Design approaches for additive manufactured components, with a focus on selective laser melting

Additive manufacturing (AM) of metal components is characterized by the joining of material particles or feedstock to make parts described by 3D model data in typically a layer by layer fashion. These modern and constantly improving manufacturing techniques inherently allow far more geometric freedom than traditional "subtractive" manufacturing processes, and thus necessitate novel approaches to component design. Careful utilization of this geometric freedom can be translated into products characterized by improved functionality and performance, simplified assemblies, are customizable, and/or lightweight. This paper provides a brief overview design approaches, manufacturing limitations, and available tools for successful design of additive manufactured components, with special attention paid to the selective laser melting (SLM) approach.