Three-Dimensional Visualization of Energy Consumption Data in Additive Manufacturing

Abstract This paper addresses the growing interest in design for sustainable manufacturing, focusing particularly on Additive Manufacturing (AM). While AM offers advantages like customized geometries and reduced material usage, there’s a need to address energy consumption in 3D printing beyond the conventional emphasis on material reduction. While previous research has explored various techniques for predicting and reducing the energy consumption of AM processes, there is limited work on guiding designers to generate more energy-efficient designs via localized geometric changes. This paper introduces a method to visualize energy consumption directly on 3D objects, aiming to guide designers in optimizing object shapes for sustainability. The methodology presented in the paper involves several steps: data collection, interpolation of positional points, classification of objects, support structures, and rapid movements. Following this, support and rapid movement energy are allocated to the printed object. Finally, the energy required for printing the object is directly visualized on a 3D model of the object using a mesh interpolation scheme. A use case demonstrating the potential application of the visualization method for reducing printing energy consumption is presented, through introducing a local shape modification to an axle bracket based on the visualization information. This modification resulted in a 7.5% energy reduction in this analyzed region compared to the original design. Thus, results showcase the ability of the proposed visualization method to support sustainability-oriented design for AM, through incorporating local shape modifications.