With the constant pressure put on the market, both from the customers and competitors, the need to increase speed, efficiency and productivity is pushing many transport and automotive companies to switch to automated quality control. By doing so, they are moving away from traditional control methods such as conventional coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) and checking fixtures. But why? And is it worth it?<h2>Moving Away from Coordinate Measuring Machines</h2>Conventional CMMs, while very precise, are not very fast and require metrology experts to operate. They often require dedicated labs, which means a lot of programming, setup, and back-and-forth with the production line. As those machines are rather complex, they are also prone to operator efficiency levels and human error. In that sense, they make recruiting qualified employees much harder.Those are some of the reasons why Walter Automobiltechnik GmbH, a renowned German part and accessory supplier for big OEMs in the automotive and motorcycle industries, recently added two of Creaform’s MetraSCAN 3D-R systems to a customized automated quality control system. In doing so, they were able to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.creaform3d.com/en/solutions/automated-quality-control-key-strategy-e-car-manufacturers-speed-their-throughput" target="_blank">drastically reduce inspection times</a> on an engine mount from 1 hour 30 minutes to just 8 minutes, reduce their HR’s headaches, increase productivity and reduce its shop-floor footprint.Their <a href="https://www.creaform3d.com/en/metrology-solutions/products/r-series-automated-quality-control-solutions" target="_blank">MetraSCAN 3D-R</a> was integrated within their production line quickly and without any lengthy training or significant downtimes. Anomalies were then instantaneously reported back to the engineering staff for quick corrective measures, speed up inspections leads to more throughput and a faster time to market.<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZwY6oci5yqE?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" style="width: 789px; height: 448px;"></iframe><h2>Moving Away from Checking Fixtures</h2>Another traditional quality control system is checking fixtures, which is often used in the transport industry. This technique comes with many challenges, such as being imprecise, lacking versatility, being prone to errors related to human fatigue or distraction, and offering very little transparency for the clients.Recently, the Swedish company Plåtson moved away from this technique and adopted the automated approach. Recently, the company acquired a MetraSCAN 3D-R to <a href="https://www.creaform3d.com/en/solutions/automated-3d-scanning-and-inspection-high-precision-stands" target="_blank">raise the quality of their work and obtain higher precision on their measurements</a>. In doing so, they also gained in simplicity, speed and transparency, as the deviation reports were automatically saved in a cloud service, also available for their clients. Having easy access to all this information allowed them to react in real time and facilitated decision making. They were able to easily limit the scrap rate and maximize production.<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qwxFcrCCgbg?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" style="width: 789px; height: 436px;"></iframe>While the market always offers its share of challenges and opportunities, such a switch falls in the latter category. By switching to Creaform’s R-Series 3D scanning solutions for their quality control needs, both companies have seen a valuable return on their investment. The MetraSCAN 3D-R improved both companies’ productivity, accuracy and efficiency, without compromising on accuracy and requiring highly skilled technicians.

With the constant pressure put on the market, both from the customers and competitors, the need to increase speed, efficiency and productivity is pushing many transport and automotive companies to switch to automated quality control.

Automated Quality Control: More Precise, More Productive

<a href="https://www.r-labcompany.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">R-Lab&nbsp;</a>is a digital fabrication center that helps craftsmen, artists, designers, and architects who would like to have a flexible, quick and affordable solution of fabricating their models, prototypes and small series of products. The goal is to help to sustain the craftsmanship by offering them a modern technology solution. R-Lab offers them an end-to-end robotic milling service to fabricate their objects. The robots in the fabrication center can mill and carve almost everything from a vast selection of organic materials based on their 3D image.&nbsp;<h2>The design project</h2>In the past months, R-Lab worked with the French designer and artist Hugo Drubay in preparation for the&nbsp;<a href="https://villanoailles-designparade2019.squarespace.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Design Parade 2019</a>, one of the most beautiful French interior design contest. “Our role was to produce the wooden furniture for Hugos’ installation called “Un Jardin d’Interieur” (Indoor Garden)&nbsp;at the exhibition, that took place from 27- 30 June 2019 in Toulon, South of France. The project combined a 3D printed floor in ceramics and a wooden bench and stool produced by us using 3D scanning and 5 axis milling technology. To meet the concept of the project as the real nature creations, we have scanned the real wooden branches with the Creaform&nbsp;<a href="https://www.creaform3d.com/en/handheld-portable-3d-scanner-goscan-3d" rel="noopener" target="_blank">3D scanner Go!SCAN 3D</a> together with the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.creaform3d.com/en/metrology-solutions/3d-applications-software-platforms" rel="noopener" target="_blank">software VXelements</a> (modules VXscan and VXmodel). The branches were then milled with a 5axis Stäubli robot”, explains Romain Colnet, Founder and CEO of R-Lab.“This is one of the most powerful scan technologies. It is very user friendly and our designer was able to learn the technology very quickly. Also, since we are in the art and design industry, where small details count, it is very important to use such a powerful tool as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.creaform3d.com/de/messtechnik/tragbare-3d-scanner" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Creaform 3D scanner</a>. We wouldn’t have been able to give such realistic curves to the parts needed for the projects. With the Go!SCAN 3D we could meet to one hundred percent the requirements of the artist. With this successfully delivered project we entered the world of art competitions and we had a great exposure to the famous designers and artists in France. Creaform’s 3D scanners add a great value to our service offer. We see many applications in restauration works, digitization of art pieces and customizations”, states Romain.Hugo Drubay won the National Furniture Award and this successful participation offered R-LAB a major exposure to the greatest French designers such as Mathieu Lehanneur, Noe Duchaufour Lawrence and others. The project was also mentioned on <a href="http://www.mobiliernational.culture.gouv.fr/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Mobilier national</a> and <a href="https://ideat.thegoodhub.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">IDEAT e-magazines</a>.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1611569592406-65917843_2772905282738419_7890924172040208384_n.jpg" style="width: 788px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">The installation including the furniture that was produced by R-LAB is exposed in Toulon, France until the end of summer. R-Lab is planning to continue collaborating with Hugo on his next projects.

R-Lab is a digital fabrication center that helps craftsmen, artists, designers, and architects who would like to have a flexible, quick and affordable solution of fabricating their models, prototypes and small series of products.

Powerful Scan Technology For Restauration Works, Digitization Of Art Pieces And Customizations

If you speak to anybody from the world of motorsport about engines and transmissions, there is one name that is immediately associated with casting design and rapid prototyping – Grainger &amp; Worrall. Their unrivalled experience in F1 and WRC championship engine and transmission programs can be demonstrated by the fact that all 20 cars on the LMP2 grid at Le Mans in June 2018 were using Gibson GK428 engines, cast by Grainger &amp; Worrall.However, motorsport is only one part of their expertise, as they offer clients extensive knowledge in Casting Design and Engineering, Tooling Design, Machining and Prototyping. Grainger &amp; Worrall’s specialist prototype aluminium foundry approaches product development by adding value, delivering successful high integrity precision sand castings for automotive engines, aerospace components and other industrial markets. The world is demanding ever-lighter, ever more efficient means of propulsion, resulting in increased prototype demands and increased quality control requirements. To meet the demands of approximately 300 New Product Introductions including niche volume and motorsport supply annually, Grainger &amp; Worrall recently purchased a Creaform HandySCAN 700 from&nbsp;<a href="https://measurement-solutions.co.uk/" target="_blank">Measurement Solutions</a>.Although already equipped with traditional gantry CMM’s (Coordinate Measuring Machines) advanced industrial CT scanning (Computed Tomography) and white light scanning systems, the increasing complexity and persistence to push the limits of possibility has driven a need for both increased capacity and capability. The requirement to spend time preparing surfaces of castings with powder spray, which has always been difficult with projected light scanners, all served to drive their decision to purchase the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.creaform3d.com/en" target="_blank">Creaform HandySCAN</a> 700. David Lang, who was integral to the decision-making process, comments “The HandySCAN 3D ticks many boxes for us. Not requiring powder spray is an obvious benefit in terms of time savings, both before and after scanning. We were spending several thousand pounds annually on spray, which is an inefficient and unnecessary cost, and add to that the associated costs incurred during the ‘shot blasting’ process to clean the castings after scanning”.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1611569352423-IMG_0628-1024x768.jpg" style="width: 788px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">The HandySCAN 700 utilises seven red laser crosses which offers a large field of view and a capability to capture data extremely fast. Mr. Lang continues, “After testing the HandySCAN 3D it was obvious to us the seven laser crosses feature allowed for very fast data capture, with the addition of a single laser line to capture areas within deep pockets. We also found the HandySCAN 3D to be of high accuracy and comparable to our existing equipment”.In house quality management ensures the effective design of processes which verify the customer’s needs. This has helped to ensure that Grainger &amp; Worrall are known globally as the leading supplier of prototyping services in structural Powertrain Components, and an exceptional supplier of Castings and Machining for Specialist Low Volume Cast components. It is these evolving processes that have provided Grainger &amp; Worrall with opportunities to continually assess and upgrade their equipment needs.As is often the case with new technologies, once in process, users get to explore the full benefits on offer. Mr. Lang adds “As we assessed the product further, additional benefits came to the forefront. The ability to scan with a ‘handheld’ portable solution was significant. The fact the HandySCAN 3D and all accessories fit into a small carry case means it is quick and simple to take the shop floor and start inspecting. Whether it be a large piece of tooling or a sand mouldpack being assembled, we can now take the scanner on location, set-up and be finished within the hour. Before purchasing the HandySCAN 3D this task would have been much more challenging and usually resulted in moving components to the Metrology room, which often was impracticable”.As with any company constantly investing in new technology, the availability of training, system implementation and after sales support is a very significant part of any decision to purchase. Aftersales support has always been a huge part of Measurement Solutions DNA and a key to their success, having recently celebrated their 20 Year Anniversary. Andy Warriner, Area Sales Manager for Measurement Solutions, comments “The team at&nbsp;<a href="https://measurement-solutions.co.uk/" target="_blank">Measurement Solutions</a> provide a complete training course, ranging from two to four days depending upon the application, either inspection or reverse engineering. Additionally, we have Applications Engineers dedicated to Creaform products, who are always on hand to add further support if required after the initial training”.

If you speak to anybody from the world of motorsport about engines and transmissions, there is one name that is immediately associated with casting design and rapid prototyping – Grainger & Worrall

Grainger & Worrall - Leading The Way In Motorsport Innovations

With an ever changing world, we have required that the products that we use every day keep pace. We have asked that they be faster, stronger, smaller, and lighter. Better designed parts, lends to better performing parts; furthermore, more efficiency in our daily lives, right?&nbsp;Various industries such as aerospace, automotive, and consumer products are continuing to push the boundaries of design to accommodate our fast paced environment. Lighter and smarter parts not only have a beneficial impact on part performance, but they also correlate to increased safety, decreased manufacturing and operating costs, and improved environmental sustainability.<h2>A New Era of Design</h2>nTopology recognized a paradigm shift in design; consequently, we introduced a unique approach to modeling, which has been leveraged by additive manufacturing processes to open the door to an unparalleled approach to part design. By incorporating nTop Platform into an organization’s engineering workflow, engineers are now equipped with the tools needed to create complex, high performing parts in significantly less time and cost.&nbsp;The ability to incorporate the modeling and manufacturing techniques made possible by additive manufacturing have been leveraged by engineers in various industries today. Designers within the aerospace and automotive industry have produced composite panels using foam or honeycomb cores to reduce weight in structures. The consumer products industry has found value in lightweight parts in improving the ergonomic experience for the end user such as a lattice helmet liner capable of reducing impact forces and optimizing fit and comfort for athletes. Industries are continually discovering exciting opportunities and innovative ways to lightweight parts. Applying variable shelling, unique lattice structures, or structural ribbing are other techniques designers have utilized to produce lighter parts while still maintaining stiffness and strength.Not only are design processes achieving more complexity, we are also able to incorporate a more intelligent methodology to part design. Brought to fruition by computational modeling, engineers can introduce a multi-faceted approach to design by synthesizing various data such as FEA (Finite Element Analysis) results or real measurements such as scan data into a single high performance part.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1608183372001-Fig5-Data-Sources-768x563.v1.jpg">By utilizing a computational modeling approach to design, designers can now leverage the mixed data-sources seen in the image above, amongst others involved in modern engineering, to create a lighter, stronger, and smarter part.&nbsp;A computational modeling approach allows engineers to capture all of the valuable engineering data within an organization, whether it be knowledge of design experts or simulation experts, and combine it to create intelligent and adaptive engineering models that transform industry standards.Please join me on August 25th for a <a href="https://ntopology.com/speaker-series-dfam-metal/?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=dfam-eseries&utm_term=&utm_content=gabrielle-blog-link&source=website&comment=metal-dfam-eseries" rel="noopener" target="_blank">webinar</a> in which I will delve into these various lightweighting techniques and nTop Platform’s approach to design for additive manufacturing.<hr>This article was first published on the&nbsp;<a href="https://ntopology.com/blog/2020/04/06/impact-resistant-bio-structures/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">nTopology blog</a>.

By utilizing a computational modeling approach to design, designers can now leverage the mixed data-sources seen in the image above, amongst others involved in modern engineering, to create a lighter, stronger, and smarter part.

Fueled by computational modeling and the ability to synthesize data and leverage it within a design, coupled with technology to create complex geometries, industries are able to deliver more cost efficient parts without sacrificing performance.

Elevating Design and Cutting Costs - Structural Lightweighting

Changing the way footwear is made is a pretty lofty endeavor. For decades, footwear, specifically flip flop sandals have been made the same way. A design is created and from there, molds are made of the design for various sizes of the shoe. Those molds are usually injected with a rubber-based material in a foreign factory. A process that inherently dictates that many items must be produced in order to amortize the cost of the mold, creating excessive inventory and a lack of innovation. This process, with its limitations and highly concentrated production overseas, has been what sandal production has looked like. Definitely not custom and certainly not environmentally friendly.So, what happens when you want to make sandals locally at a 3D facility (not a footwear factory), with lattice-based structures and customer selected variations? Well, that is what I set out to do at Impact Footwear in 2019 attempting something that had not been accomplished before. I knew several key elements were going to be part of the design requirements for this shoe. The first being lattice-based structures. I had seen several performance shoes come out that used a standard lattice-based midsole. It was a good first step in using lattice structures and 3D in footwear, but I felt it missed the target on the potential of what custom 3D printed footwear could bring. Having the ability to customize a lattice structure based on mechanical testing of compression would be a great opportunity to harness this capability. Allowing the customer to select their level of compression and customizing a shoe would be a game-changer in the way footwear is made.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1608182954762-FullShoe_Blue_5-1-768x432.jpg">Impact F1 Flip Flop&nbsp;I set out to build an end-to-end mechanism to allow for a fully customized 3D printed sandal. I knew that for this to scale, it would need to be fully automated with no human intervention in the creation of the STL files. An end-to-end 3D experience where the customer would design their own shoe and minutes later that come to life in the form of a printed file. I needed a software partner that could help in both the design of the shoe, the lattice structures of the shoe, the automation needed to do this without human intervention, and the ability to output the necessary meshes customized to a set of individually defined requirements. That solution was nTopology.The concept was built on the principle that you could transform a non-customized set of parts and apply the customizations using the power of nTop Platform. It starts with identifying the variables needed to do this and a mechanism to capture these data points. This is done via a 3D Web Customization tool that gives the individual the power to custom design their shoe. When you calculate the total number of variables, you end up with millions of possible configurations. This level of customization has been extremely difficult to accomplish and would not be possible in traditional footwear manufacturing of rubber sandals.nTop Platform accomplishes this. &nbsp;Not only can it be done, but it can also do all of these customizations in a single notebook file providing a high level of future flexibility as modifications come about. Applying textures, selecting lattice structures and applying them to parts, adjusting variable based sizing, labeling, combining all parts to Boolean as one mesh, and outputting the necessary file for print were all capabilities needed and provided by nTop Platform. This processed through an integration layer that did not require human intervention and that could scale through a multi-threaded approach and was exactly what was needed to bring about the ability to transform footwear.I don’t think the creators of the software believed they were building a solution for custom footwear (I was called the “crazy flip flop guy”), but that is exactly what they had invented. It makes sense as they were building a solution that could work for production capabilities and not just for creating a prototype to test. This is what much of the 3D world had been utilized for, one-off prototypes that can speed up the ability to manufacture using traditional methods. The power of 3D printing lies in customization and the automation that supports the generation of custom-based products. When software, design, automation, and 3D manufacturing are brought together, it allows for the unthinkable in the past to become a reality. What lies ahead is a great possibility and opportunity to change what we expect of the products we purchase and the level of detail that goes into them. The future of creating for need instead of for mass inventory and sell off will bring about positive change in the way we consume products and our expectations for what we purchase. We are in the early stages of this shifted mindset and I am excited to help lead the way in this transformation.<hr>This article was first published on the&nbsp;<a href="https://ntopology.com/blog/2020/04/06/impact-resistant-bio-structures/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">nTopology blog</a>.

Creating an automated design workflow for custom flip flops opens the doors for sustainability and customization in footwear.

Custom Latticed-Based Flip Flops for Consumers

Mass customization is not a concept of the additive world. In the automotive business, there are numerous proofs of successful customization: for example, car configurators allow customers to customize their car, choosing the look and the style, colors, interiors and additional accessories.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1608182561887-1-768x576.png">Fig. 1 Car Configurator&nbsp;The level of customization depends on the number of possible choices and the number of total combinations. Having the flexibility in making different components match perfectly is the concept of mass customization, and indeed it becomes a natural consequence of the tool-less construction process in Additive Manufacturing (AM). For this reason, customization in the AM world can do more: it can obtain customization that is not the result of a selection of predefined choices. This extreme and revolutionary concept pushes classic design methods to the limits. Designing 10 or 10,000 (even if only slightly) different components certainly has a different weight. The problem, however, is in the design process and its tools. Classic modeling techniques require a lot of “manual” work time, which is sometimes similar to beginning the modeling from scratch. But isn’t it true that “manual” processing time is the real spearhead or blocker of a customized object?&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1608182583266-2+%281%29.jpg">Fig. 2 Ferrari 250 GTO&nbsp;It is the opinion of many that the Ferrari 250 GTO is the best Ferrari of all time. The obsessive attention to detail elevates an object to its highest levels of expression, transcending the common to become a unique “piece of art”. The aluminum panels, all beaten by hand, and the v12 engines are all unique pieces.At <a href="https://www.puntozero3d.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">.ZERO</a>, we like to reverse engineer the concept and question it. With technology aside and focusing on design, we asked ourselves: can we maintain that added value of manual labor while preserving the efficiency of mass production?We tried to answer the question starting from our point of view. Engineering has always had nature as its main source of inspiration. For us, this represents a scientific laboratory that has been open for millions of years. In nature, everything is custom. Everything that has a genetic base and over time is affected by external conditions. For example, you will never find two identical oak trees, because they share the same base, but not the same history. An object is unique in the multitude of variables by which it is affected. For us, nTop Platform is the software that fits perfectly with our point of view.Modeling the component in the Body section is like working or manipulating the component genetics. Whatever the complexity, it can always be influenced by external conditions (which are inputs in the software).<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1608182607837-4-768x432.png">Fig. 3 Double Gyroid&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1608182629120-5-768x432.png">Fig. 4 Double Gyroid Remap&nbsp;Working with mathematical functions completely changes the concept of parameterization seen in CAD software. Thanks to these basic mechanics, the software not only allows us to have total control over the highest level of complexity obtainable but also the ability to automate processes to make mass customization scalable. It is possible to create automatic machining trees with customized blocks.&nbsp;A custom block made once is usable indefinitely. Once the algorithm has been designed, the software can react to external conditions by responding with a certain objectTo sum up: • Through implicit modeling, we can create complex shapes and have total control over them. This leads to easy control of variables. • A particular shape, custom structure, or modus operandi can be created and stored in a fully customized algorithm. • An automated custom block can be created where inputs can be chosen to be calibrated or manipulated by external software sources.<hr>This article was first published on the&nbsp;<a href="https://ntopology.com/blog/2020/04/06/impact-resistant-bio-structures/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">nTopology blog</a>.

Mass customization: production strategy aimed at satisfying customer needs while preserving the efficiency of mass production. At .Zero here's how we view mass customization, and how we are using nTop Platform helps us achieve it successfully.

Customize Parts Using Blocks, Not Your Time

Structural or fluid simulations in the Additive Manufacturing (AM) field are performed a utilizing Computer-aided design (CAD) models of lattice structures that do not contain any information related to the surface roughness. During the Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) significant surface roughness is produced especially in low overhangs and down skin of lattice structures as can be seen in Fig. 1.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1608181226449-youn1-768x434.png">Fig. 1: Example of a Boolean subtracted one-unit cell of an AM lattice (a) obtained using X-ray Computed Tomography (XCT) showing different up (b) and down skin (c) surface roughness.&nbsp;To account for these differences, the expected surface roughness can be designed before the manufacturing process on the CAD of the AM part (Fig. 2), creating a virtual “CAD with Designed Surface” (CADwDS).In this study, a full factorial Design of Experiment (DOE) has been performed to correlate nTop Platform surface roughness block parameters (frequency, amplitude, seed) with the conventional engineering ISO 25178 areal surface parameters (Sa, Sq, Sp, Sv, Spd). A total of 54 DOE surfaces were generated on both a planar and cylindrical geometry.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1608181254028-youn2+%281%29.jpg">Fig. 2: Example of surface roughness design with increasing amplitude, frequency and fixed seed on both planar and cylindrical surfaces.&nbsp;The results of the study show a successful correlation between the frequency parameter and the conventional areal surface parameter “Spd” and a separate correlation between amplitude and a developed “max(Sp,Sv)” parameter (also to Sa and Sq). These results demonstrate that it is possible to design surface roughness on CAD models using areal surface roughness parameters in such a way as to replicate the surface that is produced during Powder Bed Fusion.In order to design surface roughness on CAD models of lattice structures two workflows have been developed: one to extract surface roughness from an AM lattice using X-ray Computed Tomography (XCT) as seen in Fig. 1 and another one to design a different upper and down skin surface roughness on a strut-based lattice as seen below.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1608181284096-youn3.jpg">Fig. 3: Workflow of adding up skin and general surface roughness (a) combined (c) with down skin one (b) using areal surface parameters as inputs (Spd, Sa, Sq…) and a custom nTop workflow.&nbsp;The result was a CADwDS that had a closer surface roughness and smaller mean deviation (Fig.4) to the XCT of the AM lattice compared to the original perfect CAD versus the XCT. More information can be found in my published research paper, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addma.2020.101731" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Parametrically designed surface topography on CAD models of additive manufactured lattice structures for improved design validation.&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1608181307452-youn4.png">Fig. 4: Colour map of the deviation analysis of the XCT vs. original CAD (a) and of the XCT vs. CADwDS (b) showing less deviation.&nbsp;In conclusion, the research in this field will enable the design of virtual CAD models that contain a realistic and better expectation of the anticipated defects or deviations prior to the AM process, assisting in the design validation process and cost-effectively assessing different printing parameters, strategies, surface treatments and behavior of AM parts.&nbsp;<hr>This article was first published on the&nbsp;<a href="https://ntopology.com/blog/2020/04/06/impact-resistant-bio-structures/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">nTopology blog</a>.

AM lattices often have a down skin surface roughness different from the up skin one. The workflow shown below enables the design of a virtual “CAD with Designed Surface”. The latter has a surface roughness closer to the actual AM lattice, measured using X-ray Computed Tomography.

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