Design for Manufacturing of Multi-material Mechanical Parts: A Computational Based Approach

This study presents an approach to the mechanical design of multi-material parts, intending to provide the values of the involved design variables, such as reduced metal thickness, number of composite layers and layer orientation. The proposed method incorporates the Finite Element simulations into a Genetic Algorithm framework that aims to yield a multi-material part, with the minimum possible weight, whilst satisfying the imposed design requirements. An additional objective function, the minimization of the elastic energy, is introduced so as for the best fiber orientation of each layer to be acquired. A plate, subjected to uniform forces/moments, has been adopted in order for the effectiveness of the approach to be demonstrated. The results show that the upper limit to weight reduction is constrained by the yield strength of the metal component, hence its corresponding thickness. Based on the design configuration, weight savings up to 9% could be reached.