{"id":1783,"date":"2022-05-04T10:28:40","date_gmt":"2022-05-04T14:28:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/faculty.wcu.edu\/mtanaka\/?page_id=1783"},"modified":"2026-05-26T15:49:33","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T19:49:33","slug":"topology-optimization","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/faculty.wcu.edu\/mtanaka\/topology-optimization\/","title":{"rendered":"Topology Optimization"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"et_pb_section_0 et_pb_section et_section_regular et_block_section\"><div class=\"et_pb_row_0 et_pb_row et_block_row\"><div class=\"et_pb_column_0 et_pb_column et_pb_column_4_4 et-last-child et_block_column et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough\"><div class=\"et_pb_text_0 et_pb_text et_pb_bg_layout_light et_pb_module et_block_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_text_inner\"><h3><strong>Topology Optimization<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><em>Topology Optimization in 3D Metal Printing:<\/em>\u00a0Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) is a new technology that can be utilized to create structures that cannot be produced by traditional machining processes.\u00a0 Unlike traditional subtractive manufacturing that removes material to produce a component, additive manufacturing produces parts by adding successive layers.\u00a0 In subtractive manufacturing, cost of a part increases with the amount of material removed due to increased labor time.\u00a0 There is a tradeoff between part cost and part weight.\u00a0 The opposite is true for additive manufacturing \u2013 the reducing part weight reduces raw material cost, labor cost, processing time, and weight.\u00a0 As a result, employing topology optimization methods to reduce part weight also reduces cost.\u00a0Jeremy Smith successfully defended his thesis to use ANSYS finite elements analysis (FEA) and topology optimization software to optimize the design of a 3D metal printed bicycle crank arm.\u00a0 He also employed Design for Metal additive manufacturing guidelines to improve the manufacturability of the design prior to printing. Overall, he achieved a 41% weight reduction and associated cost savings with the new design while maintaining the components ability to carry a load.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1221 alignnone size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/faculty.wcu.edu\/mtanaka\/files\/2019\/04\/Original-Crank-300x148.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"148\" srcset=\"https:\/\/faculty.wcu.edu\/mtanaka\/files\/2019\/04\/Original-Crank-300x148.jpg 300w, https:\/\/faculty.wcu.edu\/mtanaka\/files\/2019\/04\/Original-Crank.jpg 526w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\u00a0<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1224 alignnone size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/faculty.wcu.edu\/mtanaka\/files\/2019\/04\/Optimized-Crank-300x149.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"149\" srcset=\"https:\/\/faculty.wcu.edu\/mtanaka\/files\/2019\/04\/Optimized-Crank-300x149.jpg 300w, https:\/\/faculty.wcu.edu\/mtanaka\/files\/2019\/04\/Optimized-Crank.jpg 541w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>Controlling Material Properties using Mesostructures:<\/em>\u00a0Terail Conts is designing \u201cmaterials\u201d in which the elastic modulus can be adjusted. This is being achieved by 3D printing mesostructures within the material.\u00a0 These meso structures are smaller that the overall size of the part so overall part shapes can be achieved.\u00a0 However, they are larger than the microstructure, material grains visible using a microscope.\u00a0 Mesostructures are typically on the order of 0.1 mm to 1.5 mm in size.\u00a0 Unlike foam metal that has a random mesostructure, the mesostructure created by 3D printing can be designed enabling more control of material properties.\u00a0 One application of this research is to enable the ability to create an orthopaedic implant with an elastic modulus that matches that of bone to avoid stress shielding.\u00a0 Moreover, because the material stiffness can be adjusted throughout the structure, areas of higher stress can be stiffened and other areas can be made more compliant.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":180,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1783","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/faculty.wcu.edu\/mtanaka\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/faculty.wcu.edu\/mtanaka\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/faculty.wcu.edu\/mtanaka\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faculty.wcu.edu\/mtanaka\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/180"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faculty.wcu.edu\/mtanaka\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1783"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/faculty.wcu.edu\/mtanaka\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1783\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2708,"href":"https:\/\/faculty.wcu.edu\/mtanaka\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1783\/revisions\/2708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/faculty.wcu.edu\/mtanaka\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}