On design for additive manufacturing: evaluating geometrical limitations

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present Design Rules for additive manufacturing and a method for their development. Design/methodology/approach – First, a process-independent method for the development of Design Rules was worked out. Therefore, geometrical standard elements and attributes that characterize the elements’ shapes have been defined. Next, the standard elements have been manufactured with different attribute values with Laser Sintering, Laser Melting and Fused Deposition Modeling, and their geometrical quality was examined. From the results, Design Rules for additive manufacturing were derived and summarized in a catalogue. Findings – Due to the process independent method, Design Rules were developed that apply for the different considered additive manufacturing technologies equally. These Design Rules are completely function-independent and easily transferable to individual part designs. Research limitations/implications – The developed Design Rules can only apply for the considered boundary conditions. To extend the Design Rules’ validity, their applicability should be proven for other boundary conditions. Practical implications – The developed Design Rules practically support the design of technical parts. Additionally they can be used for training and teaching in the field of “design for additive manufacturing”. Originality/value – The developed Design Rules constitute a first step toward general Design Rules for Additive Manufacturing. Thus, they might form a suitable basis for further scientific approaches, and the Design Rules can be used to set up teaching documentations for lessons and seminars.