Toolpaths should do more than just fill space

You know what I am talking about. Material Extrusion 3D printing (FFF/FDM) doesn't generally have the most advanced tool-pathing capabilities. The main goal with most slicers is to draw an outline and then color within the lines to leave as little blank space as possible, or create nice regular patterns to target the balance of solid and hollow you are looking for. Much of the time, this is more than sufficient because much of FFF/FDM is all about the outside of the part - whether a prototype or a simple tool.

The problem is that FFF/FDM materials keep getting stronger and keep getting used in applications with higher and higher requirements. Fill-in-the-blank toolpaths are only going to cut it for so long on this growth trajectory.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a bit about Novineer and the capabilities they have brought to the industry that take the concept of topology optimization and make it more usable by generating an editable output. They don't stop there though. Using the load cases that drive the external geometry, Novineer's software also drives the internal geometry. Specifically, it plans toolpaths such that they align with load paths. Thought is put into the tool paths such that they optimize the strength of the part rather than just fill in the blank.

FFF/FDM is anisotropic, but anisotropy shouldn't be a dirty word. Just as with composites technologies over the past 40 years, we've learned to optimize fiber direction to use anisotropy to our advantage - getting the strength or stiffness we want at the lowest possible weight. Novineer's approach realizes a similar benefit within FFF/FDM additive manufacturing. Especially when we think about the increased use of carbon fiber reinforced materials in FFF/FDM. Those fibers lay along the toolpath, but past slicer's and toolpath planners have neglected to take full advantage of the anisotropy. Novineer exploits the anisotropy of the material improve stiffness to weight ratios, layer by layer.

How much advantage? Click into the case study below and you'll see the Novineer Optimization toolpath results in 90% improvement in stiffness to weight ratio over the best unoptimized performance. Take a look: https://novineer.com/case-studies/fdm_printing_paths_optimization

Please reach out to Ali Tamijani, CEO at Novineer for more information or a demo of these capabilities. He and his team will also be available at RAPID + TCT in June. Of course, I'm also always available for questions.