The improvement and the massive diffusion of additive manufacturing (AM) techniques have fostered the research of design methods to exploit at best the feature introduced by these solutions. The whole design paradigm needs to be changed taking into account new manufacturing capabilities. AM is not only an innovative method of fabrication, but it requires a new way to design products. Traditional practices of mechanical design are changing to exploit all potential of AM, new parameters and geometries could be realized avoiding technologies constrains of molding or machine tooling. The concept of “manufacturing for design” increasingly acquires greater importance and this means we have the chance to focus almost entirely on product functionality. The possibility to confer inhomogeneous properties to objects provides an important design key. We will study behavior and structure according to desired functions for each object identifying three main aspects to vary: infill type, external topology and shape, and material composition. In this research work, we focus on fused deposition modeling (FDM) technology of three dimensional (3D) printing that easily allows to explore all previous conditions. We present a new way to conceive design process in order to confer variable properties to AM objects and some guidelines to control properties of deformation and elasticity using classic infills. The ultimate aim is to apply new design rules provided by AM in the prosthetic field of lower limb amputees. The socket of the prosthesis represents a deformable interface between the residual limb and the artificial leg that must be optimized according to geometry and loads distribution of patient. An application for a transfemoral patient will be discussed.
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September 2017
Research-Article
Additive Manufacturing to Advance Functional Design: An Application in the Medical Field
Claudio Comotti,
Claudio Comotti
Department of Management, Information and
Production Engineering,
University of Bergamo,
Dalmine (BG) 24044, Italy
e-mail: claudio.comotti@unibg.it
Production Engineering,
University of Bergamo,
Dalmine (BG) 24044, Italy
e-mail: claudio.comotti@unibg.it
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Daniele Regazzoni,
Daniele Regazzoni
Department of Management, Information and
Production Engineering,
University of Bergamo,
Dalmine (BG) 24044, Italy
e-mail: daniele.regazzoni@unibg.it
Production Engineering,
University of Bergamo,
Dalmine (BG) 24044, Italy
e-mail: daniele.regazzoni@unibg.it
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Caterina Rizzi,
Caterina Rizzi
Department of Management, Information and
Production Engineering,
University of Bergamo,
Dalmine (BG) 24044, Italy
e-mail: caterina.rizzi@unibg.it
Production Engineering,
University of Bergamo,
Dalmine (BG) 24044, Italy
e-mail: caterina.rizzi@unibg.it
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Andrea Vitali
Andrea Vitali
Department of Management, Information and
Production Engineering,
University of Bergamo,
Dalmine (BG) 24044, Italy
e-mail: andrea.vitali1@unibg.it
Production Engineering,
University of Bergamo,
Dalmine (BG) 24044, Italy
e-mail: andrea.vitali1@unibg.it
Search for other works by this author on:
Claudio Comotti
Department of Management, Information and
Production Engineering,
University of Bergamo,
Dalmine (BG) 24044, Italy
e-mail: claudio.comotti@unibg.it
Production Engineering,
University of Bergamo,
Dalmine (BG) 24044, Italy
e-mail: claudio.comotti@unibg.it
Daniele Regazzoni
Department of Management, Information and
Production Engineering,
University of Bergamo,
Dalmine (BG) 24044, Italy
e-mail: daniele.regazzoni@unibg.it
Production Engineering,
University of Bergamo,
Dalmine (BG) 24044, Italy
e-mail: daniele.regazzoni@unibg.it
Caterina Rizzi
Department of Management, Information and
Production Engineering,
University of Bergamo,
Dalmine (BG) 24044, Italy
e-mail: caterina.rizzi@unibg.it
Production Engineering,
University of Bergamo,
Dalmine (BG) 24044, Italy
e-mail: caterina.rizzi@unibg.it
Andrea Vitali
Department of Management, Information and
Production Engineering,
University of Bergamo,
Dalmine (BG) 24044, Italy
e-mail: andrea.vitali1@unibg.it
Production Engineering,
University of Bergamo,
Dalmine (BG) 24044, Italy
e-mail: andrea.vitali1@unibg.it
Contributed by the Computers and Information Division of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCE IN ENGINEERING. Manuscript received February 5, 2016; final manuscript received June 16, 2016; published online February 16, 2017. Assoc. Editor: ChiKit Au.
J. Comput. Inf. Sci. Eng. Sep 2017, 17(3): 031006 (9 pages)
Published Online: February 16, 2017
Article history
Received:
February 5, 2016
Revised:
June 16, 2016
Citation
Comotti, C., Regazzoni, D., Rizzi, C., and Vitali, A. (February 16, 2017). "Additive Manufacturing to Advance Functional Design: An Application in the Medical Field." ASME. J. Comput. Inf. Sci. Eng. September 2017; 17(3): 031006. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4033994
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