Additive Manufacturing Feature Taxonomy and Placement of Parts in AM Enclosure

Abstract

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a layer-by-layer deposition of material for the production of the desired product. The design flexibility associated with AM is much more when compared to the conventional manufacturing process. To manufacture a part with AM, two things play a critical role: the designing of the part and the other is the placement of the part in the build volume. As already mentioned, design flexibility associated with AM is much more when compared to the conventional manufacturing process. However, to correctly implement the design flexibility, we need a knowledge base at our disposal so that appropriate features can be used for the part production. The AM feature taxonomy forms the backbone of the knowledge base. The taxonomy comprises AM features classified based on different categories, which helps us understand every feature's importance. Talking about the part placement, we know that optimal placement is the key factor that makes the AM process economically feasible.