Design, Analysis, and Production of Lattice Structures Through Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing

Development of powder bed fusion additive manufacturing technologies enabled the introduction of novel components into various industries such as aerospace, biomedical, mold, and die. These novel components, which can be produced by powder bed fusion additive manufacturing, possess several advantages including internal features, lightweight structures, and integrated functionalities. Components with lattice structures are typical examples that possess most of the listed advantages. Lattice structures can be described as volumes or solids which mostly contain internal voids or spaces arrayed along with one or more directions in an orderly manner. They are categorized under three main groups as strut-based lattice structures, shell lattice structures, and triply periodic minimal surface lattice structures. Although their advantages are compelling for various industries, a sufficient understanding is essential to have the benefits. This chapter broadly presents the types and characteristics of lattice structures together with used analytical techniques. Furthermore, it explains different approaches for the design and analysis of these, considering the topology optimizations and the software used. Additionally, discussions on powder bed fusion additive manufacturing of lattice structures are included in the chapter with different aspects of the technique including but not limited to process parameters and process boundaries. All the provided information is supported with application examples from various industries.