Construction of a Surface Model and Layered Manufacturing Data From 3D Homogenization Output

A homogenization method has been recently developed to optimize the topology of a structure. This method will suggest a structural topology, but the results will be in finite element form. Most engineering applications, however, require smooth structures, whether the faces of the structures be planar or curved. Given the topology of a three-dimensional structure as suggested by the homogenization method, an algorithm is developed to interpret the structure and generate a smooth, manufacturable surface representation of the structure. Structures designed by the homogenization method can be quite complex and traditional manufacturing technique may not be well suited for constructing them. Layered manufacturing is adopted for producing such structures and it is shown how to generate the necessary data for this novel manufacturing technique from the surface model of the structure. Some steps of the algorithm require designer inputs. Examples are given which demonstrates this algorithm.