From Concept to Print: An Integrated Optimisation Platform for Lattice-based Additive Manufacturing

Objective

Additive manufacturing (AM) offers unprecedented potential to produce complex, lightweight, and optimised components. Yet industrial design is dominated by paradigms developed for traditional manufacturing, leading industries to “print” conventional designs rather than exploit AM’s full potential. The result is excessive material use, high energy demand, and suboptimal performance. To address this, Concept-AM introduces a new paradigm: Design Optimisation for Additive Manufacturing (DOfAM). This fully integrated software environment will guide designs from initial concept to AM-ready output. Building on insights from my ERC project, Concept-AM translates nature’s design principles, which produce efficient and resilient structures across the natural world, into practical, industry-ready tools for AM that will deliver structurally optimised, lightweight components that outperform conventional parts. Technical developments during the Concept-AM project will target code migration, algorithm development, and deployment of graphical user interfaces and workflows. The resulting integrated Concept-AM environment will enable (i) automated generation of functionally graded porous structures, (ii) in-situ topology optimisation using biomimetic principles, and (iii) seamless design-to-print integration with AM-specific constraints. The commercialisation pathway for Concept-AM focuses on licensing an integrated IP package to established CAD/AM vendors through development of a spinout-ready business case, while retaining an open-source base to drive adoption and community engagement. For industry, Concept-AM will offer a one-stop platform to create lighter, stronger, and more cost-effective components. For society, it reduces material and energy consumption, setting a new standard for sustainable AM. By uniting design, optimisation, and manufacturing, Concept-AM eliminates fragmentation, speeds adoption, and unlocks AM’s potential for scalable, sustainable production.