Additive Manufacturability Analysis of Multiscale Aperiodic Structures: A Statistical Mechanics Approach

Abstract

Abstract This paper introduces heuristics based upon statistical mechanics to assist in additive manufacturability analysis of multiscale aperiodic structures. The heuristics associate structural properties at a statistical level with manufacturability. They are derived from four topological properties of the complex network representations of multiscale aperiodic structures. The validity of these heuristics is assessed in two ways. First, cross-model validation compares the manufacturability determined by these heuristics when applied to computationally designed crumpled structures and a microCT scan of the same structures when additively manufactured. Second, external validity assesses the correctness of the heuristics given design parameters that increase the potential for manufacturing errors. The results show the significance of statistical mechanics in providing insight into the additive manufacturability of multiscale aperiodic structures. The paper concludes by discussing the generality of this approach for alternative geometries and provides designers with a framework for interpreting manufacturability from a statistical mechanics perspective.