design-related limitations. However, to make the most of this technology, it is necessary to design parts specifically for this process. From this standpoint, an aircraft part has been designed by using the topology optimisation method. Since “optimal” part is non-existent, two different “optimized” part designs have been realized, manufactured and compared to the initial part, regarding their mechanical performance. This study revealed different issues related to the selective laser melting process.