FEM Simulation as an Element Based on Infill Pattern Structures Fabricated with CFRP-AM

Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies makes it possible to fabricate complex and internal structures that are difficult to fabricate with conventional processing methods. The material extrusion method, which is one type of AM, can fabricate composite material structures such as carbon fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRP). However, there are some problems to analyze a structure made with CFRP. First, the conventional FEM requires a lot of elements for approximation of composite materials, which leads to a long calculation time. Second, it is difficult to identify the model's parameters. This study proposes a method that can efficiently analyze the stiffness of a structure fabricated by AM. In conventional FEM, shape models were divided into small elements and the analysis was conducted by an element. In the present method, the mesh element was approximated to infill pattern structures fabricated by material extrusion AM. Simulation software using this analysis method was implemented, and the results were evaluated. Tensile and bending simulation with proposed method and conventional FEM software were performed and mechanical tests on specimens fabricated with CFRP were conducted. From the results, the reliability of proposed method was confirmed. Furthermore, a robot hand with a compliant mechanism was designed and its deformation was well simulated.