Mehrzieloptimierung der Bauteilorientierung für Anwendungen der Rapid-Technologie (English shop)

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Owing to the unique characteristic of virtually tool-free generative component manufacturing with significant design freedom, advances in the field of rapid technology have made it possible not only to produce physical prototypes (rapid prototyping) but also to rapidly manufacture marketable products with series-identical or near-series properties (rapid manufacturing). However, along with the improvements in the processes and their increasing versatility in application, the number of process-specific interactions and thus the overall complexity of process preparation have also increased. A key element of the preparatory measures is the appropriate selection of the part orientation.

This work therefore quantifies the influencing criteria to be taken into account when selecting the orientation (e.g. the staircase effect) and defines corresponding quality criteria with the aid of mathematical models. The relationships established between these characteristic values and the search variables ultimately permit the selection of a part orientation based on rules and geometric analysis, taking qualitative and economic aspects into account.

To implement appropriate optimisation strategies, numerous routines of algorithmic geometry are developed and applied by abstracting the optimisation problem to an initially purely mathematical level. A genetic algorithm is employed in order to realise a multi-objective optimisation of the part orientation, observing manufacturing-related as well as functional boundary conditions within acceptable response times. The algorithms developed for solving geometric subtasks are finally validated with respect to the quality of their results and their general applicability by means of numerous application examples. An essential feature of the optimisation model is the absence of any restrictions.

The concept presented here for the multi-criteria optimisation of part orientation enables the qualitative and quantitative prediction of process and part quality for different manufacturing objectives by simulating the manufacturing process. Owing to its practical orientation, the optimisation model developed can be applied in the design process to reduce product development times and to open up new potential in rapid technology by closing the CAD–RP/RM chain.